The Santa Monica Pier's Merry Go-Round Building will transform into a 1920s gambling ship replica on Saturday, Sept. 19, when the Pier Corporation hosts its second annual A PIERfect Benefit gala honoring two families whose roots on the Pier stretch back generations.

The Gordon family, which has owned Playland Arcade since 1954, and the Whiting family, direct descendants of the Newcombs who once owned the Pier's commercial district, will receive the 2026 Santa Monica Pier Award.

Guests are encouraged to dress in vintage 1920s and 1930s attire for the evening, themed after the SS Rex, a real 300-foot gambling ship that anchored off the Santa Monica coast starting in 1938. The Rex, operated by bootlegger-turned-casino kingpin Tony Cornero, attracted thousands of gamblers nightly before California Attorney General Earl Warren raided it in August 1939 in what became known as the "Battle of Santa Monica Bay."

Inside the historic Hippodrome, the gala will feature casino gaming tables, live entertainment, signature cocktails, specialty food and exclusive auctions. Guests who buy gaming tickets in advance get 50 percent off the day-of price.

"The Santa Monica Pier has always been about people," executive director and historian Jim Harris said, according to the Santa Monica Lookout. "Buildings can be restored. Attractions can change. But what truly defines the Pier are the people who dedicate their lives to protecting it."

A family arcade, four generations deep

Playland Arcade is the longest-running family-owned business on the Pier, now in its 72nd year. Brothers George and Eugene Gordon and their father Morris "Pops" Gordon founded it after running a traveling route of coin-operated games and kiddie rides across Los Angeles. They landed on the Pier through family friend Enid Newcomb, who held the lease and wanted a family-friendly amusement area.

The arcade survived the 1970s "Save Our Pier" movement, when city planners proposed demolishing the Pier for a private island resort. The Gordons helped lead that fight alongside local advocates and actor Robert Redford. During the early 1990s pier reconstruction, the family ran games from a tent on an adjacent lot rather than close. They weathered a 15-month COVID-19 shutdown before reopening in mid-2021.

Today, a fourth generation of Gordon women runs the business: George and June Gordon's daughters Joanie and Marlene Gordon, and the daughters of their late sister Barbara, Dana Picore and Monique Giroux. The arcade houses 160 to 200 games and has appeared in films including The Sting, Forrest Gump and Iron Man.

"Our father, uncle and grandfather built Playland with a simple mission — to make people smile," co-owner Marlene Gordon said in October 2025, when the Santa Monica Daily Press covered the arcade's 71st anniversary.

The Newcomb legacy, carried forward

The Whiting family's Pier connection runs through the Newcombs. Walter Newcomb purchased the Pleasure Pier in 1943, renaming it Newcomb Pier. After his death in 1948, his wife Enid ran it until 1953. Most recently, the Whitings funded publication of Santa Monica Pier: America's Last Great Pleasure Pier, preserving more than a century of Pier history, according to Santa Monica Next.

The Pier Corporation said that whenever the Pier faced challenges, whether physical, political or financial, the Whitings were there.

Tickets and details

Early bird pricing runs through Wednesday, Aug. 19. Use code EARLYBIRD at checkout for 20 percent off admission at givebutter.com/pierfectbenefit2026. Adele's of Hollywood is offering gala guests 15 percent off costume rentals with code PIER.

Proceeds support the Pier Corporation's free programming, including Youth Day for underserved children and the annual Pier 360 Beach Festival.

Santa Monica community calendar

  • Saturday, Aug. 8: Art on Ocean: Palisades Park Arts Festival, Ocean Avenue from California to Montana avenues, 11 a.m.–6 p.m., free.
  • Saturday, Aug. 8: Tongva Twilight: Sounds & Cinema begins with Western Standard Time, 7 p.m. at Tongva Park, free.
  • Saturday, Aug. 22: Son Mayor with free salsa lesson at Tongva Twilight, 7 p.m. at Tongva Park.
  • Saturday, Sept. 19: A PIERfect Benefit, Merry Go-Round Building, Santa Monica Pier.