The company traces its roots to 1987, when its predecessor was formed to service the slot machines at the Terrible Herbst gas stations.

[14] In 2003, Herbst became the largest slot route operator in Nevada by acquiring Anchor Coin and its 1,100 machines from International Game Technology for $61 million.

[17][18] In 2006, a statewide smoking ban was enacted in Nevada at taverns and convenience stores, which was expected to hurt the revenues of slot route operators such as Herbst.

[24] In early 2008, the company revealed that it was considering a sale or bankruptcy, because of poor financial results stemming from the economic slowdown and the smoking ban.

[27] After objections from bondholders, the plan was revised to give full ownership of the slot route operation to the creditors, leaving the Herbsts with no role in the business.

[37] The Sands Regency and two smaller casinos in Northern Nevada were sold for $19.2 million to Truckee Gaming, a new company led by Affinity executive Ferenc Szony.

[37] In February 2017, Z Capital Partners, a private equity firm which had already built up a 41 percent stake in Affinity, bought all outstanding shares in a transaction valuing the company at $580 million.