INTERVIEW WITH EMILE "PEPPI" BRUNEAU,
New Orleans, La. (Attorney at Law since 1966 and also
State Representative ( Republican) since 1976; certified
by Louisiana Courts as an expert on the identification
and valuation of antique slot machines).
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, per-
haps this will make some of us re-think how "secure"
our collections really are. Peppi Bruneau knows first-
hand how it feels to lose a lifetime collection in just
minutes.
Peppi has been a good friend and has been collecting
slot machines in earnest since 1981. On August 29th,
his life ( along with thousands of others) was changed
forever. Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf
Coast wiping out the homes and memories of thousands
of residents. Thanks to the pictures taken by Anthony
J. Schneller, his friend and fellow slot enthusiast, and
the willingness of Peppi to share his story perhaps we
can soften the blow of an unexpected catastrophic loss,
Peppi shares his thoughts and advice with CO.CA. in
the hopes of sharing others the pain of dealing with this
type of loss.
The following are excerpts from a conversation I had
with Peppi regarding the emotional and financial im-
pact on his l~fe.
COCA - Is your collection insured?
PEPPI - I thought that it was. Some years ago, I made
an inquiry and was advised that this was covered un-
der unscheduled personal property as the slots didn't
qualify as "antiques" per se. Now, both the flood and
the property and casualty insurer (with whom I have
my homeowners policy) say that coin ops are subject
to the collectible exclusion of $2,500.00. There is pres-
ently a question under litigation as to whether or not the
homeowners policy will apply in addition to the flood
policy since the damage was the result of negligence in
the construction and/or design of the retaining wall that
toppled (it did not overflow) and therefore a covered
event rather than coming under the flood exclusion of
the homeowners policy. If this is successful, I'm going
to make a claim on my coin ops as they are pieces of
furniture as well as machines. Luckily, I had enough
6
other personal belongings that I will be able to max out
on my flood coverage without utilizing the slots. This
should be a word of great caution to all collectors. BUY
AN ALL PERILS POLICY for your coin-ops. Also be
sure that you have pictures of the coin-ops pre disaster.
COCA - The pictures are pretty impressive -
How many machines did you have? Was any-
thing salvageable?
PEPPI - I owned over sixty coin ops, including but
not limited to Mills (an extensive collection from the
Dewey, to the Goosenecks, to the Half Tops, F.O.K.s,
and Q.T.s to High Tops), Watling (Judge, Penny Goose-
neck Gum Yender and Castle Front, Coin Front and
Cherry Front Rol-A-Tops) Jennings (Dutch Boy Dis-
play Front, Dixie Bell Console, Today Yender, etc.), a
Bally Reliance, some Buckleys, a Paupa and Hochriem
Columbia, an A.C. Multi Bell, a number of trade stimu-
lators with token payouts, an electronic Bally slot and
an electronic Black Jack machine, a number of pinball
machines including a Bally Grandstand (one ball cash
payout race horse theme) and a Bally Bikini (bingo ma-
chines), a Candy Store National Cash Register, and a
Wurlitzer "One More Time" 45 R.P.M. Jukebox. Ev-
erything was damaged - Anything electronic went to
the junkyard - Unfortunately all of these machines sat
in saltwater for nearly 3 weeks. Perhaps if it was fresh
water I may have had a chance to save some pieces. At
this time the majority of my collection appears to be
for salvage/parts. Everything that was not junked is in a
warehouse. My home was damaged, and I' m presently
in the process of restoring the same.
COCA - Did you have any other collections be-
sides Coin Operated Machines.
PEPPI - I had an extensive collection of 45 R.P.M.
records, concentrating mainly on New Orleans Rhythm
and Blues and Rock and Roll. Some of these are harder
to replace than the slot machines. I also had a huge col-
lection of New Orleans Mardi Gras memorabilia. Addi-
tionally, I had a good collection of local beer cans, bot-
tles, neon and other adverti sing. I even kept my stamp