Coin Slot Magazine - #023 - 1976 - December [International Arcade Museum]
SCENE
By Bob Rosenberger
Roy Airington's Victorian Casino Antiques held its third auction in Las
Vegas on October 29-31, 1976. Like the first two auctions, this one con
tained a gold mine of coin-operated gambling, arcade and music machines.
In addition, the multitude of back bars, stained glass and Western memo
rabilia items brought collectors from around the country. There was a
one hundred dollar admission fee (which could be applied to a purchase)
which admitted two people and included free drinks and food.
Each
session started at 10:00 a.m. and extended into the evening. Although
there seems something perverse about seeing the sun set in Las Vegas from
the inside of a North American Van Lines warehouse, almost everyone
present made plans to attend the next auction.
Now for the details.
In general, top quality items went for top dollars and
the more common pieces sold for correspondingly more reasonable prices.
In addition, an occasional bargain appeared such as the sale of exceedingly
rare Symphonion
Companion
triple
disc floor
model
Music Box for
$7500.00.
The undisputed highlight of the auction was the sale, Saturday night, of
the completely restored Caille Musical Triplet from Bellm's Museum in
Sarasota, Florida.
This beautiful triple upright slot machine contained a Centaur, a "45"
and a Big Six.
At the first auction one year ago, a Victor Triple without
music had sold for $10,500.00. The consensus of most people was that
the Caille Triple would sell somewhere between $18,000.00 and $25,000.
$22,000.00 was the guess of most. We were wrong!
The bidding started at $10,000.00 and moved rapidly upwards in $1000.
increments.
At the $28,000 level, the apparently successful bidder was
Ira Warren, a Brooklyn, New York collector and owner of Antique Amuse
ments which restores and sells vintage coin-op machines. Suddenly, from
off to the side, a new bidder appeared. Ira pressed onward in a valiant,
.com
m
:
u
se passed the $30,000 level, now
u bids
from the
but futile effort to buy the
m
d Triple,
-
e
e
d
now going upward in
Finally, bowing to the inevitable,
ad
loa $500 .a increments.
rc hammered
n Triple
w
Ira passed and
the
was
down at $32,000.00. The new
o
w
D
ww
/
/
owner — Leisure p Industries,
operators of the Leisure Store in the MGM
:
htt
Grand Hotel Arcade.
The machine will be on display in the store, pre-
sumeably for sale at a price greatly in excess of $32,000.00 ($50,000.00
perhaps).
© The International Arcade Museum
http://www.arcade-museum.com/