C.O.C.A. Times

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I have good news. We have a "Tale" from a slot collector and one from a vending collector. Actually,
the slot story is in two parts. The second story will appear in the next issue of COCA TIMES .
I am pleased that some of you have sent in your "Tales of The Hunt" and hope more will follow.
Please submit articles and photos to:
Jack Freund, PO Box 4, Springfield WI 53176, E-mail: jbgum@msn.com
Let's start with the "Slot Tale. " It comes from Jeff Frahm, an old friend of mine that is presently living
in Colorado. He titles it:
All The "Good Ones " Have Already Been Found?
DON'T BELIEVE IT!
be fun to ride on an old steam locomotive; we
bought our round trip day excursion tickets and
climbed aboard the "Durango-Silverton Railroad"
for a two and a half hour ride up the most beautiful
mountain passes you've ever seen to the old silver
mining town of Silverton, Colorado. The trip was
fascinating, but by the time we reached the end of
the line, we all had built a great thirst and were
ready to stretch our legs and explore this interesting
old mining town. As everyone scattered off the
train, we looked around to find somewhere to have
lunch. The closest place to the train depot was this
ancient old bar called "The Bent Elbow Saloon".
Right off, I liked the name so we headed over there
to try it out. Upon being seated, I was fascinated to
look around at all the great old antiques that
adorned the place, from the old tin ceiling to the
intricately carved bar and back bar. As the waitress
came over with our menus, I almost fell out of my
chair when I caught a glimpse, over in the comer, of
a very tired looking old floor machine that looked
as if it had stood in that spot for the last hundred
years. I could barely spare the time to look at the
menu and order before I had to get up and give this
treasure a closer look. Leaving my wife and daugh-
ter behind at the table, I casually strolled over to see
just what was sitting there. It turned out to be a
The following story is written to give the novice
as well as the advanced collector of coin operated
gambling devices continued hope in their search for
that really special "FIND". There truly are still
some great machines out there at the grass roots
level that are still affordable and they tum up in the
most unlikely places.
My passion for collecting these wonderful old
slot machines began quite some time ago, in fact
back in 1958 when I was only eleven years old. I
used to travel with my parents to that ultimate
Mecca of gambling, Las Vegas, Nevada. Being just
a kid, I had to satisfy my curiosity by pressing my
nose to the window and watch while everyone else
was able to madly pull the handles on those myste-
rious mechanical marvels. At eleven I finally ful-
filled my dream of having my own machine to play,
and better yet, explore the depths of its inner work-
ings. From that point on, I was hooked and eventu-
ally turned this hobby into my full time profession.
But that is a separate story in itself that could take
up volumes of magazine space.
The story of this relatively recent find began just
a few years ago when my wife and daughter and I
went on a vacation trip to one of my favorite Old
West towns, Durango, Colorado. Thinking it might
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