C.O.C.A. Times

''SLOTS TO
Do
ON VACATION''
By Jimmy Rosen
Recently I was on vacation in Truckee, California, not
far from Reno, NV. My wife and kids wanted to experi-
ence skiing in this part of the country. I am not a skier
so I decided to do some coin-op exploring in the area.
One day, I visited the Nevada Gambling Mu-
seum in Virginia City, NV (inside Palace Empori-
um Mall, #20 South C Street). Admission was only
$1.50. I was the only one there. Honestly, I didn't ex-
pect much. But I was wrong. What a terrific collec-
tion of machines and they were beautifully displayed.
Many rare ones too. I recommend going there and also
spending time in Virginia City. What a great town.
Ace Distributing
On a different day, I traveled to the Nevada State
Museum (600 N Carson St, 775-687-4810) in Carson
City, NV to see the Fey Slot
Machine Collection. A truly
historic display! I was so
excited to see a Fey Liberty
Bell slot in person know-
ing only a few exist. Inter-
estingly, the Nevada State
Museum building is the old
Carson City mint where US
coins were produced from
1870-1893 . They still have
an old coin press inside
that they use periodically
for making commemora-
Since he lives in Reno, l was hoping to meet Mar-
shall Fey and talk about the museum collection and
his family history, but when we spoke on the phone he
was getting ready to leave for the Chicagoland Show. I
told him I would try again the next time I visit the area.
David Armstrong
Fey Slot Machine Collection
tive medallions. At the
end of April, the museum
released a limited edition
commemorative Liberty
Bell silver coin. I highly
recommend getting one.
They are only $40 plus
Liberty Bell Slot Machine
$5 shipping and han-
Silver Medallion
dling. For more informa-
tion and to place an order, call the Nevada
State Museum 775-687-4810, ext. 239 or 245.
I also had a chance to stop by Ace Distribut-
ing (1680 Pittman Ave, 775-359-0695) in Sparks,
NV. There I met Phil Anderson, former slot op-
erator who now sells machines to collectors. He
had a warehouse full of them. Another fun visit.
Fortunately I brought along my list of C.O.C.A. mem-
bers and saw there were several in the area. By chance
I called David Armstrong. I told him I was a fellow
C.O.C.A member in the area on vacation and asked if
he had any machines to look at. He said he had a "few"
counter games. (It turns out he was being very modest.)
He couldn't have been nicer on the phone and told me to
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