CoinOpCollectorForum.com

I have been in discussion with the folks selling the Harrah's collection for months.

No need to go into all the details but I was notified yesterday that they are taking offers on individual machines and also the entire collection. The only people who will be getting the information to bid will be the people who have inspected the machines. This is a very small number of people.

I flew out to Vegas last week and spent the entire day inspecting the machines. Many of the machines were not unlocked which is really unfortunate because I could not inspect them. I was told before I went out that all machines would be opened up.

The machines in the collection include a Caille Roulette, Midget Derby (only one known to exist), some Caille Double uprights, several Caille single uprights (Centaurs, 45, Eclipses, etc.)

I have uploaded a YouTube video of some of the machines that are available.

I have a ton of photos of the machines and also many videos of the machines which I can make available to the folks who contact me. I also have a lot of information about the condition of the machines (many have issues).

If you are interested in any of the machines and possibly bundling your offer with mine then you need to contact me ASAP. I have been told that the offer needs to go in Sunday night. The higher my offer the more likely I/we will get them. I am not looking to profit from the machines that you are interested in.

If you are interested send an email to Dave@IBuyOldSlots.com

I am only interested in talking to serious people and people willing to offer a "reasonable" price. Not those wanting to steal a Caille Roulette for $10,000 because putting in a super lowball offer on a machine would just hurt the chances of getting the deal.

To view the machines go to http://youtu.be/4l36UFw9oYg

I'd love to look this collection over and possibly put in some bids, but 2 days notice won't cut it

WOW, I too would love to take a shot at a couple of those machines, the Mills Futurity and maybe a Treasury, but it's hard to put the money down without knowing the complete condition of the machines and sight unseen. As you said, many may have issues.

oldslotman wrote:Hard to put the money down without knowing the complete condition of the machines and sight unseen.
As you said, many may have issues.

It's not that they MAY have issues. Many of them have a ton of issues. I know several of these machines well.
Especially the Victorian Uprights, when they were in the Pony Express Museum, as I did some work on the
color wheels for Bill's chief mechanic on a couple of them. Several machines were sold at a couple of Harrah's
auctions years ago, but the remaining ones, plus others that were acquired later, were moved to different
office locations within the corporation, in other states besides Nevada, and were not handled with kid-gloves,
and received damage. Some of the wood cases that were repaired, were done half-assed. Most machines also
had the play handles disconnected, so that people couldn't play them. Even when the Victorian Uprights were
in the Museum, they had special plates made, that covered the coin-heads, so visitors couldn't stick coins in.

I am now wondering, since these are the "tail-end" machines from the collection, if these have been cosmetically restored on the outside, (which is obvious they have), but, parts were robbed from these to complete the earlier machines that were sold?
there is definitely some cool stuff being offered here, but, the time frame is too short.
this is a very strange way for harrah's to dispose of them.
i think dave is to be congratulated for being so above board and inviting others in... especially at no profit to himself! 3 THUMBS UP FOR DAVE!!

Yes, many parts may have been robbed from some of these, or maybe they were just missing
in the first place. There are several repro castings on the Victorian Uprights, that were cast
in brass or aluminum, and not in cast iron, like they should have been. Many of us hard-core
collectors, always have a magnet in our pockets when attending live auctions, because they
will not tell you what is right or wrong, even when they do know what has been done.

You are also correct about the way that Harrah's is conducting this sale. They will not profit
anywhere close to the amount, that a full-blown live auction will bring for most of these
machines. There is some real nice scarce machines in the group. Not to mention one that is
rare-as-hell, and the only example known. I guess we'll find out tomorrow, what the outcome
might be.

I think CP just wants to be done with this and to a huge corporation they have better things to concentrate on.

Think about it. I think CP is $22 BILLION in debt. If they are paying 5%in interest (probably paying more) then that is $1.1 billion a year in interest. That is over $3 million a day!

This whole collection is less than what a high roller wins/loses in a night.

CP has better things to do than deal with this stuff.

I know the offer that I am going to submit is going to be very strong given the condition of the machines and the unknowns.

To do an auction would mean that CP is dealing with this stuff for at least 6 months (or more). It would take at least 6 months to properly advertise the auction. Plus, if they did an auction they would want all the machines to be working if they wanted top top dollar. Who are they going to find to do all that in a few months and doing so would not be cheap.

So, if they take it to auction and make an extra 10%, big deal. Plus they continue to pay expenses on dealing with this. Even if they made an extra 50%. Not a big deal to them.

I guess they could always take the machines to Rick's Restorations

The 1c Ball Gum 1c machine is for me.

Is the hoke snake included in this package, or, is it just what is shown in close up on the video?
is there an exact list of the machines included in this package available?

Dave informed me the hoke snake was one of the machines he wants to buy that is why it is not in his video.I worked for the Antique Gambler when Si Redd bought the Tony Mills collection.Si then made a deal with Bud Garraventa of Harrahs for the machine.Bikerjrn