Liberty Belle slots to be acquired
Marshall Fey with slot collection.
A legislative appropriation has provided for the purchase of the Liberty Belle Saloon slot machine collection.
The saloon, which closed last year, was owned by the grandsons of slot machine inventor Charles Fey. The facility featured a huge array of slots and other antique amusement devices, many of which were auctioned off after the Liberty Belle shut down. But the cream of the slot collection was retained by the Fey brothers.
Assembly Bill 551, enacted on June 2, provides “to the Division of Museums and History of the Department of Cultural Affairs the sum of $505,092 for the purchase of new and replacement equipment, including tables, chairs, cabinets, racks, a dry-mount press and vehicles, and for the purchase of a portion of the Liberty Belle antique slot machine collection.”
Cultural Affairs director Michael Fischer says the state owes a debt of thanks to the Fey brothers for not selling the collection.
