'The Great Gambling Auction' takes place June 16, in Las Vegas and on ebay

LAS VEGAS, June 4 /PRNewswire/ -- The quintessential gambling collection, 70 years in the making, will be made available to purchasers worldwide when it goes to auction June 16, 2007, 10am PT, at the Liberace Museum in Las Vegas. The event is being conducted by Geno Munari of Munari Auctions, in conjunction with CRG Auctions.

All items are from the vast storehouses of the renowned gaming expert Sidney H. Radner, who says this is possibly the largest gambling auction ever. Dating from the mid 1930s, the collection ranges from a "poker limit" sign with a starting bid of $2, to a deck switching holdout ($2000), to a very rare "Money From Paper" device ($7500-$12,500).

Two of the largest categories represented are gaffed devices and books. In addition, the gambling-oriented array covers cards, chips, catalogs, games, toys, pull tabs, artwork, and professional gaming equipment.

Just some of the intriguing products that will fall under the gavel include a Diana Layout (one of two known to exist), Bar top vintage Twenty-One machine, horse race wheel, Poker Spinnerette game, automatic card dealing machine, gimmicked and unusual dice, and a vest pocket slot machine that may be well over 100 years old.

The gentleman behind the collection has quite a colorful history. Radner became a specialist in cheating devices and was tapped by the U.S. armed forces during WW11 to conduct seminars and write articles in military newspapers that taught folks in uniform how to protect themselves from card cheats.

After the war he went on to perform similar services, adding training films into the mix, for police departments, the FBI and then Canadian law enforcement agencies. In the process, his collection grew exponentially.

The full lineup is on the Munari Web site, http://www.munariauctions.com/. Interested parties who are not able to attend the event in person can participate on the "Live Auction" section of ebay.

Previews, also at the museum, begin Sunday, June 10, noon-4pm -- continue Tuesday, June 12 through Friday, June 15, 10am-5pm each day -- and conclude Saturday, June 16, 9am-10am.

The Liberace Museum is located at 1775 E. Tropicana, at Spencer, Las Vegas NV 89117. For museum questions, 702798.5595. For auction questions, Geno Munari, 702.798.4789.