The Bob Maheu Estate Sale

Very quietly this weekend, the belongings of Howard Hughes' recently deceased right-hand man, Bob Maheu, were sold off in what otherwise would seem like a run-of-the-mill estate sale. I wouldn't have known about it -- and evidently nobody in the local media saw it coming -- except that I was out to brunch with some friends crazy about Vegas memorabilia and they mentioned it.

They had seen it in the R-J's classifieds, where the ad read: "ESTATE SALE of R. Maheu. Furn., Doultons, Silver, China, Beds, Antiques. All Goes! Fri & Sat 8:30a-2p. 3523 Cochise Ln. Call 702-379-7364."

Maheu, of course, lived one of those epic Vegas lives, earning himself an obit in The New York Times. So I ran over to the estate sale before I went to cover the gay-rights protest, also on the east side of town.

The house itself, built in 1964 and bought by Maheu for $125,000 in 1972, was fascinating. It's in the Paradise Palms development (so famous there's a Wikipedia page for it) and backs up to the storied Las Vegas National Golf Course. One of the homes in the Conchise Lane cul-de-sac was used as Frank Rosenthal's in "Casino" even though Lefty didn't live there. Aside from Maheu, such notables as Debbie Reynolds, Dean Martin and Tony Spilotro lived in this hood. Here's what it looks like from the aerial located on the Clark County Assessor's website:


There were some really fun features to this place. The lady running the estate sale made me stop taking photos just when I saw the raised, kidney-shaped bathtub, so you don't get to see that. But there's plenty more, from the sunken front living room...


...to the swimming pool...


...to the closets...


...to the once-state-of-the-art sound system...


...to the spiral staircase in the second living room...


...that led to this bar and den.


I really wasn't quite sure what these (click on the image to more clearly read the song titles) were in the chest to the left of the TV above...


...until I saw this and realized they were scrolls for the player piano!


Maheu and his late wife, Yvette, were clearly a very musical folks with, uh, eclectic tastes...




I loved spotting these old decanters and that fascinating cash register behind the upstairs bar...


A lot of what was to be found -- especially since I arrived in the last hour of the two-day sale -- were typical estate sale tchochkes. Those figurines below are priced at $4,500 for the pair...



...but I didn't check to see what the monogrammed napkins or the Dinah Shore cookbook were selling for.


They were hoping for $8K for this, though:

I wondered, spotting this, if Maheu was an early Sarah Palin fan!


I know, I know...what about Howard Hughes stuff? Well, I did get there near the end, as I said, so collectors probably picked the place clean but I did spot this photo montage that included a Hughes-related newspaper clipping.


My greatest moment was searching the pockets of an old golf bag and coming up with these golf balls, one from a Hughes Invitational tournament and another from the Desert Inn Golf Course:


Paid $1 for them. And in the utility closet over the washer and dryer, I spotted a box that contained 40 matchbooks from the Savoy Motel.


I can't find much online about this place and it appears that it stood at 496 W. Keno Lane, which no longer exists. But it was, according to the matchbooks, "opposite Circus Circus" with "gracious accommodations surrounded by five major casinos." I'd love to know more if anyone can assist. No idea what they're worth, but for $5 they were fun to have. (I probably could've bargained down, but I was already in trouble for all my picture-taking and didn't want to anger anyone any further.)

I also picked up something called The Nevada Cook Book, a 1973 reprint of an 1887 book that includes instructions on everything from making cake icing to washing "doubtful calico," whatever that is.

Oh! Oh! Oh! And, finally, I picked up this record:


I have no idea why. I just found it to be pretty and very vintage Las Vegas. I think maybe I'll frame it. Right now, it's standing up behind this Stardust snow globe I bought at the Chip Collector's Convention in 2007 for $5.