Tag Archives: Matchbooks

Some of My Matchbooks are About to Become Collectable…

The good news is that a few of my matchbooks will likely be worth millions in a few days. The bad news is that’s because O’Sheas Casino is closing on April 30, 2012. Hopefully you’ve already heard this disheartening news elsewhere, as I hate to be the first one to break it to you. If not, please accept my apologies.

The Strip currently has precious little room for places of O’Sheas’ calibre, and I think that is the biggest travesty of its closure. Although we all go to Vegas for different reasons, you have to admit that sometimes you just want to wander into a casino that allows you to do whatever the hell you want regardless of how you’re dressed, what you’re drinking, how much you’re betting, or what show you’re going to see that night. Continue reading →

Confessions of a Phillumenist

I loathe dusting, so becoming a serious collector really doesn’t interest me at all. Instead of having a house full of tchotchkes, I’d much rather amass experiences. As a result, the only items I have multiples of are ticket stubs, bottles of sand, and matchbooks. While those three items may seem unrelated, I keep them around to remind me of events I’ve attended (ticket stubs), places I’ve been (sand), and adventures I’ve had (matchbooks).

I really have no idea what a sand collector is called, and ticket stub hoarders likely don’t have a name. But apparently the hobby of collecting matchbooks and matchbook-related items is known as phillumeny. It was so named in 1943 by British collector Marjorie Evans, and has (not really) taken the world by storm since then. While my matchbook collection is only in the double-digit range, Guinness World Record holder Emilio Arenas Florin of Uruguay has amassed 9130 unique matchbooks. So the answer is yes, there is a Guinness World Record for everything.

Gotta love matchbooks Continue reading →