When compiling, use the following command:
make I686=1
That will give you some speedups on all i686 architecture, including PIII. Don't expect some sort of magial massive increase in framerates - you'll see anywhere between 0 and 5% maximum speedup, depending on the driver being used. If your emulation is still too slow, then upgrade your CPU.
From the MAME FAQ:
T11. How can I get <insert game here> to run faster?
http://www.mame.net/mamefaq.html#t11