CL Find: Possible HUO Gottlieb Atlantis

Xerico

New member
Joined
Sep 17, 2011
Messages
138
Reaction score
1
Location
Mineral Wells, Texas
I have been searching for a Gottlieb Atlantis ever since I played one at a friend's house.

I happened across this Houston CL ad on Tueday, June 19th.

http://houston.craigslist.org/atq/3085975267.html

Here is the ad in case it gets removed.

Atlantis Pinball Machine - $350 (Houston Texas)
Date: 2012-06-18, 3:53PM CDT

1975 Gottlieb's Fabled "Atlantis" super popular ten drop target game. Lighting works. The machine turns on and the lights work, however the machine needs work. It is in non-working codition. Please contact 281xxx-yyyy for questions. eagar to sell.

The Negotiation and Pickup

So I call up my buddy in Houston and ask if they can pick up the game for me if I make a deal. He agrees, so I proceed to call the seller.

She answers and I make arrangements for him to meet at her to pay for and pick up the game. Since many people have called her today, she agrees to let him come get the game today, but for $400. I think about it for a second and realize that $400 is still a good deal. I agree to pay $400.

My buddy picks it up and emails me after he gets it. He lets me know that if I were not his friend, he would not be giving up this game. He says it looks practically brand new. He also tells me that he had some time to speak with the seller.

The Game History

She says that the Atlantis was given to her mother as a wedding gift back in the 1970s. So, there is a possibility that this game is truly a Home Use Only Game. The condition is amazing. Even if it is not HUO, it is truly a great find for $400.

A Good Friend

My friend also does me the favor of taking some better pictures of the playfield and backglass.

I will pick up the game sometime in late June or early July. I'm also going to treat him and his family to a steak dinner as a thank you for his efforts. I've done the same for him in the past, but I know he would have done so even if I had not done something similar in the past. He is very good friend.

I have posted some pictures on my facebook page for those interested.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.310359115721310.69431.100002416717696&type=3&l=f24f00c798

Marcus
 
Looks like the cab's in decent shape. But I'm suspicious of the HUO claim. Someone posted pics on RGP a while back of a real HUO wedgehead Gottlieb a while back. The thing was unbelievably clean - as in full restoration looking. The wires had bright colors, playfield and cabinet were mint etc.

The cab in the CL link looks like it has some yellowing from years in a bowling alley. One way to tell for sure is to see if it smells like an ashtray!
 
HUO don`t mean nothing to me. I`ve seen many HUO only games that were beat to hell.

Congrats on your buy ! Atlantis is a sought after pin & for $400 that`s a steal.

1 feature Atlantis has is if you can hit 2 drop targets at once it scores 5000 instead of 500 which I don`t think is on any other em pin. Cool feature for old school !
 
That's cool man, saw your post on RGP trying to sell the other one.

I'm still waiting to find a sub-500$ game to fill my 3rd slot.
 
Great find - one of my favorite old Gottlieb pins - I put many quarters into it, and that wall of drop targets was a lot of fun to try and clear. Also loved the back & forth lanes on the right. Simple, but fun!
 
Just an FYI the later Gottleib Wedge Head had CC playfields.

My Lucky Hands PF was almost perfect....no wear at all and just the slightest discoloring (yellowing) on the PF. Under the flippers was just the slightest shade lighter than the rest of the PF. The game spent over 20 years in an arcade then another 10ish in the original owners basement.

The cab was no where near as yellow as the head on this machine...of course I can't see the rest of it
 
Looks like the cab's in decent shape. But I'm suspicious of the HUO claim.
The cab in the CL link looks like it has some yellowing from years in a bowling alley. One way to tell for sure is to see if it smells like an ashtray!

I agree that the yellowing is an indication it might not truly be HUO. With that said, as quite a few Texan children of the 70's & early 80s can attest, cigarette smoke was everywhere.

Growing up, my Mom smoked all day long, almost 24/7. So it was not uncommon for me to walk into a cloud of smoke consistently. So, it could have been in a smoker's Den and been subjected to daily smoke.

Even if it is not a true pristine HUO version, this game has a very nice backglass and playfield. My buddy who picked it up made the claim that it looks new. He also did not mention a "smokey" smell. And I'm pretty sure he would have said something if it did!

My guess is that I am going to be using quite a bit of simple green on the cabinet to get rid of the yellow. It's a project I am eagerly anticipating. :)

Marcus
 
I agree that the yellowing is an indication it might not truly be HUO. With that said, as quite a few Texan children of the 70's & early 80s can attest, cigarette smoke was everywhere.

Growing up, my Mom smoked all day long, almost 24/7. So it was not uncommon for me to walk into a cloud of smoke consistently. So, it could have been in a smoker's Den and been subjected to daily smoke.

Even if it is not a true pristine HUO version, this game has a very nice backglass and playfield. My buddy who picked it up made the claim that it looks new. He also did not mention a "smokey" smell. And I'm pretty sure he would have said something if it did!

My guess is that I am going to be using quite a bit of simple green on the cabinet to get rid of the yellow. It's a project I am eagerly anticipating. :)

Marcus

Simple Green seems to clean up anything!
 
Marcus, I saw that in Craigslist too. in the past year there have been several others in Houston and Lake Jackson in similar condition and age. Delta Queen, Old Chicago and I think Domino were the last few I've seen. Prices were comparable also.
good find.
 
Back
Top Bottom