Newbie - need help figuring out old Mills machine

rmacklin

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Hi all. I've been browsing the forums and web trying to figure out what kind of antique slot machine my parents have. I think I've narrowed my possibilities down, and was hoping for a little clarification from the folks here.

Here are the details:

1. Purchased in Nevada (Lake Tahoe) in the late 60's or early 70's from a dealer.
2. Parents think it is a 5 cent Mills, and was specially made for a small casino called the Nugget, located next to Harveys.
3. I think it is a Mills High Top, spec made for the casino.
4. I also think it was modified by the casino at some point. Specifically, (a) I can't find any other Mills machine that has the same front as this one, (b) there is a add-on sticker on the front saying that three little dancing miner-guys in any position pays $1.00 (this payout isn't on the pay-out plaque), (c) the reels appear to have been retrofitted with some new stickers pasted over the old ones, and (d) there is some kind of electro-magnetic switch fitted to it that is clearly not original (it connects to two of the plugs mentioned in #6 below).
5. Other than that, it looks original. It used to work, and will still, I think, once I unjam it.
6. It also has three electrical plugs, two internally which, I think, relate to the bell that plays with a jackpot, and one that looks like a lamp cord (in-line switch) that exits the machine through a hole drilled in the wooden side of the machine. I suspect the lamp cord is retrofitted as well.

I'll add some pictures below.

My questions for you all are:

1. Any idea if I'm right in my suspicions about the machine?
2. If so, any info on the casino in question?
3. Any suggestions on the best book/manual to buy so I can clean the guts up and get it working again?
4. Any idea how much value I'm destroying, if any, by (a) making it work again, without replacing any parts (i.e.; cleaning and oiling the gears, etc.), or (b) if I break it completely somehow so that it is totally non-functional?

Thanks in advance to everyone!

A link to a picture album:

http://www5.snapfish.com/thumbnails...otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
 
Here are some of the pics from the snapfish link shrunk down and attached. The pic titled electrical shows the add-on bit to the machine. I think it has something to do with regulating payouts (unless its a switch to allow the casino to turn off the machine and keep you from winning :D
 

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newbie old Mills machine

What you have is one of the last of the High Top Series. The lower casting was modified by Mills Bellomatic Corp Las Vegas NV to allow for the increasing size of the jackpots being awarded. The original Mills jackpot unit was eliminated and a wide silk screened glass with the quarennteed Jackpot put in it's place. many casinos removed the original Mills glass and made there own, yours is one of those. Collectors now remove the lower casting and reinstall the older casting and Jackpot units as they bring more on the collector market than the quarenteed Jackpot fronts. This is why you seldom see the last of the High Top series machines, they have been reconverted.
 
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