"Jennings Indian Jackpot LED One Arm Bandit"

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steinslots
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"Jennings Indian Jackpot LED One Arm Bandit"

Post by steinslots »

Hi folks, it's been a while. Merry Christmas and all that.

Oh yes the "thing" I saw:
Whilst browsing the net for something totally unrelated, a random ad for a Jennings Governor caught my eye. I just thought "hang on, these are not the kind of things you normally see in a pop-up advert". I was so curious, but safe in the knowledge that if I did want another one I certainly wouldn't pay £1699! not even for a genuine one.
Please study the attached link.
JENNINGS INDIAN JACKPOT LED One Arm Bandit

4502_jennings-indian-jackpot-led.jpg

Although the literature says these are "fully reproduced" my guess is that these are not in their entirety. Rather like the Lotus with the Ford engine. The castings and brass head are pretty straightforward items to get re-cast from a casting specialist once they have produced the mould (and accurate enough to also be used as replacement parts on a genuine Jennings while you are at it!). The wooden 3 sided case would be again straightforward pretty easy for a cabinet-maker to produce from a pattern. Might as well get the steel handle made while yer out there. I'm also guessing that the mechs and boss assembly are from donor Segas, Aristocrats and Jubilee's who's cabinets were too knackered or to ugly to sell (OK just the boss). I doubt if the escalator does actually work - imagine having to re-produce the complex Jennings escalator, or the jackpot? And that artwork doesn't look right.

I could be totally wrong about these but a while back I did used to work for a company who's owner had saved hundreds of mechs for this very purpose: Sega and Jubilee mechs grafted into a repro Jennings body, and they a installed a mirror behind the jackpot AND used a basic tin coin chute that ran behind the escalator glass instead of the actual escalator. In fact most mechanisms would probably fit in these with a small adjustment.

This had me thinking that there could be an easy market out there where the hipster rich kids in London will buy these kind of items for silly money (think "what it is actually worth after overheads etc...then x5), maybe I've been doing it wrong all this time? After all if these kids will pay £400 for an "industrial coffee table" (aka standard shipping palette on 4 oversized castors) then I could churn that stuff out (BOOSH! a grand each, all day long Gov!) but, there's a part of me that would say NO! Because as a collector it seems so wrong.

Mind you on the positive side I think the LED's are a good idea with respect to mains electrical safety. I was never fond of twin-core mains wires wrapped around the mechanism, not with the handle being metal, and the kids playing it too..... PLUS: If there's no jackpot and the escalator is just a coin slide then it would be a pretty reliable (but uninteresting) machine - which is just a well because the people buying them are hardly likely to know how to fix them! (What, what?)

What do YOU reckon?

Sod it I'm off to bed.
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badpenny
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Re: "JENNINGS INDIAN JACKPOT LED One Arm Bandit"

Post by badpenny »

Hi Carl ......

I couldn't disagree with you more. You say, it's been a while but we seem to speak most days. !PUZZLED!

Coincidentally I mentioned this lot just recently ..... HERE

I simply mourn the loss of the later Jubilees, they're hardly desirable, but would have been a great start for new collectors. Now they're just expensive let's pretend machines.

Otherwise they're of no interest to me as I wouldn't cross the road to see one. :cool:
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gameswat
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Re: "Jennings Indian Jackpot LED One Arm Bandit"

Post by gameswat »

These fun and reliable machines are being restored here in the UK and fully artworked - but the graphic shows pounds and pence while under the coin chute it states 50 cents, with some smaller coins in the fake escalator?! Make your mind up.......
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coppinpr
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Re: "Jennings Indian Jackpot LED One Arm Bandit"

Post by coppinpr »

Make your mind up.......
I so agree, in three of the five lines of features the words converted, reproduced and restored appear - make your mind up!

Oh, and I think the incredible art work is appalling, I could do them a better one in three days! :lol:
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