Jubilee bandits origin & history

[hutto]

After England's somewhat unlucky performance I got to thinking where were Jubilee bandits made and by whom There does not seem to be a lot of information on tintanet Does anyone have any info? thanks Dave

[badpenny]

The deliciously named
Nutt & Muddle of Orstraylia

Nutt & Muddle

BP

[treefrog]

They got bought by Aristocrat, in fact they bought all Ausie manufacturers.

[pennymachines]

Actually as our esteemed Australian member Bob said:

The more successful Ainsworth Industries (Aristocrat) did attempt to take over the ailing Nutt and Muddle (Jubilee) but the takeover was prevented by the ACCC ( a government body designed to encourage competition and prevent monopolies from being created) and as a result Nutt and Muddle sic (Jubilee) went broke and closed down.

Powerhousemuseum.com gives this account of the attempted takeover:

In 1980 Aristocrat's Len Ainsworth launched a hostile takeover of Nutt & Muddle; the bid's eventual success in 1985 gave Aristocrat almost 90 per cent of the Australian market. However Ainsworth was arrested by the NSW police and charged with dishonestly conspiring to gain a monopoly of the industry. Federal regulatory authorities also investigated the takeover, which resulted in decades of inconclusive legal battles. Regardless, the Jubilee name disappeared from clubs after 1985.

Ainsworth opened a refurbishing division in 1999 which they called Jubilee.
There's a detailed history of the company here: Aristocrat Leisure Limited History

Powerhousemuseum.com also gives a good outline of Nutt & Muddle's history.
One reason we see so many Jubilees in the UK is that, after Roy Nutt and Sid Muddle died, British-based engineering and leisure company Cope Allman Industries purchased a majority stake in Nutt & Muddle.
The Sydney Morning Herald - Aug 9, 1983

[glittering-prize67]

I must say Dave, your input and knowledge is simply brilliant. You are either clever or read papers and books 24 seven lol. But whichever, it's good.

[bob]

Prompted by Mr Pennymachines latest brilliant research on Nutt and Muddle the makers of the Jubilee poker machines I thought that I should make good on my promise a year ago to dig out a "History of the Company" written by one of its longest standing employees in 1974 that I had somewhere. Here it is:

[bob]

The pages haven't come up very legibly, perhaps Dave could do something a bit better with this, otherwise I'll type it in.

[badpenny]

That's ok Bob, just clicking on your pages gives copy big enough for anyone to use as wallpaper, brilliant, thanks.

BP

I've now re-ordered, cleaned-up and converted the JPEGs to GIFs for faster download - Site Admin.

[hutto]

Very interesting comments indeed. Would it be true to say that Jubilee bandits are as well made as Aristocrat ?

[coppinpr]

I don't believe the mechs are as bomb proof as Aristos and the cases of some are a bit plain in design but they do have some nice bits, the double jackpots for example.

jub start.JPG (26.32 KiB) Viewed 7289 times

[pennymachines]

You are either clever or read papers and books 24 seven lol.

A search engine and the ability to type with one finger is all it takes nowadays to look clever!

Would it be true to say that Jubilee bandits are as well made as Aristocrat?

I can't offer an informed opinion but I thought this bit from Bob's history was interesting:

Lennis Ainsworth didn't like the way his clubs - when confronted with a choice of three machines - chose the Jubilee, Apex second on price and the Aristocrat coming a bad last.

[andydotp]

They could've all had Middlehurst Coronets.
( I'd post a photo but I emailed them to BP & he never sent them back.)
Sorry to harp on about my MIDDLEHURST CORONET , no shouting....,so
what's a 1d early Bryans Payramid worth now? I got twenty quid for mine and was dead chuffed.
Regards,
a.p

[chris rideout]

I don't believe the mechs are as bomb proof as Aristos and the cases of some are a bit plain in design but they do have some nice bits, the double jackpots for example.

The machine pictured looks like an early 1960s machine. Alternating jackpots won by 3 melons, bars, or 7s. The 7s were printed on top of the lemon, orange, bar in the same way as the Mills Hi Top machines. The 7s might have paid a special award token rather than a jackpot but I can't remember seeing one as I was still in junior school in those days. Andamuse in Andover (famous for the football tables) were suppliers of Jubilee machines in my area.

[operator bell]

I had the privilege of visiting the Aristocrat plant in Sydney, I guess about a dozen years ago now - it was the year the Concorde crashed, I remember reading about it in the Sydney newspapers. Anyway, Jubilee at that time existed as a division of Aristocrat. The Aristocrat factory reminded me of a 1960s Midlands industrial area - impressive stone facade, high windows, brick sheds, corrugated iron, all narrow streets and high walls. Jubilee was off site in a fairly small and cramped warehouse just up the road. It didn't manufacture anything under the Jubilee name, or indeed anything else at all. Its business was refurbishing used Aristocrat machines, mostly discontinued models, and selling/leasing them to route operators and small outfits. It had a very limited budget and the few guys working there clearly understood that Jubilee was the poor relation and they didn't have much job security.

[coppinpr]

I like the Jubs over the Aristos because they are easier to bring back to life. Not so much thin chrome and glass you can't find a replacement for. And, to be fair, they look the part when they are restored.

before

jub start.JPG (26.32 KiB) Viewed 4434 times

After

[malcymal]

I have to say mine has been very reliable and never failed other than the handle pump needing taken apart a couple of times. The jackpot mech doesn't fail and has a fascinating switching mechanism on it so when one pot is won it switches over in readiness for the second. Similarly the way it redirects 2 coins into the left pot then puts a gate over to direct 2 to the right is very clever.

It's the first machine I ever bought and still has its factory engineer check sticker inside and signed. It states 'standard' or 'club' with a tick box next to it. It is branded as 'Silver Jubilee' and considering it was made in 1963 it's held up very well and still in original paint. I don't think they are plain in design - I think this one is particularly striking, although cleaning that polished metal is a bit of a chore. The jackpot frontage is chrome and has lasted very well.

[coppinpr]

Mine (shown above) is the same Silver Jubilee model with the same silver reel strips. They seem to be identical ...except for one small detail.... Can you spot it?

[badpenny]

Different "Reserved" cover.

[aristomatic]

This pair were consecutive serial number machines.

[chris rideout]

... It is branded as 'Silver Jubilee' and considering it was made in 1963 it's held up very well and still in original paint. I don't think they are plain in design - I think this one is particularly striking, although cleaning that polished metal is a bit of a chore. The jackpot frontage is chrome and has lasted very well.

I zoomed the pictures and noticed that 7-7-7 pays "bonus" but what was it? A special award token, Mills fashion?