Looks too clean.....Rockola Official Sweepstakes Horse Race

[edboyles]

I hvae heard about the Rockola Sweeptakes horse race being reproduced and after seeing this Ebay item looks like it fits the bill. What do you think........

http://tinyurl.com/arcvxnk

[Dave]

I am not an expert on this game.

I have heard one way to tell the fakes from the real one is that the people making the fakes don't put the tilt peg on them.

The seller states that this machine is missing the tilt peg. Hmmmm, makes me suspicious.

It seems like there is always one or two of these fakes that show up at live auctions.

Dave

[terick2104]

How do I stop getting these emails?

[watlingboy]

Boy, this is a tough one. The cabinet has been refinished or replaced. The groves are supposed to be painted gold. I have owned this machine and lots of it looks original. Most of the repro versions are the ones with the gumball vender, because it is more desireable and brings more money. The back door looks absolutely correct including the reject button. Can't believe someone would put that in. As far as the tilt pin, the majority of these have that missing because the chain which holds it up is so fragile. The repro ones I've seen have the tilt pin hole filled in That threaded rod which shows the winning horse is a replacement. Mech looks old, I think its original with some replacement parts.

Watlingboy

[SLOT DYNASTY]

Alright...........Here's the scoop on the "Official Sweepstakes" in question. I know these machines very well, as I have worked-on, and restored many of them.
The case is original, and the correct wood. It may have been refinished at one time, but shows newer scuffs & scratches. Not all of the cases came with painted indentations on the two sides, and the ones that did, had silver paint, not gold. The back door is original, and the correct wood. The front casting has had the small areas repainted, but the instruction card is original. The cards came in two color variations, (black w/silver print & red w/black print). The mechanism is original, (note the rust on some parts), and appears complete, with the exception of the tilt-post & chain. There are several variation changes in their original castings, with the lettering on the upper front, and slight design changes in the lower casting of the gumball models. The inside playfield casting also had differences. Most had the tilt-post, some not. Others didn't have the smaller ball-stop posts, (like this one). The finish line on most, was a post in the 5 o'clock position, with a green lucite penant. Others had the finish post in the 6 o'clock position, with a penant or a printed sign, (like this one), although someone has stuck it in the wrong place at 2 o'clock. Some had cast letters at the front, on one or both sides, and not all said the same thing. The odds ring around the turntable is original. The turntable is original, but the horses appear to have been repainted, and do not have the horse numbers on the outside. There was also two variations of the yellow turntable. Plain, and one with holes, like this one. The steel odds ball is oversize to the original, and not correct, as a steel ball getting knocked around during play, had a chance to break the glass without the stop-posts. Most models came with a black marble. The curved background scene is a thinner-than-original copy, and not complete. It has been pieced together using duplicate sections, and in the wrong place, and the rear grandstand area is missing. The fronts of the scene on both sides are not cut at an angle, to allow placement of the slanted anti-cheat glass. The top glass that overlaps the front, someone has added a strip of metal or plastic, which is not supposed to be there. Lastly, the seller has sent me the serial number from this machine, and it is in keeping with the range I have for this model. Therefore, from all that is seen in the pics, I feel safe in saying that this example is an original, and not a repro.
Personally, I have never seen one of the repro's up close. Only in photo's, and some stick out like a sore thumb. There are differences that I can see in some of the ones that have been on eBay, and in the live auctions. So, all I can say, is if it looks TOO GOOD, you had better get authentication that it is a restored original. As far as I know, none of the repro's have serials, and I sure hope that the builder doesn't start putting them there, as it will screw-up the Serial Update Files that the late Dick Bueschel and I had been logging for so many years. These serial files have already had a 'fly put into the ointment', by the Jerk in Vegas, that has made Fantasy machines out of nice originals, that I already had the numbers from in my files. But what does he care, being from another far-out planet.

[edboyles]

Thanks for the education,that helps a lot. I have been looking for one of these and do not want to get stuck with the wrong one.

[cpdretired]

Thanks for the information about the Rockola Official Sweepstakes. Bill you forgot one thing, the sex of the horses.

[nvmos2]

Bill;

Thank you for posting "the scoop."
I find this type information to be very valuable, not just when looking to buy a machine (I print the post and keep for future reference, otherwise I'd quickly forget), but also in documenting or restoring a machine in my collection, as in this case, I print the info and keep it in the machine.

Serial number update (don't know if I ever sent you this);
Rock Ola Sweepstakes without gum ball; number 2711 (on inside base and back door)
It is an untouched original except;
missing tilt pin (and chain);
missing coin release button off back door (nothing but a hole there);
the finish line is at 5 o'clock but appears the green pennant has been replaced with a black rod;
Award card is there but badly worn (black version).

If you still have have any of these 4 items in your restoration supplies, please advise.
Thanks again, Jim

[SLOT DYNASTY]

Sorry that I didn't list the sex of the horses on the "Official Sweepstakes", but I didn't think that anyone would be interested. Boy, was I mistaken!
Being the fair and honest company that Rockola was, they always did things on an even basis, and never favored one sex over the other. Therefore, the 8 horses were evenly divided as 4 Studs, and 4 Mares. Before you ask again, the black, blue, yellow & orange are Studs, and the pink, green, white & red are Mares. Maybe this is another way that we can detect an original from a repro. I'll just bet that the repro's have all Studs.

[SLOT DYNASTY]

Jim: I will contact you via e-mail, or call you about the missing parts on your Sweepstakes. The toughest item, is getting the chain for the tilt-post. It is very fine chain, and much smaller than found in most jewelry. I do have the instrucion cards for both Gum & Non-Gum variations. The ones I did, are the red w/black letters version. I also have the green lucite for the pennant. Bill