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I sent photos of this Mills High Top to Monti and he said he had never seen one that had been modified in this way. So he encouraged me to post it here on the forum to see what comments you all may have. I mean if Monti has not seen one it must be kind of rare!

I describe it as having a purely mechanical progressive jackpot.....hand paid but progressive none-the-less.

The normal jackpot mechanism has been removed and in its place is a 4 digit counter that is advanced by 1 for every 10 pulls of the handle.

There is a lock mounted on the left side of the cabinet that can be used to reset the counter when the jackpot is paid out.

There is also a small counter mounted on the back of the mech that tallies each pull of the handle.

There is a decal on the side for a Tom Gardner out of Reno. If Tom is still around and anyone knows him I would love to talk to him about this machine.

Photos provided......

Very interesting modification!
If Monti has never seen it before, that pretty much means most everyone here has not seen it either.

The slug cup appears to be wedged in at the bottom of the jackpot counter; does that serve a purpose or did it just fall down there?
Thanks for sharing the photos.

It just fell down there.....my apologies for not removing it before taking the pics...

I sent out the photos to other "Old Timers" like myself and none have seen it either!
As for Tom Gardner, from a couple calls I made I believe he has gone to the "Big Casino" in the sky!
I don't believe it is mentioned in any of Dick Beauchels books either!
My guess is that Tom was a local route operator in Reno/Sparks like Lou Bennetti at Nevada Novelty or Phil Anderson at Ace Distributing and it could have been 1 or more he tried out on his route, but who knows, anybody out there have any ideas?
MONTI

Hello All

I found this really cool Bally penny machine. It doesn't have a handle and all you do is drop the penny in and it starts a motor that kicks off the reel spin. Other than that it plays and pays as normal. I was just wondering if anyone else has ever seen one before and wondering how rare, if at all this is? Thanks in advance for any help or information. Leo

I believe I have seen them early on on North Shore in Reno early 70's but could be wrong.

Baltman,

Thanks for that feedback......

BALTMANHD103 wrote:I believe I have seen them early on on North Shore in Reno early 70's but could be wrong.

Where you speaking about the Mills High Top with the Jackpot Progressive counter the topic of this thread?
Just curious as I am researching that one myself!
Somewhat familiar with the Crystal Bay Area, North Shore Lake Tahoe and would be curious what casino you think you saw them in!
MONTI

I apologize that my post got into this thread, I meant for it to be in a separate thread. Please forgive the intrusion.

Leo

No problem, just was clarifying the statement that they had been seen in the Crystal Bay Casinos because the original High Top modification shown above did come out of the Reno/Sparks area just down the hill from North Lake Tahoe and there could have been a few that migrated up the hill!
MONTI