CoinOpCollectorForum.com

OK, here goes, I should probably know this but as I don't and the other collector/restorers I have asked don't have a definitive answer either I will ask those here!

The picture shown here is of a JENNING's GOLDEN NUGGET slot machine?????? that was listed on Ebay for a couple of days and then vanished from the listing, it shows a slot machine that was supposedly used in the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas.
Now I know they used Mills Half Tops and High Tops but my question is did they make use of the Jennings Sun Chief models in the casino like the one shown?

not sure of that model but here is a hans havilicek reproduction of the jennings golden nugget

sam2002 wrote:not sure of that model but here is a hans havilicek reproduction of the jennings golden nugget

Sam:
This model you show here, is the only one that I think may be 'Factory-Built' Jennings, as the colors are correct as well.
I have been trying to get ahold of someone for a couple of days, that should know this, but he may be away for the holidays.
I will keep trying to reach him, and hopefully let everyone know the results. I am also sure, that my friend, the late Alan Sax
would have known the answer to this, as he specialized in Jennings models. There is also another of our Forum members,
(Swami), that seems to know the Jennings line very well, and may be able to enlighten us.

My two cents on the other later model chrome Chief above, sent in by MONTI, is that it is a FAKE. It is much too sloppy, to
have come out of a Jennings factory. The Dolls are not lined up straight. The Nuggets are not placed right, and most of all,
I don't think they would have had the Indian Head above the jackpot. Being a special order model, I would think they would
have designed a new casting, like a Nugget or ??, like they did with the Cowboy bust on the Buckaroo & Neveda Club models.
Bill

SLOT DYNASTY wrote:

sam2002 wrote:not sure of that model but here is a hans havilicek reproduction of the jennings golden nugget

Sam:
This model you show here, is the only one that I think may be 'Factory-Built' Jennings, as the colors are correct as well.
I have been trying to get ahold of someone for a couple of days, that should know this, but he may be away for the holidays.
I will keep trying to reach him, and hopefully let everyone know the results. I am also sure, that my friend, the late Alan Sax
would have known the answer to this, as he specialized in Jennings models. There is also another of our Forum members,
(Swami), that seems to know the Jennings line very well, and may be able to enlighten us.

My two cents on the other later model chrome Chief above, sent in by MONTI, is that it is a FAKE. It is much too sloppy, to
have come out of a Jennings factory. The Dolls are not lined up straight. The Nuggets are not placed right, and most of all,
I don't think they would have had the Indian Head above the jackpot. Being a special order model, I would think they would
have designed a new casting, like a Nugget or ??, like they did with the Cowboy bust on the Buckaroo & Neveda Club models.
Bill

Thanks for both of your responses, my main question is did the actual casino, the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas actually use Jennings slot machines?
It is well known and documented that they used the two Mills versions, the High Tops and the Half Tops on their casino floor but I have not found any documentation that they ever used any form of the Jennings slot machine, which they could have and I am just not aware of.
In the late 70's and early 80's as the Golden Dolls and the Nuggets were reproduced quite heavily and I can remember that I saw some very unusual fabrications on different slot machines during that period, I use the word fabrications as in those days there were some pretty loose and creative machines being sold to the unfamiliar uneducated buyer and dressing them up and "claiming" they were original slot machines from the factory was not uncommon to unscrupulous sellers.
And the color scheme was not hard to duplicate either as some of the reproduction components needed were very available other than the "wrap around coin tray" that was used by the Golden Nugget on the Half Top Mills slot machine shown here below which I do not believe was ever reproduced.
And yes Bill, Alan would definitely have known as he was really on top of things when it came to the Jennings Sun Chiefs, Etc.
So if anyone else out there has any thoughts or history of the Golden Nugget that may show pictures of the Jennings in the casino, please let me know!
Ciao,
Monti

Oldslots.com
Has a blue and gold chief listed as a legitimate dollar golden nugget from the golden nugget .
I had owned the Hans reproduction for awhile . I did some research and found that that style jennings golden nugget was a legit machine .
Also thought one of these blue and gold jennings came up on ebay some time back . Probably not the proof you are looking for but the blue and gold jennings golden nugget is a legit machine .
Sam

Damn! I hope this info doesn't travel too far outside this Forum. As we will start seeing the 'Greedy-Guys',
making up FAKE Jennings "Golden Maggets", as they are easier to throw together. My guess is, that there
are already Fake copies out there. Besides the Hans creations, that is.
The main reason that the Mills Half-Top models are a definite giveaway, is that no-one has wanted to go
through all the trouble of recasting, and fitting the wrap-around coin tray, and do the Formica sides. Also,
you may see one-in-a-hundred painted the correct color scheme. They are all colors of the rainbow.
Lucky for all of us. Especially the Newbies.

sam2002 wrote:Oldslots.com
Has a blue and gold chief listed as a legitimate dollar golden nugget from the golden nugget .
I had owned the Hans reproduction for awhile . I did some research and found that that style jennings golden nugget was a legit machine .
Also thought one of these blue and gold jennings came up on ebay some time back . Probably not the proof you are looking for but the blue and gold jennings golden nugget is a legit machine .
Sam

Again, Thanks for the responses and Sam if you can pass along the information and data or links you found in your research that would be appreciated so I could possibly follow it through a little further as it would be informative and add to my piles of research data I have on other slot machines.
Heck, cuz in this hobby we are nothing without our research, right Bill?
Not to differ with you, but the fact that they show up on Ebay and Craigslist once in a while doesn't always make them legit, sometimes it is just because another fake got slipped into the mix. I did see where one showed up on the Victorian Casino Auction in 2012 but was not able to find any history on it one way or the other.
Again, I do not know either way that the Jennings was ever used in the Golden Nugget and as I unfortunately suffer from OCD my search won't be complete without some definite information one way or the other so if there is anyone else out there with information regarding this question, please pass it along.
Gratsie,
MONTI

I don't know if this helps but this is a picture of the one that Sam mentioned from oldslots.com it was one of Larry DeBaugh slots and he did list it as an authentic Jennings Golden Nugget, Larry is a knowledgeable man and I think he would know otherwise, also note that the slot has the wrap around coin tray like the Mills.

altort wrote:I don't know if this helps but this is a picture of the one that Sam mentioned from oldslots.com it was one of Larry DeBaugh slots and he did list it as an authentic Jennings Golden Nugget, Larry is a knowledgeable man and I think he would know otherwise, also note that the slot has the wrap around coin tray like the Mills.

Very interesting as I have heard information that goes both ways but this picture does seem to say the Golden Nugget used Jennings slot machines as well as the Mills Half-tops. I had looked at that site earlier today and did not see this particular machine and will go there again to check it out further, first one like this I have seen with the full coin tray.
Thanks for your input!
It is appreciated!
MONTI

OK Gentlemen, I got my callback from the person that I mentioned above, that I was sure would know all about
the Jennings "Golden Nugget" machines in question.
I will try and be as brief as possible, and will start with the machine pix in this thread, from the top.
Photo1: This late chrome Jennings, is as I thought it was. A TOTAL FAKE. Was also informed, that he was sure
it is one of the Vegas Butchers creations, as he was known to slap these together.
Photo2: Is definitely a Hans FAKE. The case and coin tray are not correct. He knew that Hans had been putting
these together for quite some time.
Photo3: This is a REAL Mills HalfTop "Golden Nugget". Everything is correct, and it is totally original. As you
can see, it does not look anything like the 99.9% of all the FAKESTERS on eBay, and elsewhere.
Photo4: This Jennings "Chief - Golden Nugget", is also the 'Real Deal'. It has the correct chrome wrap-around
coin tray. These models were on location in the Casino, and were on floor stands. So, the machine will
have a hole in the base panel, for the overflow to fill the large canister or bag in the base. All of these
models also had a hand-load jackpot, but the mech. had to be slid out to fill it. Unlike the key-operated
front-load on the Mills. I was also told, that some of these models had a dollar bill acceptor, attached to
the upper left side, next to the reel window, when on location. Now, when will one of those show up? It
must look very interesting. But I'll bet that the Casino removed those, before they left the premises.
But any of those machines will have an opening in the side panel, or at least extra bolt-holes.
So there you have it. Some real honest-to-goodness, good news for a change.
Bill