VINTAGE MILLS 25 CENT BELL FRUIT GUM SLOT MACHINE ONE ARM BANDIT DIAMO $1,499 pic hide this posting restore restore this posting. Favorite this post Dec 2. 14 inches wide, 20 inches high, 15 inches deep. Marked with 'MILLS NOVELTY CO.' Decal and owl trademark on the left side. The front piece is nickeled metal, with red and green painted accents, the owl design on the top, the payout chart showing lemons, oranges, plums, cherries, bells, and '(bell) BELL-FRUIT-GUM' marked bars, and below that a Liberty Bell and banner reading '1776 1923'. This is a rare Color Copy of the original Mills Dice Sales Brochure, and would really fit right in if you have one of these machines, or plan to have one someday. This very brochure was used in the book, 'Lemons, Cherries and Bell-Fruit-Gum by Richard M. Bueschel, and Dick 'Richard' sold it to me after his book was published.
1990s: The Online Revolution
WMS Industries Inc. had been hovering around the slot machine industry for a few years, but by the 1990s they had grasped the video slot revolution by the horns.
Bell Fruit Gum Slot Machine
WMS developed its first video slot with a second screen bonus. Reel 'Em In featured a fishing theme where players were able to trigger a Pick'em style bonus game. It paved the way for second screen bonuses like free spins for years to come.
A speedier and cheaper internet allowed online gambling manufacturers to start developing slots that could be played at home. Microgaming had already been operating an online casino since 1994 but launched Cash Splash in 1998, one of the world's first ever online progressive jackpot slots.
As broadband speeds and operating systems improved, the number of developers grew. Major players like NetEnt, Playtech, and Play'n GO all started up operations in the 1990s and continue to innovate and expand. Online games became slicker and became available to play through both download clients and via web browsers.
Mills Bell Fruit Gum Slot Machine
Nations Attic performs quite a few restorations on antique slot machines in the course of a year. Alot of the machines are classics from the 1930’s and 1940’s. Sometimes the owners will share with us the stories behind the machine and why they are having it restored.
My personal favorite story and machine to restore this past year (2011) was a rare 1911 Mills Special Gum Vender Liberty Bell. Cast iron slot machines and trade stimulators from before World War 1 are rare. It’s always a treat to handle one and study how they were made.
Earlier in the year we had a gentleman in Oklahoma contact us about restoring this machine. The photos above show the condition it was in when it arrived in our shop. While not in horrible condition, it had been painted over with an orange paint, the mechanism was seized up and broken in 3 spots, the award frame was bolted to the lower front casting and the curved glass was missing.
Mills Slot Machines
While these early machines are smaller than examples from the 1930’s and 1940’s – they are heavier! Apparently the owner had been using this piece of American cast iron history as a weight in the back of his truck when it iced and snowed! While it did serve this purpose well, he decided to check with us to see if this machine had any value or not.
After checking with us about its value and restoration costs, he decided to bring to our shop in Wichita, Kansas and have it restored. He then invested in some sand bags to put in the back of his truck for weight rather than using a 100 year old slot machine, ha ha! All kidding aside, the owner is a wonderful guy with a great family story regarding the machine and reasons for having it restored.
The Mills Novelty Special Gum Vender Liberty Bell is a really great looking machine. It is one of the very first three reel slot machines made. When Mills Novelty came out with their Operator Bell & Liberty Bell machines in 1910 they knew they had a hit on their hands. So in 1911 they made a version of the Liberty Bell that vended rolls of mints. This machine originally had a mint vender attached to the left side of the cabinet. In almost every case the side vender attachment is missing, as it is in this case. This is also why the lower front of the machine appears to be a billboard for Liberty Bell Gum-Fruit 5c packages!
After taking the old paint off the castings, polishing and having them re-nickel plated all of the details came alive! The early mechanism with its simple form was actually more challenging to work on since Mills had not developed all the user friendly features that are common on 1930’s machines. With all the usual restoration details attended to, this machine will live on – just not in the back of a pick-up truck!
We have included some photos of this historic machine after restoration below. While the machine turned out looking great it was even better to present it to the owner and re-unite this piece of American history with the family!