FINALLY! The Genuine Article! Take a good look fellas. You may not see another Original "Golden Nugget" on ebay for quite some time.
I seen this machine, just after it was listed. In fact, I wrote the seller with a couple of questions. I was going to drop a note in the Forum
right away, but decided to wait and see who responded first. My guess was right-on. I think midcoast is on the puter 24/7.
Yes, that full-wrap-around coin tray is the 'real-deal', as well as the Formica side panels, and the correct award bib. It is going to be very
interesting to see what the final-seconds hammer price will be, being as many of the FAKE "Golden Maggets" have been bringing anywhere
from $900 to $2,500 on average. This machine is a bit rough-around-the-edges, and not working, but appears to be all there, except for
the back door, and hopefully no mech parts are missing. My guess, is it should bring at least $1,200 to $1,500.
You can see here, why all of the FAKESTERS are so far from original, just with the coin tray alone. It would be too costly to fit recasts to
the other models they use. Mainly because of the shrinkage, on such a large part. You would have to make a new oversize pattern, and
that would surely eat into the profits of the 'now easy changeovers', with just the doll & nugget recasts, incorrect award bib, and repro
reel strips. That's really all it takes for a FAKE, Period! Not to mention all the different weird color combinations they paint the castings.
Also, I don't think the Formica manufacturers are producing these outdated sheets any longer, to use for the side panels.