I know most of my friends here are into the "newer" 80's 90's slots, but this was a great find I think - and it's a very collectible machine that I
never thought I'd find - ONE mile from where I live!
I troll Craigslist almost every day and saw an ad for a Mills Black Cherry machine - said it needed "minor" work $450.
I e mailed the seller twice that day but didn't hear back until night when he replied, telling me he had received multiple "bids" by e mail for up to $675. UGH! So for the next 20 minutes I waited. Then I clicked the listing and he had upped the price to $600, from the $450. I guess he had realized the machine was worth more than $450. However the "bidders" were relatively far, the higher one in San Diego which is nearly two hours from here, especially with all the damn traffic in So Cal. So I offered $500, and waited... He replied back and said the San Diego guy didn't reply back and for me to come get it! It turned out this was from a storage unit owned by his friend, who happened to get himself in jail for 6 months.
The inmate needed money so he told his friend to just clear out the storage unit.
We ended up chatting about a half hour since he was almost a neighbor - he realized it had more value but was glad to sell it to me.
...
After getting it home, it definitely needs more than "minor" work but I'm still VERY happy with my find. The back door lock was more than drilled out: they encircled the lock and just cut the metal out of the door!
But I can clean that up and use a large black washer and fit in a new lock. The cash box back door sits in a notch in the wood at the bottom and locks at the top. They chiselled out the wood to remove the door. But it does have a nice keyless original Mills lock on that part. More to come later if anyone's interested.