New Life Games Tech Forums

Have a chance to buy a Williams Jackpot Party 3-reel 5-line machine at a good price,
but without reels. Fun to fiddle with machine, but not worth it if missing major components.

The good news is that replacement reels are available for these machines. Various slot machine parts places such as the suppliers & hobbyists on this website and elsewhere on the internet usually have them at what I think are reasonable prices.

Is the machine just missing the reels, or also the 3 reel base mechanisms (stepper motor, interface board) that the reels mount to? Hopefully just the reels themselves.

You may need to specify the model of machine, such as Williams 40X model, to be sure you are getting the right reels.

Some reels come with strips for another game, it isn't hard to change the strips to your Jackpot Party game but you'll need to take into account buying the correct JP strips also. Be aware that there are different variations of the Jackpot Party game strips, if yours is Jackpot Party Limbo the strips are different from JP Country and JP Beach Party.

If this machine is in the Williams model 40X family here is a good listing of the variations that were made:

http://www.pinrepair.com/arcade/wmsslot.htm (http://www.pinrepair.com/arcade/wmsslot.htm)

Thank you; hmmmnnn.......
The label says it's a 40S5, made in May 2000.
But it's a shorty, with no top extension and no dot-matrix display.
Looks like an ordinary 3-reel slot with hopper and (missing) bill collector.
3 reels, 5 paylines. No TITO
Here's some pics.

Interesting.
Can you post a nice closeup picture of the Williams manufacturer plate plate (label) showing the model number, S/N etc? This is the metal plate down on the bottom forward corner of the side of the machine, same side as the pull handle. Does it look like this id plate may have been removed from another machine and reattached to this machine?

The Williams 40S5 models I am familiar with all have the dot matrix screen in the upper box. Your machine looks more like the model 400 to me. There is often another large Williams label inside the machine on the wall in the hopper area, it might have helpful info. Also, if you remove the cpu board from the card cage in the lower part of machine and post a picture of it and the eproms showing their labels we can better id things.

This almost looks like a previous owner of a model 400 wanted to change the game to a Jackpot Party and hadn't gotten around to adding the dotmation display in the top box.

These are the only pics I have, although I can say the label appeared original when
I looked at it. Very clean original-appearing rivets; but I myself could replace those rivets just as cleanly.
Your comments substantiate my own feelings: this is probably an older machine with "fiddled" tag and
mismatched parts; not something I want to spend time and frustration on, even if I got it cheap.
Would much rather spend my time on M-head Mills or em Bally or even an IGT S+: at least I'd have something "real."

Thank you, sir, for the valuable input; you've helped me decide.

And by the way, your cat looks like ours: another Superior Being, of course :)

I see & learn something new each week I am in this hobby. That machine you found is one of those. It would likely function ok and be entertaining after more work but it would still be essentially a model 400 until the top box was changed to have the dotmation display, which makes all the difference in the fun part of the game for me. The model 400's can fairly easily be found that are already overhauled and working great for a reasonable price. I agree with you that you need to be comfortable with the purchase, you could have the machine a long time, so don't want any serious uncertainties. There is always another deal out there that might be more what you are looking for.

With all that said this machine could be something I've not seen, like a prototype or was custom made for a particular customer, so it could be original and I am just not aware of that part of Williams history. My understanding is that even though there were 3 cabinet variations for the model 40S5 (roundtop, 16 inch square top and 9 inch square top) they all have the dotmation screen.

Maybe one of the other more experienced folks here has seen one of these. The gold finish is attractive, we've seen that on other models. Its odd about the missing reels, as if they were removed to be sold or something. Too bad the seller couldn't provide more information.

If you don't mind disclosing, what was the asking price on this machine and was it for sale from a private individual or from a business?


The cat is affectionate and is good at reminding us each day he thinks we exist to serve him.

Just to clarify, the WMS 400 also is Dotmation, I have one.

Dale

Dale,

I thought all of the model 400's were 3 reel but no dotmation, that only the model 40S5 had the dot matrix display? What does your id plate say about the model and what game do you have - this is interesting. Do you think the machine pictured in this thread is similar to yours?

Here's some pics.

Here's my machine

Thanks Dale, that's a nice looking machine!

I wonder why the model 40S5 was even created since it appears to be the same as your model 400? Or is it possible the top box on yours was replaced with one from a model 40S5? This is confusing...

Just when I think I'm beginning to understand something it turns out I don't.  :103-

This machine was originally in a Casino in Laughlin, Nevada, the name escapes me. It was then sold to the Indian Casino Table Mountain Rancheria where it was retired from around 2006. I only know where its been not sure if it has been changed. There is no player tracking panel on it.

Dale

I do have one other pic, just of the inside and not real clear,
but here it is. Perhaps you guys can make some sense of it.

I'm in the Northwest and the owner is about 50 miles from me.
If I drive out and pick it up, I think I can get it for about a hundred bucks or thereabouts.
Have decided it is not for me, but if someone out there is seriously interested,
I have a small pallet and could help arrange for shipping. Would hate to see a unique
machine find it's way to the dump.

Probably unpopular around hobbyists & collectors but this machine may be worth more as a parts machine, selling the in-demand parts like the game glass, circuit boards, reel strips, etc. Maybe someone will take this on as a project and get it running again.