One born every minute demonstration. We have politicians who seem to think that if they chant 'I beleve in Unicorns' loud enough they can manage them into existence. I have seen similar actions from managers on cost free securiy and quality.....
Poetic justice: Mum funnels £100 into claw machine to win single Dumbo teddy for her kid
We'd do anything for the fruit of our loins – like buying them not one, but two train sets at Pecorama and almost instantly regretting it – but a doting mum from Folkestone, Kent, has really taken the biscuit after shoving a hundred quid into an allegedly rigged claw machine. Cheryl Holden, 34, was holidaying at that Great …
-
-
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 13:23 GMT Flocke Kroes
Re: I beleve in Unicorns
There is a whole religion worshipping the invisible pink unicorn. The fun comes when Christians try to convince me she does not exist.
-
-
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 21:46 GMT mark4155
A tale from 1977
At 16 I left school with few qualifications. My first job was as a "key boy" in a large amusement arcade in the seaside town of Morecambe. 80 hours and £20 a week.
An elderly. lonely, lady visited the arcade every day from 1100 till around 3.00 in the afternoon, whatever the weather.
Her name was Annie, we called her "banging" Annie, yes I was 16 and regret the terminology now.
Annie used to play the pushers, money in the top, cascades to the pusher, like a waterfall, and supposed to fall off the end into Annie's hands.
Annie was clever, well so she thought, she had a rather big handbag which she attempted to use as a battering ram on the side of the cascade, little known to her was the "tilt" switch, a pendulum surrounded by a ring. Pendulum touches ring caused by Annie's handbag and the money on the edge of Annie's grip is diverted into the.....cashbox...the alarm rang and we carried on as normal.
Annie we never told you off, even when you hated the new number one top 40 song we played over the "Tannoy! , Hotel California, Great days!
Dedicated to "Banging" Annie. RIP
-
Wednesday 3rd July 2019 18:02 GMT John Brown (no body)
Re: A tale from 1977
"At 16 I left school with few qualifications. My first job was as a "key boy" in a large amusement arcade in the seaside town of Morecambe. 80 hours and £20 a week."
You was done over good and proper! I started my first job in 1977 too. Part time, because I stayed on into 6th form. 20 hours over Sat and Sun at the local swimming pool for a take home of £20. Four times what you got for sitting on my arse all day handing out and collecting towels in the Sauna suite :-)
-
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 12:08 GMT Loyal Commenter
Did she learn nothing?
She spaffed away £40 before they staff changed the setting to let her have the toy. She then saw them put the setting back, but then she still went back and pumped another £60 into the machine. What sort of idiot puts money into a machine that they already know is rigged, and have seen the evidence of with their own eyes?
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 12:21 GMT wolfetone
Re: Did she learn nothing?
"What sort of idiot puts money into a machine that they already know is rigged, and have seen the evidence of with their own eyes?"
The same idiot who admits in public to a newspaper that they did it in the first place.
Although, saying that, I might make a complaint to Camelot about the national lottery. I've spent £100 this year on lucky dips for the Euro Millions and I haven't even had one sodding number.
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 12:30 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: Did she learn nothing?
No bigger idiot than one admitting they also do it. Though I assume you don't, and it's just a joke.
But I know a lot of "intelligent" and "clever" people who play the lottery. For example, though, look at the returns if that same money was actually put into investments!
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 12:40 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: But I know a lot of "intelligent" and "clever" people who play the lottery.
Well, I play, about twice a year with random numbers. £4. Investing that would get me precisely fuck all.
Yeah, I know I'm really unlikely to win the lottery, but I'm a fuck sight more likely to win than you are because you never buy a ticket.
But then I'm not as "Intelligent" or "clever" as you obviously are, I just think it's a bit of fun.....
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 12:50 GMT Bloodbeastterror
Re: But I know a lot of "intelligent" and "clever" people who play the lottery.
"...because you never buy a ticket."
"Lord, Lord, please let me win the lottery."
"Oh Lord, please please let me win the lottery."
"Please, Lord, please let me win the lottery."
"Jock, meet me half way - buy a ticket."
(Please don't flame me for national stereotyping - I'm just repeating the joke as I heard it... :-) )
-
Wednesday 3rd July 2019 07:34 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: No. I actually win more.
I win more. I have £4 a year more than you. Over average, you may win 1/3rd of that back. Guaranteed. I though, guarantee 100% of that £4 all year. Still 2/3rds more than you. But thanks for still thinking it's an "investment". and you are "more likely" to get more.
-
Wednesday 3rd July 2019 08:35 GMT MonkeyCee
Re: But I know a lot of "intelligent" and "clever" people who play the lottery.
"£4. Investing that would get me precisely fuck all."
Sure, but using it as a poker stake or putting it on a nag to win give you much higher chances of winning something.
Oh, and buying random junk perhaps, some chess piece that was bought for a fiver went for a pretty penny recently.
-
Wednesday 17th July 2019 13:10 GMT Prst. V.Jeltz
Re: But I know a lot of "intelligent" and "clever" people who play the lottery.
but I'm a fuck sight more likely to win than you are because you never buy a ticket.
well probly not , I dont know what the odds of finding a lottery ticket are , but compared to the odds of winning it , tiny.
So yes you are slightly more likey to win it than the other guy , but the difference is microscopic.
"you got two chances Buckley's and none" as the aussies say
-
-
-
This post has been deleted by its author
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 18:19 GMT antman
Re: Did she learn nothing?
> ...I have never bought a lottery ticket.
Neither have I but I did win once. As part of a secret Santa present we were each given a scratch card. I quickly uncovered the panels, saw no matches and cast it aside. My friend, knowing I'm not used to this kind of thing, checked the card and found it was worth a fiver. Don't know what the odds are for that but I'm not tempted to buy them. I only enjoy gambling (for small amounts) when it's social, like a card game or taking part in a sweepstake.
-
Wednesday 3rd July 2019 07:37 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: Did she learn nothing?
Scratch cards are the worse. Fixed odds at on average 1/3rd pay out across the boards. Small payouts very common, to keep you coming back, but payouts always reach 1/3rd. (Distributed evenly throughout the stacks except for the 1 big ticket winning)
"Winning tickets" are known to go through the system, as it's all digital and centralised now. Yet, even if the million/100s thousands of pounds ticket has been claimed, all the posters "you may win" stay up, and they keep charging the £1-£10 or so for the tickets.
-
Wednesday 3rd July 2019 11:13 GMT Cederic
Re: Did she learn nothing?
Interestingly I saw a sign by the scratch cards at the weekend stating that all of the 'top' prizes had been claimed, so there were only smaller value prizes now available.
No discount on the cards though, so hopefully nobody was daft enough to actually buy them.
-
-
-
-
-
Wednesday 3rd July 2019 18:11 GMT John Brown (no body)
Re: Did she learn nothing?
"a couple of lottery tickets is cheaper, for those as don't drink (yes they do exist)"
Of course you can. But the odds are much worse if you didn't stake something on an unrealistic gamble. Not impossible of course. There may well be a rich relative who just karked it and left everything to you but the odds of that are probably worse than winning a lottery jackpot :-)
-
-
-
-
-
Thursday 4th July 2019 17:47 GMT Martin
Re: Did she learn nothing?
All my team decided to play together and I just joined them because I didn't want to be the one stuck at that shite job if those sodders ever won it!
I once saw where a manager of a small firm had written to the financial advice section of a national paper, saying his team had formed a lottery syndicate - could he take out insurance against the risk of them winning and all resigning? They said that, no, you can't get insurance. They then suggested that the best thing to do was to join the syndicate...
-
-
-
This post has been deleted by its author
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 20:00 GMT Mark 85
Re: Did she learn nothing?
Just another stupid SJW trying to make a point. It's not like a 5 month old even knows what mom did. As more and more of these kind of folks run amok and get attention, I worry for future on the human race. Even sadder is most of these types seem to end up in politics.
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 21:02 GMT Dan 55
Re: Did she learn nothing?
I'm not too up-to-date with the nomenclature, but I believe SJW's are about things like racism, sexism, homophobia and the like whereas this lady is simply wants the teddy for her precious five-year-old even though the baby can't understand what's happening.
And that's what happens when they're not told 'no' as a kid. The employee should have just told her 'no', explained it's a game of chance*, and let her have a meltdown.
* licensed robbery
-
Wednesday 3rd July 2019 11:11 GMT Loyal Commenter
Re: Did she learn nothing?
Just another stupid SJW
In what way is this woman a "social justice warrior"? Where's the "social justice" element?
More to teh point, what's wrong with "social justice"?
Methinks you just use that term because you misguidedly think that people who campaign for actual social justice are in the wrong. Perhaps you're a big fan of injustice and inequality, in which case you're either someone who has a lot of money they don't deserve, or an idiot. Either way, you're not painting yourself in a good light by throwing terms like "SJW" around.
Of course, using the term "SJW" does nicely mark you out as someone to avoid for the rest of humanity.
-
Wednesday 3rd July 2019 21:53 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: Did she learn nothing?
I'm not the original commenter, but the "Social Justice" probably comes in where she thinks that people are being systematically screwed over by "the man", in this case the amusement company, and that she thinks that she is a being a warrior in going against them.
There is nothing wrong with real social justice of course, but my experience is that most of those who IDENTIFY as "Social Justice Warriors" are in fact twats looking to something to offend them so that they can pontificate about it and not looking to effect real social justice.
You find them all over the place on twitter and facebook, signing online petitions, or in some "safe place" on campus where those who think or look differently are excluded, but you won't find them on the street, in the homeless shelters, writing original letters (not form letters) to their representatives, or the like. Those working for actual social justice rarely, if ever, self-identify as SJW.
Since you seem to be offended, can we assume that you self-identify as an SJW? I'd sit around and discuss it with you, but I have to pull a shift at the food bank sorting canned goods. It is unfortunate that you think that people like me and the original commenter should be avoided for all humanity because we are realists and don't conform to your particular brand of political correctness, but those of us in humanity realize that it is your personal choice and won't miss you too much.
-
-
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 12:11 GMT Blockchain commentard
30-40 quid before she complained? That's 120-160 goes on the gripper. If at first you don't suceed, go to the toy shop and just buy an 'effing toy.
And didn't someone (Einstein?) say the definition of insanity is repeating the same action and thinking something different will happen. Sticking in another 60 notes makes her a candidate.
-
-
Wednesday 3rd July 2019 07:57 GMT Jonathan Richards 1
Einstein, probably
> on a quantum level, certainty is replaced by probability
Einstein was appalled by the idea of quantum uncertainty, hence writing to Max Born:
"Quantum theory yields much, but it hardly brings us close to the Old One’s secrets. I, in any case, am convinced He does not play dice with the universe."
-
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 12:24 GMT Anonymous Coward
We have an arcade like this. The claw machines are rigged. The arms never grip strong enough to win. The most I've lost in there was £2 before realising it was rigged.
We have ticket machines elsewhere. Again - my children know that there's roughly 20p return for £2 worth of spend. So a £10 later, and a fun day out (some of the machines are quite fun) - they come away with sweets from the tickets.
There is a gaming console in for stupid amount of tickets, but no-one will ever win that.
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 12:37 GMT Suricou Raven
It's not that the arms 'never' grip. They will grip hard enough - either at random, or once ever N attempts. On many models there's a switch hidden in the coin box that lets the operator adjust the frequency with which it grips tight enough to grab a prize (assuming the player also won the skill-based part of the game).
The arcade needs people to win sometimes. Not often, but enough to maintain the hope.
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 13:38 GMT Loyal Commenter
Yor best bet is still to wait until they have filled the machines with fresh "prizes" and pick the one that is overloaded (because the minimum wage bod doing the filling gives exactly 0.000000 shits about it), then let gravity do the work when the claw knocks the toy on top into the chute.
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 20:52 GMT David Given
My understanding is that gambling machines aren't random --- they're regulated by law to present certain odds of winning, and they decide ahead of time whether each play needs to win or lose in order to maintain those odds. With, obviously, enough fuzz to prevent obviously regular cycles of lose-lose-lose-lose-win, because the manufacturers aren't idiots.
This one clearly needs adjustment because its _obviously_ rigged, but being rigged is WAI.
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 23:05 GMT Ashentaine
That's how it is in the US at least. Depending on how much a wager costs, the machine has to have a minimum percent of hits for each possible payout. Electronic slot machines have to run for 24 straight hours once the software is installed by a state gambling authority (the casino itself never gets to touch that part) to certify they meet that percentage. I learned this when I had to do some work in a newly built place that was still setting up, it's rather interesting to see firsthand.
Not surprisingly, the penny machines out front have a much higher payout rate then the big bet machines in the back...
-
-
Wednesday 3rd July 2019 12:00 GMT markr555
These claw machines aren't actually skill machines - they come under the 'Amusements with prizes' category, and are only required to 'pay out' a given percentage of prizes according to input. The other category - Skill with prizes covers things such as quiz machines, where getting the skill part right is guaranteed to result in the offered prize. Skill with prizes machines manage their payout percentages by reducing/ increasing the prizes offered according to previous win history.
-
-
-
Wednesday 3rd July 2019 08:45 GMT MonkeyCee
Ethical arcades
"The arcade needs people to win sometimes. Not often, but enough to maintain the hope."
It also depends on the purpose of the arcade.
Bear in mind most of them buy plushies (the soft toys) in bulk, and get 2-5 for a buck.
Once you've spent more than a fiver (or less if it's a kid) you can usually ask and they'll give you one. Revealing the magic switch is considered a no-no.
I don't really get how this is news. Next there will be shock that carnie games are rigged, those six cans aren't all the same weight, the darts are blunt, and the games are easiest at the start of the day, so people walk around with the big prizes.
Other news, water confirmed as being wet.
The ones in Vegas, much like the arcade machines, are set on the most easy, generous settings. So the parents can give the kids a bucket of quarters and use the casino arcade as daycare while they gamble. Not compaining, 11 year old me got to complete TMNT and Streets of Rage, which was pretty sweet.
-
-
-
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 12:17 GMT pavel.petrman
Here's one
How about every citizen everywhere is given a hundred tokens in the shape and weight of local currency accepted by machines such as the one mentioned in this artice. Every citizen will be then allowed to cast their vote in the next election if and only if said citizen presents the whole of hundred tokens to the voting comittee. I strongly suspect a voting right would have been lost quite willingly over one lousy teddy bear here.
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 12:22 GMT Anonymous Coward
"If you think you might have a gambling problem, you can get some help here.®"
It's only called "Gamble Aware" because "Intentionally Piss-Weak and Transparently Insincere Token Gesture from the Gambling Industry to Stave Off Further Regulation" was too longwinded.
It's quite obvious from the evidence that the industry encourages and exploits problem gambling, regardless of such PR bullshit.
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 12:25 GMT Martin Summers
It's been nearly 20 years since I briefly had to look after arcade machines. The grabbers were set to whatever 'payout' setting the venue wanted. It's fairly obvious that you're not just going to get a toy for aiming in the right direction once or twice. The only complaints I had to deal with were when the toy had managed to get stuck just over the chute, which was fair enough. I don't think I ever encountered anyone stupid enough to think they weren't weighted in favour of the venue in some way. This is up there with the uncertainty whether fruit machines have to pay out when they're full for some people though.
Always remember. The odds are always never in your favour.
-
Wednesday 3rd July 2019 07:39 GMT jmch
Everything is always rigged, even the games of 'skill'. I remember a football game on Brighton pier, shoot at a player silhouette to knock it over and get a prize. The impression given is that they are hinged at the bottom, but they're actually hinged half way up, so you need to hit the 'head' part to flip it over. Plus the silhouettes are on a raised platform to make it more difficult.
Luckily I hit my first shot at the base hard enough for it to bounce a bit so I realised where the hinge was and directed my remaining 2 shots at the head and made one of them count. Won a hat for my friend :)
hoop throwing games - objects are only marginally smaller than hoop. Throwing games - the targets are heavier than they look and the balls are remarkeably light. etc etc etc.
Do it for the fun! If you're doing it for the prize it's not worth it!
-
Wednesday 3rd July 2019 12:13 GMT not.known@this.address
Games of skill
I can remember 8-year-old me (a few years ago now!) winning three Cadbury Curly-Wurly chocolate bars on the "Sink the Tirpitz" game at my school summer fete - a dart held by electromagnet onto a plastic Lancaster running along an 8-foot track about 6 feet above a line of chipboard sheets with an A4 page with the outline of a battleship drawn on it; the control was simply a push-to-break switch that cut the electricity to the magnet and dropped the dart.
Oh the fun watching all the "popular" kids and their parents missing completely before I had a go - and they carried on missing again afterwards because none of them realised they needed to drop the dart *before* the 'plane got over the target. Sometimes there are advantages to being a geek ./+ a nerd!
-
-
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 12:49 GMT Andy The Hat
My only comment would be that the odds should be displayed clearly on each machine.
That way you can play for fun, to keep the kids quiet while the thirteenth rain cloud passes over or because you're a total muppet and think you'll win. At least there is no excuse as you have the data required to work out how much you're likely to lose.
On the other hand, anyone who has watched "Tipping Point" on the tv(*) should be well aware how uncoordinated and, quite frankly, stupid some of these game players' decision making capabilities can be ...
(*) The author vehemently denies the deliberate watching of the aforementioned 'entertainment' product but the tv may have been left on by another person resulting in short term intellectual contamination of the audio-visual environment.
-
Wednesday 3rd July 2019 00:45 GMT AdamWill
It's sort of difficult to post odds for claw machines because the player's actions do matter. If you don't manage to actually position the claw over the item properly your chances are exactly 0, after all.
The nature of the item probably affects things a bit too.
They could have a sticker showing how often the claw strength will be high enough to get anything at all out of the machine assuming all other actions are performed perfectly, though, I suppose...
-
-
-
-
-
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 22:23 GMT Anonymous Coward
I have actually had experience of a family that fed their pre-schooler cola on a daily basis; the child ended up hospitalised with what the doc described as "total systemic fatigue".
IE, the stimulants in the cola had burnt through the child's energy reserves until they had nothing left and they collapsed.
Did the parents learn from this??
Did they fuck.
Anon, cos the family are scary; very, very scary.
-
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 16:02 GMT Rameses Niblick the Third Kerplunk Kerplunk Whoops Where's My Thribble?
That is the worrying thing, the kid was too young to even care. If it had been an annoying 5 year old constantly yammering on about wanting it and badgering the mum to try one more time then it would at least be a bit understandable, but for a 5 month old?
Honestly, if it were a 5 year old, I'd be more concerned about the useless job they were doing as a parent to not be able to tell said sprog "No" and be done with it. I know kids don't always listen, I know they can get downright stroppy about it, but that's part of the job of a parent. And I speak as the parent of two "we're in double figures but not quite teenage yet" sprogs. Who do know what the word "No" means. And they also know that incessant arguing of the point will result in the playing of one of the Dad favourites, such as "going home early", "no you don't deserve to stop at McDonalds on the way home" or the more serious option of "You'll lose your phone for a week"
-
-
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 12:58 GMT Andy Non
That explains it...
The "gripper has an adjustable strength". Many years ago at such a machine in a ten pin bowling club, I pulled out 8 cuddly toys for my then girlfriend in almost as many goes, before a member of staff suddenly appeared and declared the machine "Out of Order" and turned it off.
No it was working just fine as far as I was concerned. :-)
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 14:39 GMT I ain't Spartacus
Re: That explains it...
Ah, ten pin bowling at Wells-next-the-Sea - happy memories of the pier. Goes all dewy eyed with nostalgia...
It was a rubbish arcade, with old machines, still had the original mid-80s Outrun game, even though it was now the mid-90s. Those 1p/2p machines with the sliders, where you try to tip the money over the side. And best of all, the shortest 10 pin bowling alleys I've ever seen. There was a piece of string acrosso the end of the lane, to stop you stepping into it, as I think I could have got from the bowling position to the pins in 2 steps. Just having long arms was a massive advantage. We got a lot of strikes playing on that - then outside for fish and chips on the seafront. Watch out for dive-bombing seagulls!
-
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 13:04 GMT cosmogoblin
These machines have to cover their operating costs. That includes machine purchase, maintenance, electricity, staffing, floorspace ... AND the purchase of the frigging prizes! Plus they're put there to make a profit. It should be pretty obvious that if they weren't rigged they wouldn't be economical.
If the boy wanted a toy, go to a shop and buy one. If he wanted THAT toy ONLY, use the machine to teach him about gambling. Of course if he's 5 months, we can safely assume that neither of the above is true, and that the mother is not only a problem gambler, but a really stupid one as well. The prize was probably worth less than 1 go on the machine, let alone 400.
It does sound like the arcade was partly to blame, for setting such a low payout rate, but I'm mostly on the side of the gambling industry here. Ugh, it hurt to type that.
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 19:33 GMT Anonymous Coward
> It should be pretty obvious that if they weren't rigged they wouldn't be economical.
Bullshit. The toys cost peanuts - < £1 each. One in 5 wins would make plenty of profit for the arcade.
If these places weren't so rigged more people would come in. Instead its drunks and druggies trying to get out the rain/cold and the owners wonder why they're not making any money.
-
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 13:24 GMT MJI
They used to work
About 27-28 years ago a friend nearly emptied a machine of toys. Every 4th or 5th go, a toy would plop out.
Put in around £20 or so.
But then they relied on skill more than luck. He had the knack.
I still reckon they made a profit as the toys were probably cheap.
And he had to cart home a large pile of cheap cuddly toys.
I noticed the change last time I had a go, definetely a lot weaker grip. I think it took 3 tries to see it, not £40
-
Wednesday 3rd July 2019 11:52 GMT Loyal Commenter
Re: They used to work
It woudn't suprise me if the "prizes", bought in bulk, cost less than one go on the machine in the first place.
For machines with more "expensive" looking prizes, it should really be obvious that the pay-out rate will be lower than 1 in (cost of prize) / (cost of go).
-
Wednesday 3rd July 2019 18:41 GMT John Brown (no body)
Re: They used to work
"For machines with more "expensive" looking prizes, it should really be obvious that the pay-out rate will be lower than 1 in (cost of prize) / (cost of go)."
There is (was?) one of those grabber things in the corridor just outside the entrance to the Gents (and on the way to the Ladies) at Wetherby Services that had Mobile phones and handheld console games (Nintendo?). I never saw anyone try it. Ok, I was only ever in there a couple of times a week for 5 mins, but usually happened to be calling in on my past about during the lunch rush. I dread to think what the odds settings must be for a "win" on that machine!
-
-
-
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 18:05 GMT simonlb
Re: Is this really IT news worthy?
There is possibly a tenuous link somewhere, but that was overshadowed by then quoting from a survey which had been published in The Sun.
Mind you, finding out that a dodgy seafront arcade has a 'people and social responsibility director' was definitely a revelation. Don't think any of the large corporations I've ever worked for had someone with that job title.
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 13:36 GMT Anonymous Coward
"Most people safely assume that not just claw machines, but entire arcade attractions from shooting galleries to those 2p coin pushers are heavily rigged."
The 2p coin pushers are based on a bit of the money going down the side. Shooting galleries are about trying to hit things that are rounded. Legit, but a bit of a trick (and you lose because you're a mark).
The only gamble that works is getting on a one-arm bandit after someone has just dumped a large amount of money in and got nothing much back. The machine is below the payout percentage and will pay.
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 20:09 GMT Andy Non
"The only gamble that works"
Quiz master machines used to work for us. Three of us used to go from work to the pub every Friday lunch time and used the Quiz master to pay for our lunch and beer. Between the three of us, we covered everything from science, history, politics and general knowledge. The machine also only had a finite number of questions so we quickly picked up the correct answers to the more obscure questions like "How many cups of tea are drunk each week in the house of commons".
-
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 14:35 GMT Baldrickk
Was at a theme park the other day
Basketball - dunk 3 balls, win a large prize.
Hoops were nice and wide, but you could get around the stall and look at the hoops from the side - they were barely deep enough to accept the ball. If you're off even slightly, you're bouncing out.
One for the suckers.
-
Wednesday 3rd July 2019 08:54 GMT MonkeyCee
Re: Was at a theme park the other day
"One for the suckers."
Or the netballers :)
Friend I was with carrying plushie polar bear that was about as big as her. After the fourth time she got asked if "her boyfriend" (we weren't dating) won it for her, she lost her rag and said that she didn't a funking man to win her anything.
-
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 15:03 GMT LeahroyNake
I won, once
I have children and don't mind letting them have a go at the claw games but it's one go each and not £100 or until they win.
The last time I won a lovely blue whale thing. I walked out of the toilet at a motorway service station and was waiting for my partner when I spotted the claw game had a free go available. Both of us were amazed when it actually grabbed the thing and the youngest one know knows I'm awesome lol.
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 15:37 GMT Lee D
"Rigged" makes it sound like they're doing something illegal.
They are fixed-odds of success, like a fixed-odds betting machine. Like scratchcards. Like any online lottery. A predetermined outcome from the second you start, but that choice of outcome is made at random as you press the button / buy the card. There are not billions of scratchcards out there, any of whom stands exactly 1/1,000,000 chance of magically letting you win the car, where you could win the car 2, 3, 4 times over if you're lucky. There are huge number of cards, pre-printed, already determined, and the people who printed them know *exactly* how many "you won a car!" cards that there are before they cover them in that silver scratch-off coating. They know, because they put them there.
When you play the little Monopoly scratchcard game on the National Lottery website, you're not "playing a game". You're assigned one of several million randomly-generated numbers which results - completely predictably and reproducibly when given the seed number - in either a win or a loss. That number will ALWAYS result in that outcome. That's how they know you can't just "reload" the page and get another go - it's already determined whether you won or lost the second you pressed "Buy", but you get to spend five minutes "playing" it out before they tell you.
They already know *exactly* which cards win or lose. They already know *exactly* how many prizes they have to give out (if you did things entirely at random, you might bankrupt the lottery by a run of good luck... instead they create a million card seed numbers, then they run the game for every one, then they remove all the ones they don't want, leaving only those that result in the exact, stated, guaranteed odds, the prizes they actually have available and the number of cards they intend to sell over time). They know *exactly* what card they have given you. They know *exactly* how it's going to play out, and even how much money to set aside each day for prizes.
But the card is selected at random from a huge bunch of cards with pre-determined outcomes. That's modern gambling. That's how it's worked since video poker was first used in Vegas. The outcome is random, from a set of pre-determined outcomes, which removes *all* uncertainty for the casino/lottery while providing you with EXACTLY the odds they state. It's a tombola, where you know that you're not going to be able to win three of those ugly Christmas jumpers, because there is only one prize like that anyway, but the chance of winning the sweater is still fixed and provable.
Grabber machines are no different. Inside the machine is a binary "grip / don't grip" bit. If the odds on the machine says the chances are winning are 1 in 100 then in 1 in 100 games it will grip, averaged over its lifetime. To not means serious investigations. That doesn't mean "play a hundred times and you'll win". But there's a 1 in 100 chance of winning overall. Guess what... if by chance a thousand people won earlier in the day before you, it might well not have any prize allocations left in whatever unit of time it averages over (e.g. 24 hours, a week, a month, etc.) - everyone after that is going to be a loss. But walking up to the machine at random at a random time gives you a 1 in 100 chance, still. That's not true of a truly random event, but it doesn't have to act like a truly random event to be a licensed gambling machine (hey, kids, let's introduce you to licensed gambling venues as a bit of fun when we go to the seaside!) - it has to be "fair" and it has to stick to the stated odds. If it saw, say, a woman coming and refused to pay out because she was a woman, that's unfair. But if it gives out 1 prize for every 100 plays, on average, over time, and takes nothing else into consideration, then it is considered fair. That's what happened.
If anything, the operator here has literally *biased the odds in her favour* to give her a toy, guaranteed, out of pity. She received better than the advertised odds. And she's complaining. They can do that if they want... they are giving you BETTER odds than advertised. So long as it doesn't affect the rest of the time for the worse, then it's actually a courtesy they can exercise. No different to giving you a machine that says you could win 1 in every 3 but they actually just let you win 1 in every 2 because it makes you happier.
If he'd done it the other way - SAW YOU COMING and switched the machine into a-billion-to-one mode, while still advertising 1 in a 100, then they'd have a case to answer. He didn't.
If you don't understand maths, don't gamble.
If you don't understand the game or mechanic, don't gamble.
And if you only "think you know how it works", you almost certainly don't.
Don't even get me started on the "game of chance" / "game of skill" thing.
These things are gambling machines that randomly give you a prize. But more often than anything, randomly DO NOT give you a prize.
Stop introducing your children to them, especially possibly as casual entertainment with a tiny amount of disposable income(*). Buy the damn teddy instead. And stop pretending that they are games... they are not. They are gambling machines. Even the penny falls is a gambling machine, designed to make money for the operator only, and they make that money from you.
(*) I'm a mathematician. I've been to casinos, been to Las Vegas and gambled aboard a cruise ship (the QE2). I don't pretend for a second that I'm not just spending money on entertainment. But even a few pounds, at the right priced table (which they have far more of than the high-rollers** tables) can last you hours. I'd spend that on a movie that I will have no right to see except for that single instance for that price - seriously I can pay over £10 an hour just to watch a movie once! Or a drink in London. Or an entrance fee. Or any number of other things that cost more and give back less. I know the money will go to the venue, eventually, the game is to eke it out - rather than blow it all in ten seconds by just handing a £10 note to the croupier, you hand that same £10 to the croupier and play a few dozen games a minimum stakes against people you have a chat with (depending on the venue). Yeah, you might walk away with £20. But you *know* that you're more likely, by orders of magnitude, to walk away with £0. Else you're an idiot who shouldn't be anywhere near a card table or roulette wheel.
(**) "High roller" is casino code for "rich idiot with nothing better to do than throw money away".
-
Thursday 4th July 2019 07:31 GMT the Jim bloke
several years ago -thinking about it, it is becoming several DECADES ago- McDonalds were running promotional campaigns based on some kind of scrabble theme... buy their crap, get given individual letters, put them together to make words and receive prizes on achieving specific words..
The control on the number of prizes was on the prize winning words containing a specific letter which McDonalds only printed in the required number, while all the trash letters were basically unlimited.
All well and good, campaign run, job done.
So well done, they ran the same kind of campaign 6 months or a year later, with different prize words - using different prize winning letters.
Thing is, some people were still hanging onto the previous campaigns trash letters (totally understandable, I'm a packrat myself) and those letters were able to build the major prize winning words.. Overseas holidays, cars, that kind of thing.
McD was trying to say that previous promotional material was not eligible, and the consumer groups were saying that was not specified in the T's&C's. I believe the government or courts told McDonalds they had to pay up, but its all a bit hazy now.
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 17:33 GMT Blackjack
Think with your mind, not your wallet
If this mother had just looked online, she could have got at least two plushies with the same amount of money and free shipping.
If she remembered the age of her kid, she could have just cloned her car keys for a few bucks and give them to the little tyke, for some reason babies love car keys.
And she could have never come back and avoid wasting the extra money after she got the plushy.
Lawsuits cost time and money, and the time you don't expend with your kids never comes back.
Years from now, the kid will be like five and the lawsuit might still be going.
Oh and if she had ever watched cartoons, she would have know in advanced that these things are evidently rigged.
And whatever happened to those machines with gumballs and or small toys inside transparent pokeballs? At least you always got something when you put money on them.
-
Tuesday 2nd July 2019 20:31 GMT DavCrav
Re: Think with your mind, not your wallet
"If she remembered the age of her kid, she could have just cloned her car keys for a few bucks and give them to the little tyke, for some reason babies love car keys."
Note: the baby wants car keys. They don't actually have to operate your car. (The 'they' in the sentence can mean the keys or the baby.)
-
-
-
Wednesday 3rd July 2019 08:30 GMT Anonymous Coward
Is ripping off people becoming legal?
Absolutely, and that horse has not only left the barn, it had grand-foles too. Since the 1980's ripoffs, scams, looting and straight-up fraud has become the very foundation of our "liberal market-based economy".
What did people imagine that "Deregulation", "Competition" and "Getting rid of Bureaucracy" was intended to do?
-
Wednesday 3rd July 2019 09:58 GMT Anonymous Coward
Yes, ripping people off is LEGAL in many, many areas, and I'm blasting you for acting surprised.
...
Probably legal in almost ALL aspects of human interactions, job, business... Even if you tighten the definition of "ripping off", I would claim as above. Sad but true, we're deceiving cunts, and our civilization is based on it.
-
-
Wednesday 3rd July 2019 10:27 GMT smilerbaker
Admission time
I used to own an arcade, and we had claw machines, they are total cash cows and this is how they work
You have 2 setting you can change, one for the power when the claw is at the bottom, so it grabs the booty, and one for the power by the time it reaches the top of the machine, so the power reduces as the claw lifts, and so it drops the booty while its lifting it up, very very occasionally (ie almost never) it will ignore the setting and give a win (assuming you managed to grab the booty in the first place), its always good to have a mug, sorry, punter walking around the place with cheap chinese knock off bart simpson under his arm.
If you want punters to win just max out the power at the top claw position, the electromagnet holds the prize and you win.
Another trick was wrapping some 5/10/20 pound notes round a tube, mugs - sorry, punters would always go for those, except the tubes where loaded with marbles, so you could pick them up but as soon as the marbles moved the tube would slip from the claw.
now, who wants to know about fruit machines lol
-
Wednesday 3rd July 2019 14:22 GMT 97browng
Was this a game of chance or skill?
I will agree that putting this much money into the machine which is clearly rigged is idiotic. However are we not missing the point a bit, I assume this game was being sold as a game of skill not chance.
These claw machines are generally sold as a game of skill where if you are good enough you should be able to win a prize. Yes we know all the games are rigged but it seems in this case that without complaining there was 0% chance of anyone ever winning anything. I assume that this was no information on the box clearly stating that the chance of winning was X%.
Of course most of us would have stopped at some point far short of this, and not put in even more money after seeing the switch changed. But still I would have thought there are some regulations to not allow a 0% chance of winning.
You can't compare this to betting on a horse, playing the lottery or a gambler. All of these are either a game of change or odds. In fact gamblers have to state what their payout rate is and if you read the notices on them many will say 'No matter what option you chose on certain turns you will always lose' (well perhaps not in these exact words). With this information you should know exactly what the likelihood of winning is and then be able to make an informed decision on how much you put in or not.
-
Thursday 4th July 2019 09:03 GMT Anonymous Coward
Umm, moron alert?
Rigged is an emotive term, they're classed as a game of skill so the usual rules about percentage returns on gambling don't apply which means they can give you a prize every go or never or anywhere in between
They are configurable to 'win' a prize every so many goes with a variable 'fudge' factor which gives the owner a guaranteed return (An ex colleague owned an arcade in a holiday resort, the grab machines made the most money of any machine in the building apparently which is why there are arcades stuffed with the things)
But, the crucial bit, it still won't give you a win if you're a dullard who can't position the grab properly.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
