20 replies to this topic

[ridye]

In my town there are the following amusements:

Quicksilvers
Nobles
Royal Amusements
Olympia Leisure

I know 'None/Emulation' is the best for my wallet but are there any of these I should totally avoid and any better than the other?

[ziggy]

Id say i preferred Nobles for the fact the staff are always pretty decent towards you,always happy to change coins if needed,not shy offering drinks ect too.

Royals were good for their machines, but sadly Quicksilver took over the 3 round here years ago and replaced the majority of hi tech awp's with video screen pap.It does smell like a carpet warehouse though.

Never heard of Olympia, none round Scotland.

So, Royals for machines and Nobles for the staff for me .Just wish some of the smaller/privately owned arcades treated you the same.Sadly not.

[Liverpool2008]

you missed out

Showboat

Oasis - one in Birkenhead & Southport maybe a few other places .. i would say these machine are fixed

Sovereign Leisure .. used to brill by mine small and loads of 5p /10p .. these days no sign of any at all .. just the 25p/30p/50/£1 ones but all of the old 5p/10p have already been emulated on this site

[James]

Nobles is the best one by far out of that lot!.

What he said.

[ridye]

At lunch I had a quick wander into the town near where I work. Quite a small town and all I could see was a 'Teddy's Amusements' place so I thought 'What the hell' and stuck £40 in a S16 Rainbow Riches machine.

The first £20 was rubbish, a few small wins and 3 men which meant I was about a tenner up by the end of that £20 but ended up most of it back in.

Second £20 and I was losing hope but then it reached around £10 and jackpot!!! First I got the pots for the £500 jackpot, then I thought I might as well round off my winnings so tranferred around £10 into credit and got some Rainbow Riches signs for £60 followed by 3 men for £30! I nearly fell off my chair by that point!

Luckily the reality of getting back to work on time then set in so I left with just over £580 in my back pocket for 20 minutes work

So a good start to my voyage into chain amusements! (I usually just stick to bingo clubs)

[carlosgee]

can i suggest the three Thomas'' branded arcades 2 in hunstanton 1 in Leicester not exactly a chain but the best by far

[stanmarsh14]

Depends where I am, but in Nottingham / Derby, have always loved JEM's, and I know their tec's well.

Have also met James Mellor's dad once, in one of the Long Eaton shops, and a right dirty old perv he is too

For classics though, there is a tiny place in the Westfield Centre Derby, and another one in Hyson Green Nottingham, that brings back some memories of the JPM £3 / £4 days

In Loughborough / Leicester, the Thomas chain is another good one, with their Silver's place next to the market, being about the best one.

[ridye]

A totally unplanned visit to the Olympia Leisure in the train station this evening and I decided to spend a little of my earlier winnings on Rainbow Riches Pots Of Gold, about £120 later (I was spending no more than £150!) the pots shined through and it only went and landed on the gold pot which had been maxed out at £500!!!

Spent about another £125 on the same game on the opposite machine with a few medium wins but stuck them back in.

Still, £750 for a £40 bank withdrawal ain't a bad days work!!! Will play emus now and give the real ones a rest! (In a way I'm glad I stuck the £250ish back in during one session as it will stop me putting in the 'odd £10/£20' for the next few weeks)

I already decided in December that January would be my 'heavy gambling month', from next month I'll have a dedicated bank account and card for my gambling budget to ensure it is kept under control!

[CrAzYbAr]

So far it sounds like you are basing your opinions on how much money you won and how lucky you are.
If you're judging an amusements, you should take into account how nice the staff are(Thomas's in Hunstanton gets an F here), how well run it is, IE not having "favourite" customers that get to know all the takings and what's worth it, good food, if a machine goes wrong, do the staff say you did it? or do they come and help you? Always nice to win, but make sure the arcade has been hospitable when you are there, and when you leave they dont say YOURE BARRED!

[pimpalicious]

you missed out

Showboat

Oasis - one in Birkenhead & Southport maybe a few other places .. i would say these machine are fixed

Sovereign Leisure .. used to brill by mine small and loads of 5p /10p .. these days no sign of any at all .. just the 25p/30p/50/£1 ones but all of the old 5p/10p have already been emulated on this site

That Oasis has been going since the 80's and still has the original store front. The one in Southport, is now (or was last year) closed down and turned into a nursery / Pre-school for kids. Should of left the machines in and got the tots on heavy gambling.

So whats in the birkenhead Oasis?..last time I went in there it had Smash and grab, and old 3 and 4 quid JP's, I was in Birkenhead in Sept, and briefly drove past the top end of the market before going back home, and saw the Oasis.

Best to leave your money at home and watch the muppets play their wages.

Pimp.

[ridye]

So far it sounds like you are basing your opinions on how much money you won and how lucky you are.
If you're judging an amusements, you should take into account how nice the staff are(Thomas's in Hunstanton gets an F here), how well run it is, IE not having "favourite" customers that get to know all the takings and what's worth it, good food, if a machine goes wrong, do the staff say you did it? or do they come and help you? Always nice to win, but make sure the arcade has been hospitable when you are there, and when you leave they dont say YOURE BARRED!

Sorry I didn't mean to sound like that, just in a stunned state as to the events of today really!

The machine in the train station went wrong tonight as it tried to pay out the £500 in pound coins and the hopper got jammed, the staff were very helpful with that and didn't blame me, although there were a bit stunned to see all the pound coins in the tray!!! It wouldn't be somewhere I spent long sessions at on a regular basis though as they didn't seem to offer free drinks / snacks (Which I can understand due to the passing trade location), and people kept coming in just to watch you play the machines which is very offputting!

[ziggy]

Depends where I am, but in Nottingham / Derby, have always loved JEM's, and I know their tec's well.

Have also met James Mellor's dad once, in one of the Long Eaton shops, and a right dirty old perv he is too

For classics though, there is a tiny place in the Westfield Centre Derby, and another one in Hyson Green Nottingham, that brings back some memories of the JPM £3 / £4 days

In Loughborough / Leicester, the Thomas chain is another good one, with their Silver's place next to the market, being about the best one.

James Mellor ?

Why does that name ring a bell ? Fairground equipment ?

[ziggy]

A totally unplanned visit to the Olympia Leisure in the train station this evening and I decided to spend a little of my earlier winnings on Rainbow Riches Pots Of Gold, about £120 later (I was spending no more than £150!) the pots shined through and it only went and landed on the gold pot which had been maxed out at £500!!!

Spent about another £125 on the same game on the opposite machine with a few medium wins but stuck them back in.

Still, £750 for a £40 bank withdrawal ain't a bad days work!!! Will play emus now and give the real ones a rest! (In a way I'm glad I stuck the £250ish back in during one session as it will stop me putting in the 'odd £10/£20' for the next few weeks)

I already decided in December that January would be my 'heavy gambling month', from next month I'll have a dedicated bank account and card for my gambling budget to ensure it is kept under control!

Am not trying to piss on your fire, and i may be totally wrong, but it sound like your just starting to get into puggys ( fruit machines ) just going by the posts.

Quit while your ahead ( as its sound like you are atm ).

Habits always start when you win £10 from your first scratchcard ect.Almost makes you think its " easy money ".

[stanmarsh14]

James Mellor ?

Why does that name ring a bell ? Fairground equipment ?

Basically, yes!

Does quite a number of mobile fairground rides, in the East Midlands / Humberside areas, and has a massive mobile Big Wheel, that he purchased from Fantasy Island, Ingomells

James Mellors Amusements Attractions funfairs fun fairs Games Shows Hire Sale

[spa]

can i suggest the three Thomas'' branded arcades 2 in hunstanton 1 in Leicester not exactly a chain but the best by far

Thomas's are great. Really nice. Only problem is if you win, you get banned

[CrAzYbAr]

Thomas's are great. Really nice. Only problem is if you win, you get banned

Just need to wait for THAT ONE STAFF to retire and then you'll be back in:) Apparently the other members don't mind, it's just because HE is still there they have to keep you barred.

[Nudgeman]

Who are we talking here? It's a long time since I've been to Ts in Leicester. There's an older guy, possibly an engineer who hangs around with Les etc in Silvers opposite market....is it him? I once won £100 in there and asked to change it up and he refused saying 'we can't possibly change that quantity of money'. I was always told that arcades are glad of £££££ change as they have to pay to get it from the bank, perhaps he was just being a nob, who knows?
Only other chap I can think of is Vaz, but I can't see him barring you for getting lucky.
I can see why some of yous would like Silvers, Big Ghoulies, Beaver Uncovered, return of the dick, Ziggy (chipped so don't bother), Hot Rocks etc, lost of classic(ish) £5 machines.

[ziggy]

Basically, yes!

Does quite a number of mobile fairground rides, in the East Midlands / Humberside areas, and has a massive mobile Big Wheel, that he purchased from Fantasy Island, Ingomells

James Mellors Amusements Attractions funfairs fun fairs Games Shows Hire Sale

I think some of his stuff must have came to the Links Market which is a pretty massive local showman event up in Scotland.