63 replies to this topic

[todd1970]

I have made another thread about this very subject a while ago about the favouritism that goes on between certain players and staff..it appears it is not just limited to 'SlowSilvers'** (** the names have been changed to protect the innocent).

Since 'SlowSilvers' closed down i have been limited to 'Knobles'** in my town..it is a place i very very rarely go to mainly because its shit..and its full of B3/S16 machines and lo-techers..the odd hi-tech one thrown in.

So im walking past with some change in my pocket..about £7-10 and thought..och...why not ill go in and see whats what..so im playing a PTA and holding my own..couple of top boards...got up to around £20-30 odd.

Meanwhile there is a woman playing 'Bullion Bars' 3 player and i keep hearing...'Player 1...lets play Bullion Bars'..thinking shes doing no bad out of that..so i dunno how much she gets out of it..but it spits out a fair few quid.

So..i move on to another machine..and she moves on to player 3 bullion bars..didnt hear anything coming out of it..not that im 'sharking' but i happens to glance round occasionally..10-15 mins later she calls one of the staff over..and walks out.

Im down to about £10 or so by this time..and im thinkin..wait..she must have put a shit-load of cash into player 3..maybe its due a turn..so i walks up to it..and over the coin mech..'Sorry..this machine is out of order'..bit of card stuck on with blu-tack.

Hmmm...better leave that one then..so i goes back on to PTA different unit..im doing well out of it..building my cash back up slowly..30-45 mins later im still on it..with £36 odd in the bank..next thing a woman comes in...a different one..and goes over to player 3 bullion bars..and starts playing it.

Out of order is it ??...hmmm dosent look very 'out of order' to me..she sticks about a fiver in it and walks out...im like..ye know what...fk it..im going up to play that..so i just takes the 'out of order' sign right off it..and start playing it.

About a fiver later..i get a nudges for the JP...then about £3 or 4 later nudges for bullion bars top board...3 times in a row..ok it only went for £15 each time...but still..that was £70 all in i took out of it.

So..do you think its fair that certain players can 'hold' machines untill the next day or whatever..just untill they get a bit of cash together..so that they can go down and play it again..and recoup some of thier loses.

How many times have YOU been in an arcade..spunked £30-40-50 or more into a machine and had to walk out skint...knowing the next person to play that machine is on to a winner.

Isnt that what gambling on the machines is all about though ?

[kiteboy]

I have a similar experience with guys turning off machines and coming back later, turning them on and playing them, bit of a pisser and i think the owners should be held more accountable!!

[nails]

your thread said corruption? there is NO corruption there at all, infact far from it. It's a simple case of a staff member doing their best to keep a customer happy.

i kept a machine over night for a customer and actually bought a customer a case of corona beer. (he drank 14 out of the 24 and spent £240 in the process - you do the math as to why i did it).

[todd1970]

–noun 1. the act of corrupting or state of being corrupt. 2. moral perversion; depravity. 3. perversion of integrity. 4. corrupt or dishonest proceedings. 5. bribery. 6. debasement or alteration, as of language or a text. 7. a debased form of a word. 8. putrefactive decay; rottenness. 9. any corrupting influence or agency.

Id say number 1and 4 would be quite apt there...in your case id say its different Nails...as you ran your own arcade..these people work for a very large company..there is nothing 'in it' for them..if they want to keep customers happy..then they should play by the rules..and in this case its..'oh..did you lose £60 in that..aww well tough shit..thats the way it goes im afraid'.

[banditboy2006]

yeah a gambles a gamble i.e a risk if people dont know when to stop its there own fault

and if a machine goes on streak and emptys on somebody else after its not the arcades fault

its the players problem

[nails]

i wouldnt take it personally tommy c, they are most probably jobs worths bending over backwards for customers.

if a cashier knows a regular will spend 200 no matter what, wpuld you like to be advised?best have an enjoyable visit rather than the fleece visit? (at that point i should point out that under the gaming act 2005 - gaming should be conducted in a fair and open way.

its not fair to get told to steer clear of a machine that just paid the £500..

[jaybee]

I went into one the Knobles arcades, only a small one with about 18 machines. And 10 of the 18 had out of order/reserved stickers on them, and one lad playing the ten machines.

I just walked out.

Why keep one customer happy, when you can just piss off all the others?

To be honest I wish they do it more, it makes me spend less money.

[cardie]

Ive seen this soooooo many times in blackpool, you get the gamblers that are in the arcade everyday almost, get special treatment and usually they spunk all there money in a machine then get one of the staff to stick some tape over the coin mech. Ive seen this before and just taken the tape off and played the machine, not winning anything usually. It shouldnt be allowed at all, not exactly fair on given other players a chance to win.

[todd1970]

Ive seen this soooooo many times in blackpool, you get the gamblers that are in the arcade everyday almost, get special treatment and usually they spunk all there money in a machine then get one of the staff to stick some tape over the coin mech. Ive seen this before and just taken the tape off and played the machine, not winning anything usually. It shouldnt be allowed at all, not exactly fair on given other players a chance to win.

My point exactly Cardie..i mean is it fair to your average Joe Public to walk into an arcade that 15 out of the 20 machines are due a big time payout..yet your not allowed to play them cos they are 'out of order'

If you walked into a Knobless or whatever..and started playing a machine..would one of the staff come over and say..'listen dont bother with this..its just paid out over a ton'..would they fk.

Yet they would do it if you were a well known face..ie some saddo thats in the place 24/7( i know them ive seen them) ..if your a casual gambler you havent got a hope in hell..taking away the 'game of chance' you get when playing machines..giving the regulars an unfair advantage.

[ady]

your thread said corruption? there is NO corruption there at all, infact far from it. It's a simple case of a staff member doing their best to keep a customer happy.

i kept a machine over night for a customer and actually bought a customer a case of corona beer. (he drank 14 out of the 24 and spent £240 in the process - you do the math as to why i did it).

I did the maths.....piss off a thousand @ £1 or 1 @ £240....

Currupt staff is a no-no in my eyes.

[CrAzYbAr]

In my opinion after reading this thread, corruption and favouritism go hand in hand.

[banditboy2006]

all the arcades are bothered about 400 to 500 in one machine by one person

[bri365]

I have seen this happen at Gala Bingo, where someone will be playing a frutie and put a reserved sign on it to go off and play bingo and then go back to the frutie again. Did complain but it fell on deaf ears.

[jamesb99_1999]

I have seen this happen at Gala Bingo, where someone will be playing a frutie and put a reserved sign on it to go off and play bingo and then go back to the frutie again. Did complain but it fell on deaf ears.

Because they are private bingo clubs - to be fair they are just for bingo with fruities as a sideline - and I see that as perfectly correct they allow them to be reserved while Bingo is on. There are only a few real saddos in there at that time if anyone and would it be fair they were allowed to go around sharking everybodys machine while they were playing bingo?

[shajder]

I wouldn't be too concerned about favouritism between staff and regular players. The very fact that they are pally means that the regular player is a complete loser.

Basically, if people want to spend their life going to an arcade day to day and losing their money (the player NEVER wins in the end) then that makes them pathetic individuals. Though they might deny it, the regular player has a serious problem and will no doubt spend money that was earmarked for other things.

Though the player that only goes to the arcade every so often may lose on machines that regular players have cleaned out or may be denied the chance to play machines because regular players have reserved them, he can always laugh at them (can anyone guess that this has happened to me before?!?!).

Actually, did anyone see that programme on Blackpool last week, where they showed the young kids gambling in the arcades and spunking all their money regularly? I felt sorry for them. If I lived somewhere like that, I'm sure I'd be the same.

On another point, are there regular checks in arcades to make sure that machines are actually paying the 70%odd that they are legally required to? I just wonder because certain machines never appear to pay out.

[banditboy2006]

it happens near me all the time stickers being put on a forgot about the staff dont even know there

on i just take one if i wont to play and empty it

[launton]

Don't really have much to add that hasn't already been said except it's no wonder at all that these arcades are closing down. Glad I don't bother anymore.