63 replies to this topic

[Daryl]

I used to put all my earnings in the arcades in the early 1990s and although I was a well-known regular there wasn't any favouritism for me - if I lost, I lost and if someone walked onto the same machine and had a streak (which they usually did ) then that was my hard luck.

I very rarely go in an arcade now. I don't go in any in my town so I couldn't comment on what their practices are - I only sometimes go in the arcade where my Mam and stepdad's caravan is, but there are no reserves in there either, but I only play the 10p/£5 machines - I will not go in the main aracde arena.

[gemini17]

They do that all the time in the nobles i visit,on the b3 machines they'll hold em till the next day for certain customers.The time allowed for any machine is 15 minutes but i've seen stickers on some machines all day without being played at all.When i've enquired about the machine i've been told the machine has faulted in some way and needs an engineer to take a look at it(COMPLETE BOLLOCKS) alls i do is wait untill i see one of the suited and booted boss's walk in and go over and complain about it,without fail the sicker comes off without question!

I am now classed as a regular as i've been visiting for years,so now i can ask for a label to be left on till i can get to the bank the next day.Believe it or not i don't even have to ask if they've seen me on the machine.I don't play that way any more,i have a limit of £50 and once it's gone i walk.It used to piss me off rotten when i'd lose a good £300 notes as i've landed on a machine on it's tight stage,then have to walk away as i've maxed my cards for that day.But like you say todd every arcade has there favourites were they get away with blue murder as there keeing staff in a job.I must have been promoted to something around that stage as i used to get told what machines to stay clear of.

As for now i stopped playing when i spunked a good 2 grand in a week i had off work earlier in the year.Now when i go in i'm just the same as an average joe and get treated no different,but alls it takes is to go in there every day chat to the staff and your in their favourites folder so to say lolol.

I echo your comment of £50 limit.
Golden rules have a limit and stick to it.
Be prepared to lose.
And if you win great!!
My advise take no cards or other cash.
Arcades are a business like any other,out to make a profit!!!
And with a decent sized arcade or arcades u cant lose!!!
So to keep some regulars happy who put in their(benefits!!,loans,credit cards,mortgage payments etc!!!!)lol
Is to keep em sweet.
Id always go for the arcades that give you something in return-like cash match promos.
The best arcade for promos is Teddys.
Ive never seen one down south,but plenty up north.Just walking into their arcades and swiping their loyalty card,can give you upto £200 in cash!!
I think keeping slots over a day is bizzare-but all who have posted here(or most of u)-will atsp lost heavily and left a slot to go get cash.
The fact you lose and cant get other funds to play is tough luck!aint it.If I owned an arcade,however much I would wana keep high spenders happy-I would never hold a slot for a day-b,cos I would be thinkin what potential revinue that slot could make from other gamers during the time it was held for that player!!

[gemini17]

I used to put all my earnings in the arcades in the early 1990s and although I was a well-known regular there wasn't any favouritism for me - if I lost, I lost and if someone walked onto the same machine and had a streak (which they usually did ) then that was my hard luck.

I very rarely go in an arcade now. I don't go in any in my town so I couldn't comment on what their practices are - I only sometimes go in the arcade where my Mam and stepdad's caravan is, but there are no reserves in there either, but I only play the 10p/£5 machines - I will not go in the main aracde arena.

Good for you.
I lost 50k on slots early 90s-and ditto no favouritism.
True they would hold a slot for me to get cash-but 10mins was ya limit.lol

[Magz]

Good for you.
I lost 50k on slots early 90s-and ditto no favouritism.
True they would hold a slot for me to get cash-but 10mins was ya limit.lol

That's what I remember from the 90s as well. But I also remember the arcades being packed out with people, and so holding the machine for any amount of time would cause people to get upset as they couldn't get on a machine at all.

Fast forward 15 years or so and the arcades I've been in (OK, I rarely go now but on the odd occasion) have about 5 people max in them. With that in mind, no wonder the arcade owner will do almost anything to keep them happy - I would in my business if I only had 5 clients!!!

[treasure island]

In our Arcade if someone loses or is winning we will hold the machine for them. We have almost 70 machines so plenty of choice.

We have had people forcing machines for the streak before and time has beaten them. We will simply switch it off, and if anyone asks the reason why we tell them why.

The worst thing is when staff play or EVEN worse get the customers to play for them.

I disagree totally with refilling machines too. Our Crystal Maze does a streak and finishes with a Jackpot that repeats 4 times, it goes empty often. All I ever do is put £5 in as I do not want to 'trick' people into thinking its full up.

I should not say this, but I would often associate corruption with arcades. Refilled machines, Staff playing the machines, percentages below 80%, duff programs and favoured customers are all wrong.

This is why they are closing. In our place we put AMUSEMENTS FIRST, if the place makes money it makes money, if it doesn't then nevermind. Its just nice to show off the collection and let others enjoy them to be honest with you. If they were sitting idle they would stop working too, simple as that.

As for stickers on machines in slowsilvers and KNOBles then yes there are real elements of favourite customers, usually the ones who put their houses into the B3's.

I think B3's are SICK and I have made my views known on this. This is why we distance ourselves as far away as possible from the industry. The day we get a Deal or No Deal or a B3 is the day we close.

I do think machines should be reserved for the customer, but if the customer does not come back then the machine is switched back on for a first past the post offering. Whoever walks up to it first, not steered to it by staff on the fiddle. We held one for three days for a lovely chap who was down our way visiting. He did come back and got most of his money back. It was a very popular machine, but we treat everyone the same. If you yourself reading this needed a machine looking after it is no problem. Other establishments may be a little more into their profits though.

On the other hand I know owners of arcades who are cruel enough to play the machine while the customer is off raising money or the arcade closes. That for me is gross misconduct and is stealing from the customer.

The machines are there PURELY for the customers enjoyment and not for Staff!

Sorry, off my soap box now!

[vectra666]

The arcade called raffles in Gloucester is full of scams. The other month I saw the manager rig the raffle. They have a daily draw mon to Thursday £50 cash and on a fro it's £100 cash. So i'm in the arcade waiting for the raffle the manager jayne goes out and asks a random customer to pick a raffle ticket. She pulls one out but instead of opening it there she walks to the cashbox/ office and walks in. I'm at the front of it at this time she then puts her hand with the folded raffle ticket under the counter and then pulls out a raffle ticket that's not even been folded. I said WTF this ain't happening and kicked off. She then threatens to bar me if I didn't shut up. So I wrote to the head office and told them the date and time it happened. They did nothing about it and I have since round out that there are 3 of the staff doing this. What can I do to stop this as I spend a few quid every now and then and want to have a fair chance of winning the raffle. Sometimes it rolls over for 3 or 4 days and can be as much as £350. It's the same arcade I told you about that had all his licenced machines turned off.

i knew the womanyour talking about from the what was "silver rooms" in stroud glos she used to get her husband to play the machines that ripped other people off and she`d keep machines for her scabby sisters sometimes savin them for over a week she`d be countin every quid you`d put in hoping you`d losefor her to win i go weston s mare nownow and then have a blow out much more variation of machines of course i play the emulators all the time dont cost nothing

[vectra666]

i knew the womanyour talking about from the what was "silver rooms" in stroud glos she used to get her husband to play the machines that ripped other people off and she`d keep machines for her scabby sisters sometimes savin them for over a week she`d be countin every quid you`d put in hoping you`d losefor her to win i go weston s mare nownow and then have a blow out much more variation of machines of course i play the emulators all the time dont cost nothing

also pissed her of once playing "partytime £70 platium ed" put about £50 in nothing out 5 mins before closing time it goes up gives me £210 pounds f***ed her right off lol

[hurricane]

Well i played nuns and roses (£35), put a fiver in got on the feature which is basically a hi/low number band i tried to go lower than a 10 but it wouldn't let me so that number 10 should of been a 1. So i called one of the staff over who i knew and told her to watch me play cause i knew it was going to screw me. So i went higher than the 10 and went to a 11 (so i thought!) went lower than the 11 and went to a 2 and surprise, surprise it killed me! and guess what... she couldn't do anything. The engineer took a look at it the following morning and found nothing wrong, i wounder why that could be...! It had been turned off and on again, which meant that the real band would of re-synced propally so the numbers would of lined back up to how they should of been. No compensation, nothing.

[ady]

As for stickers on machines in slowsilvers and KNOBles then yes there are real elements of favourite customers, usually the ones who put their houses into the B3's.

What a great One line, so true in my eyes too.

[todd1970]

As for stickers on machines in slowsilvers and KNOBles then yes there are real elements of favourite customers, usually the ones who put their houses into the B3's.

Aye..i tried that once..it was a bastart trying to get it through the coin mech though

[cainer]

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.

living in a seaside town as a kid is bad news if you get hooked on the arcades, i lived in folkstone between the ages of 9 and 13 (1980-1984), me and me m8 used to beg borrow and steel.. then put it into the fruits, JPM eachway suffle 10p/5 plays was our fruit of choice. we wer so hooked we even turned to the darkside and stole from our fellow fruit players by jamming a paper ball up the win tube on random machines then pulling it out later to collect the persons winnings glad my family moved away when we did.

[todd1970]

i knew the womanyour talking about from the what was "silver rooms" in stroud glos she used to get her husband to play the machines that ripped other people off and she`d keep machines for her scabby sisters sometimes savin them for over a week she`d be countin every quid you`d put in hoping you`d losefor her to win i go weston s mare nownow and then have a blow out much more variation of machines of course i play the emulators all the time dont cost nothing

Exactly the whole point of this thread each and every machine player should have the same odds as everyone else..if you played a machine that had just had £200 spunked into it...BINGO !!!

If you played a machine that had just paid out £200 well..we all know the outcome of that one...but thats the chance you take sometimes.

When shit like that goes on though..what chance have ye got.

[cashbox1]

IMO they are ALL a bunch of scammers, we should all pile into Dave`s arcade,at least we`d be in with a good chance of coming out on top

[piesthecat]

this happened in felixstowe some old women went a bit to deep on a lo-tech (jolly jewels ) , got one of the staff to put a out of order sign on it , so i done exactly the same played got a few super series out of it , think i got 30+ out of it for a £5 in and by time i finished the old women came back in came over to me and said that machine is broke i said well its working fine , she saw my bank went to the staff and they came over said that machine is broken, i turned around said no its not working fine pays out fine , took my money and said serves you right for saving machines , went to the owner and told him what they was doing , and now no saving machines for any one . only the ones in over 18 with the reserved signs on them,

i dont think any arcade should run like this because who would you rather one punter who spunks £50 a day or a group of people?

alfie

[kdservices]

That's what I remember from the 90s as well. But I also remember the arcades being packed out with people, and so holding the machine for any amount of time would cause people to get upset as they couldn't get on a machine at all.

Fast forward 15 years or so and the arcades I've been in (OK, I rarely go now but on the odd occasion) have about 5 people max in them. With that in mind, no wonder the arcade owner will do almost anything to keep them happy - I would in my business if I only had 5 clients!!!

ahh the good old days of £6 tokens sp,ace twilight zone and the like my local was packed every day and 20-30 could last ages with judgement on what to play. i went in last week admitidly after a decent run in the bookies (£20 limit now 2 spins on fields of gold if you win good if not its not that bad) any how the place was empty 2 people there shovelling £20's into the tripple 7 b3s i did have a go on the project merlin b3 and £100 in 10 mins sod that.

but all the other machins are about the same the lo tachs go suck suck suck, suck some more ....suck ... streak. and the hi techs all have a block. then theres the cat d space fillers well they're only there to fill spaced lets be honest cos there no licence anymore. and they play worse than noel f***ing edmonds piles of sh*te. £90 it to win 1 flat £5 jackpot sometimes.

but there is hope with people like dave at Mr.P's that we can all enjoy a little fun gample with good odds and proper classics to play.
i will be visiting soon (dave if your reading do you have a rom dumper? if so i'll bring the £15 program card for bwb volcano to add to the resource's)

well thats my 2p worth (edit i lost that in tuppeny fair anyways lol)

Kds

[todd1970]

Just to 'bump' and old thread and to show that it still goes on..was walking past my Nobles yesterday or Cashino Games as its called now..only had about £7 on me so i wasnt out for a session by any means.

I thought..ill try my luck in the 10p/£5 Party Time machine that they have in there..walked in..theres a wummin thats NEVER out of the place playing all 3 at once..mutters to myself 'f***in great innit' and went to play a Bar X machine.

Playing this machine caught it on a small run for £15 odd..thinking to myself is she ever gonna get off them machines..probably not...so took my winnings to a 30p/£25 PTA..its keeping me playing for ages..getting up £14..getting up again £20..etc..but no significant wins.

So there is a 3 player bullions bars right behind the PTA and i hear coins going into it..look round and its the woman that was playing Party Time....good i thought...shes finally off it i can go get a shot of it..meanwhile she decides shes playing all 3 Bullion Bars at once.

Walks over to the Party Time and on all 3 units there is a 'Sorry im being played' card on them..with no credit in any of them...WTF !!!

I mean make up your f***in mind what machine(s) your gonna play..you cant just take your pick surely and when your bored with a machine hold it..cos your bored with it..and 'I may come back to that later' or i may not.

Its not giving other players a fair chance at playing any of the machines because some people in there get preferential treatment and can pick and choose when they play the machines and no-one else gets a look in.

Maybe im being melodramatic...but does this seem fair to anyone else ? .. Im hardly ever in the Arcade but im seriously considering sending an e-mail to their head office about what goes on in their arcades.

[vectra666]

down weston s mare yesterday seen the mangeress jayne on £25 bar x,s wonder if she,s using her own money or still scabbing the raffle at raffles in glos i did go in one arcade which had reerved signs on party games asked if i could play em they took both signs off rolled em both for £25 each lol on a different note they,ve got partytime arena £5 3player one is set on 5p a go and crazy fruits in another at 5p a go bargain put a fiver in 100 credits shame they weren,t £25ers cool

[vividfruit]

Hmmm i have never seen this kind of thing ever happen in the arcades i go to, sure you get the odd granny watching u like hawk and kids following you round the arcade but no out of order signs or stickers. I sure feel sorry for people that have to put up with this though it just aint fair .

[dangerousdave]

Take a video camera in and film what is going on, then say you are sending it to the gambling commission.

[dannypyeman]

this post reminds me of a few years back in my local arcade, a fairly small place with about 30 machines. Every day after work id go for a flutter and play party time arena and i noticed every day this older guy would come in and upon his arrival he would grab every seat he could find, put them in front of all 10 machines he'd be taking residence upon (alot of the time i would walk in there and half the machines would be flashing with 3 credits) and then within 5 minutes, much to my annoyance, he would be running to and from each of "his" machines, back and forth, ploughing in the £1's and about 10 mins later his wife would appear at the door to take up residence on about another 10 machines, and on each machine he would be banking about £60/£70. and im sat there on thinking how is it when i walk in here. no matter what i play i am losing every quid by the minute and yet "everyday man" can walk in and WIN on all these machines and everytime i see him hes always on a bigger bank than everybody else. so i pondered upon this and ive come to the conclusion that arcades really must be corrupted, surely "everyday man" is recieving information from a certain member of staff about what machines have been played during the day and how much has been stuffed in, either he is phoning the arcade or he is recieving phone calls, which ever way he always knows what machines hes going to play. And why are the staff always in his favour? but one day I had the last laugh by swapping and out of order sign from player 2 to player 3 (player 2 really was out of order and id just emptied it) and i sat there pissing myself laughing as he and his wife spunked half their monthly earnings into it.....bet you can guess the rest!!