Definitely a borderline Darwin candidate

[Pixilated]

Guy blows $2,600 on carnival game, doesn't win what he wanted, files complaint with police

The game operator returned $600 to him, along with the giant stuffed banana, either of which IMO is a lot more than he deserved.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Gee, maybe he could've dipped into his savings to...wait for it....buy the Xbox Knect at a store?

Radical idea, I know.

And he has kids? Oh well, as I always say, there's always somebody as horny as you are stupid.

[taxguykarl]

Mrs. TGK's ex did something like that...or tried to anyway. A hustler by inclination, he got the idea to flip some prizes at a Great America. The problem is, he spent several times what he would likely have paid at a Toys R Us.

[PepperElf]

Gee, maybe he could've dipped into his savings to...wait for it....buy the Xbox Knect at a store?

Radical idea, I know.

And he has kids? Oh well, as I always say, there's always somebody as horny as you are stupid.

Yeah, the most expensive version - 250G + Kinect - goes for $399.99. And there's even a star wars version at that price. For 2600, he could have purchased SIX of them (actually 6.5 but there's still tax of course).


I find it sad... that he somehow thinks someone else is to blame for his own personal actions.

[Aethian]

I saw this on the news yesterday and just made a face at the tv.

[BookstoreEscapee]

I heard this on the "No Sweat News" this morning; they said the game is being investigated because it was possibly rigged and literally impossible to win. (I don't know if that's true.)

That said, guy is an idiot.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Gee, I dunno, I thought it was kind of common knowledge that carnival games are rigged?

Oh well, at least he got a rasta banana for his trouble.

[bhskittykatt]

Mrs. TGK's ex did something like that...or tried to anyway. A hustler by inclination, he got the idea to flip some prizes at a Great America. The problem is, he spent several times what he would likely have paid at a Toys R Us.

The Hubster won me a giant pink hippo. I think we spent close to $200 on games to get it. It was all about the thrill of the hunt (and seeing other people's faces as we lugged that thing around the fairgrounds), but if we really wanted one, hell we could have just gone out and bought one cheaper. The guy in the article is an idiot who paid his stupid-tax.

(And if you ever get any clever ideas of going for those giant-ass carnival prizes, take my word for it: have some sort of plan to transport the thing home. This thing was huge, and our car was small, and we somehow made it work, but only barely.)

(Also, figure out where the hell you're gonna put the thing when you get home. The hippo is squished between our dresser and the ceiling. It stares at us while we sleep...)

[wolfie]

Instead of the rasta banana, they should have given him half a stuffed horse - would have suited him better.

As for the carnival games, it's my understanding that rigging them to make them impossible is too big a risk - large fines if caught, and it's perfectly legal to make them ALMOST impossible (e.g. arranging it so the ball will only stay in the basket if it's thrown with a backspin, but people aren't likely to realize that - but it's possible, so it's not a fraud).

[PepperElf]

indeed, there's a difference between "difficult" and "rigged".

i'm kinda reminded of video games. there's been some where I've just gotten *frustrated* and I can't seem to get through certain sections and keep trying over and over again, getting madder and madder.


It's that mentality that I suspect many of these games tap into. The notion that someone will keep on trying harder and harder - even though it may mean their own tempers make it more difficult. ... enough that it distracts them from just how much they spent without anything to show for it.

[wolfie]

It's that mentality that I suspect many of these games tap into. The notion that someone will keep on trying harder and harder - even though it may mean their own tempers make it more difficult. ... enough that it distracts them from just how much they spent without anything to show for it.

As in the country song "I like it, I love it" (forget who sang it):

Spent 48 dollars last night at the county fair
I throwed out my shoulder but won her that teddy bear

[Miss Maple Leaf]

As in the country song "I like it, I love it" (forget who sang it)

The singer is Tim McGraw.

[PepperElf]

The singer is Tim McGraw.

yep. back when he was still country.