Man Loses Life Savings On Carnival Game...

[The Interpreter]

Gets Giant Banana and $600 Refund:

http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/05/01/man-loses-life-savings-playing-carnival-game-wins-giant-banana/

[SonofBaconator]

[CedarPointer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f3waZ9GYgM

[DontWantToWait42mar0]

At least he won the banana!

[jcgoble3]

I'm sorry, but if you're 30 years old and your total life savings is only $2,600, then I highly doubt that your financial situation is such that you should be wasting money on carnival games in the first place.

[DBInternational]

That guy should probably never try gambling...

[Dieseltech20]

He didn't win the Banana, they gave it to him when he went back to complain about the game. I thought everyone knew that Carnival games were rigged?

[shark6495]

the best part was he was trying to win a video game system he could have bought for less than 300$

[Screaming_Chicken]

Really?!?! This is just...sad...

[Thrill_Biscuit]

This is precicely what causes addict gamblers to 1. become addicted and 2. lose everything. Remember: The odds favor the house ALWAYS.

Most such games are engineered to make the player want to win the biggest, best prize by spending the most the fastest. The responsibility of restraint is the player's.

If you don't win after a few tries, STOP! You have other things to spend money on later.

If you happen to win and are offered "Double or Nothing," STOP! Take your prize and go. You've already won; why take a 50% risk against your own victory?!?!

If you do happen to "win big" on your first few tries, STOP! You really got "lucky." Statistically, however, your next big win will cost you more than the value of your prize!

Don't get caught up in trying to win back what you've lost... it's hard for some to break out of.

[Cody]

He deserved it, if you're a grown man and can't keep track on how much money you're spending on a carnival game, you deserve to lose your money. They shouldn't of given him a banana and shouldn't of given him 600 dollars back.

I will say this though, if they can prove that he had 0% chance of winning or if the game was rigged, he could have a case, but doubtful.

[medford]

I'm sorry, but if you're 30 years old and your total life savings is only $2,600, then I highly doubt that your financial situation is such that you should be wasting money on carnival games in the first place.

My guess, is that if you're spending $2,600 on a carnival game to win a $100 XBox kinect, you don't have much of a life savings nest egg built up.

On a side note, many would be surprised how few a % of people over the age of 30 couldn't scratch up $1000 on short notice to cover an emergency expense. I remember seeing some 60 minutes (or perhaps another news magazine show) story off people looking for work and how some had tapped into their 401(k). One person said they had exhausted their entire 401(k) and was still with out work. Biggest problem was that the person was in their late 50s, maybe even 60s and their value of their 401(k) prior to taking out early withdrawls was like $70,000. For those unaware, $70,000 isn't much of a retirment nest egg, at least that late in one's working career.

[SupremoSteveo]

I'm sorry, but if you're 30 years old and your total life savings is only $2,600, then I highly doubt that your financial situation is such that you should be wasting money on carnival games in the first place.

My guess, is that if you're spending $2,600 on a carnival game to win a $100 XBox kinect, you don't have much of a life savings nest egg built up.

On a side note, many would be surprised how few a % of people over the age of 30 couldn't scratch up $1000 on short notice to cover an emergency expense. I remember seeing some 60 minutes (or perhaps another news magazine show) story off people looking for work and how some had tapped into their 401(k). One person said they had exhausted their entire 401(k) and was still with out work. Biggest problem was that the person was in their late 50s, maybe even 60s and their value of their 401(k) prior to taking out early withdrawls was like $70,000. For those unaware, $70,000 isn't much of a retirment nest egg, at least that late in one's working career.

I'm close to 30 and I rarely have over 1000 in my savings. Its just hard to save up sometimes with my mortgage, 2 car payments, and various other bills. I haven't done it, but I've thought about it plenty of times to tap into our 401(k).

Back on topic: I think this guy does have a serious problem, whether it's gambling or not. How do you not know when to draw the line and stop playing the game?? If I spend 20 dollars on a game, I felt like I have over done it.

Maybe the banana was telling him to do it, I don't know. Haha

[Thrill_Biscuit]

I'm reminded of a rigged Balloon-Dart game at the Montana State Fair one year. There were all these wonderful prizes visible in the trailer/booth. The drunken carney handed me the typical, blunt darts and explained the simple rules. I threw all three darts and was able to pop 3 underinflated balloons. The carney quickly reached under the "table" and pulled out a plastic spider ring. I said "your sign says I win a big prize." He pushed what looked like a doorbell button and walked back over to me and said "UP TO a large prize. You don't win that with just one game." I started complaining when this half-bald, greasy-haired 50-something, whol looked exactly like TV's "Cannon," came over on a huge motorcycle, chomping a cigar and staring like he was ready to bounce me (thus, I guess, the doorbell button). I tossed the cheap "prize" that I spent $2 on back to the carney and just walked away. Wiser.

[medford]

I'm sorry, but if you're 30 years old and your total life savings is only $2,600, then I highly doubt that your financial situation is such that you should be wasting money on carnival games in the first place.

My guess, is that if you're spending $2,600 on a carnival game to win a $100 XBox kinect, you don't have much of a life savings nest egg built up.

On a side note, many would be surprised how few a % of people over the age of 30 couldn't scratch up $1000 on short notice to cover an emergency expense. I remember seeing some 60 minutes (or perhaps another news magazine show) story off people looking for work and how some had tapped into their 401(k). One person said they had exhausted their entire 401(k) and was still with out work. Biggest problem was that the person was in their late 50s, maybe even 60s and their value of their 401(k) prior to taking out early withdrawls was like $70,000. For those unaware, $70,000 isn't much of a retirment nest egg, at least that late in one's working career.

I'm close to 30 and I rarely have over 1000 in my savings. Its just hard to save up sometimes with my mortgage, 2 car payments, and various other bills. I haven't done it, but I've thought about it plenty of times to tap into our 401(k).

Back on topic: I think this guy does have a serious problem, whether it's gambling or not. How do you not know when to draw the line and stop playing the game?? If I spend 20 dollars on a game, I felt like I have over done it.

Maybe the banana was telling him to do it, I don't know. Haha

Trust me, I know what its like to feel like every dollar coming in, is already going out for the next car payment, child care, mortgage, etc.. didn't mean to come off preachy. Financial discussions are often best for other boards

[KI-ORIG-EMP]

Just like the balloons are under inflated in the dart game, the basketball is under sized in the basketball toss game. The backboard is slanted and is not a regulation backboard. All of the games are not what they seem to be. All of the games are a waste of money for the people playing them. Your reward is nothing but a cheap prize that you will be better off buying at a local store. This guy knew they were rigged in this fashion and he played them anyway. He stands no chance in trying to file a lawsuit in this matter. Any lawyer that will take this legal action on the typical 33% fee of any award is a fool.

[The Interpreter]

Tell us that again if/when he wins millions of dollars.

Terp, who doesn't make legal opinions based on media interpretations of the facts.

[shark6495]

I'm sorry, but if you're 30 years old and your total life savings is only $2,600, then I highly doubt that your financial situation is such that you should be wasting money on carnival games in the first place.

My guess, is that if you're spending $2,600 on a carnival game to win a $100 XBox kinect, you don't have much of a life savings nest egg built up.

On a side note, many would be surprised how few a % of people over the age of 30 couldn't scratch up $1000 on short notice to cover an emergency expense. I remember seeing some 60 minutes (or perhaps another news magazine show) story off people looking for work and how some had tapped into their 401(k). One person said they had exhausted their entire 401(k) and was still with out work. Biggest problem was that the person was in their late 50s, maybe even 60s and their value of their 401(k) prior to taking out early withdrawls was like $70,000. For those unaware, $70,000 isn't much of a retirment nest egg, at least that late in one's working career.

I'm close to 30 and I rarely have over 1000 in my savings. Its just hard to save up sometimes with my mortgage, 2 car payments, and various other bills. I haven't done it, but I've thought about it plenty of times to tap into our 401(k).

Back on topic: I think this guy does have a serious problem, whether it's gambling or not. How do you not know when to draw the line and stop playing the game?? If I spend 20 dollars on a game, I felt like I have over done it.

Maybe the banana was telling him to do it, I don't know. Haha

Trust me, I know what its like to feel like every dollar coming in, is already going out for the next car payment, child care, mortgage, etc.. didn't mean to come off preachy. Financial discussions are often best for other boards

Depending on which "financial guru" you listen to there are few thoughts on finances. The idea is that if you have credit card debt, then you truly have no savings. Dave Ramsey suggests you have $1000 in savings while Susie Orman says you should have 4-6 months of savings in the bank. For emergency funds, etc. They also suggest that if you pay off a credit card then take that extra money you spend each month on the paid off card and put it on the next card/debt you are paying.

Other suggestions include paying off the debt with the highest interest rate while some believe you should pay off the largest or smallest debt.

I do not claim to be a financial guy, but just thought I would throw in some helpful hints that helped me create my families debt/savings plan....

[jcgoble3]

^ Or just don't charge anything to your credit card that you can't afford to pay off in full the next month in the first place, like I do. In other words, don't buy what you can't afford.

[flightoffear1996]

I wonder how many chances he got? What a moron.

[shark6495]

^ Or just don't charge anything to your credit card that you can't afford to pay off in full the next month in the first place, like I do. In other words, don't buy what you can't afford.

I have however, will use a credit card to gain bonus points (pay off right away) or use to break a payment down for a few months, to not destroy savings on big item purchases (lawn mower, washer/dryer, mattress.) 12 months/same as cash helps keep the savings from dropping too low. Plus credit scores are built by responsible credit card use.

[jcgoble3]

^ Or just don't charge anything to your credit card that you can't afford to pay off in full the next month in the first place, like I do. In other words, don't buy what you can't afford.

I have however, will use a credit card to gain bonus points (pay off right away) or use to break a payment down for a few months, to not destroy savings on big item purchases (lawn mower, washer/dryer, mattress.) 12 months/same as cash helps keep the savings from dropping too low. Plus credit scores are built by responsible credit card use.

Fair point (especially since I recently purchased a $1,000 laptop on a Best Buy credit card with an 18 months same as cash plan), so let me amend my statement:

Or just don't charge anything to your credit card that you can't afford to pay off in full the next month or can't comfortably form a budget that will allow you to pay it off in a reasonable amount of time without affecting your ability to pay for necessities like groceries and bills in the first place, like I do. In other words, don't buy what you can't afford.

[The Interpreter]

I wonder how many chances he got? What a moron.

At $5 per play, at least 520!

[Jr for Birdy]

This story is sad,but happens in casinos every day. My friend and I go to the casino once a month and we take 40 to 100 dollars and leave the credit cards at home!

[KI-ORIG-EMP]

This guy is claiming that these carnival games were rigged or that they somehow cheated in the operation of the games. A little research would had shown that these games are not what they seem to be. Take the basketball toss. These basketballs and backboards are not regulation as the balls are smaller than regular balls and the backboards are slanted. The balloons in the dart game are under inflated and makes it harder to burst them with the dart. Casinos are regulated and all the games are checked and they are monitored to prevent people from cheating in the playing of the games. This guy should had known how these carnival games worked and would had been less expensive to go to Best Buy and buy that video game. The game operators are banking on the fact that people think these games are on the up and up and are not slightly modified like the basketballs and balloons as an example.

[jcgoble3]

Of course they're rigged. Example: The basketball shooting game that sets up at my county fair every year has multiple signs posted stating "NON-REGULATION RIMS" and "13-INCH RIMS". Granted, most games aren't that upfront about it (I suspect that one is only because of some rule set by the Fair Board that I'm not aware of), but if you know what to look for you can probably figure out how many of them are rigged.

[The Interpreter]

I've never understood why amusement park games aren't typically considered gambling in the United States. In Canada, they are. And the prizes are much, much better.

[Tanna]

Just like the balloons are under inflated in the dart game, the basketball is under sized in the basketball toss game. The backboard is slanted and is not a regulation backboard. All of the games are not what they seem to be. All of the games are a waste of money for the people playing them. Your reward is nothing but a cheap prize that you will be better off buying at a local store. This guy knew they were rigged in this fashion and he played them anyway. He stands no chance in trying to file a lawsuit in this matter. Any lawyer that will take this legal action on the typical 33% fee of any award is a fool.

For some reason, my cranky neighbor who ran a basketball booth showed me how it was rigged. He also showed me how to toss a coin into one of those water bottles to get it to land right. I never played carnival games. I always thought the prizes would be cheap knockoffs or broken.

I was a jaded child.

[gad198]

The world of amusement park games is really interesting.

One of my hobbies is to travel around to different amusement parks to play games. I've never seen park employees or managers stop a patron from playing a game because the patron was losing too much at a particular game. Not once. I've seen people drop more than $400 at a game at any one time without much to show for it. The gentleman in the story took the spending to new levels, and the story does bring out that the losing was accentuated by playing "double or nothing." Still, no one really thinks that the operator did anything wrong assuming the game conditions were fair (which is another story altogether).

On the flip side, I've personally seen all kinds of antics from amusement park games personnel when an expert player is playing. A short list:

• Instituting "on the spot", random prize limits where no limits previously existed or were posted because the player is winning too much for the operators liking
• Immediate changes to prize limits after an expert rolls through
• Constant reminders by games managers to employees to enforce prize limits (only) because an expert player is on the premises
• Park personnel "backing off" an experts play (i.e., telling the player to stop playing for the day), even if the expert hasn't reached stated (or unstated) prize limits
• Banning an expert from playing a particular game because they're too skilled

Amusement parks and the larger carnival game operators don't have any incentive to rig the games. They're not going to risk their licenses just to squeeze out a few bucks when they know they're going to win in the long-run. I have never felt like any of the games that I've played at well-established places are rigged. They don't have to be, because most people can't beat the games.

On the other hand, the relationship between the parks and the expert players is often very uneasy. Some games are beatable over the long-run by an expert player, and the parks seek to limit exposure to those players through the use of prize limits. What most parks don't understand, however, is that the expert games player (unlike an expert who goes to the casino and seeks to stay as low profile as possible) is actually good for business. Why? The experts are walking advertisements for the games! When you see someone walking around with a lot of prizes it lets others know that the games aren't all impossible and that they can win too. It's a very odd coexistence at times.

[medford]

^ Or just don't charge anything to your credit card that you can't afford to pay off in full the next month in the first place, like I do. In other words, don't buy what you can't afford.

Problem is, most people don't stumble onto a Dave Ramsey or Suzie Orman until they've piled up $30k+ in credit card debt, multiple car loans, a mortgage they can't afford, etc....

I believe the point behind Dave Ramey's plan to initial save up $1000 emergency fund before paying off your debt, is that in case an emergency comes up, you don't have to go further into debt. I don't know all of Dave's teachings, but I'm going to assume once somebody has paid off all their debt besides their home mortgage, he'd advocate having 3-6-12 months of liquid savings built up in case of a job layoff, medical issues forcing you to miss work, etc...

From what I know of Dave's teachings, he can be extreme, and cut people off from otherwise financially sound practices, however you can't get into any "trouble" following what he practices.