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First, read the quote below that comes from this site...
A San Diego woman has sued the company that owns the Chuck E. Cheese’s family restaurant chain, claiming that many of the games intended for children at these locations are actually illegal gambling devices — like slot machines.
Denise Keller, a local real estate agent and mother of two daughters ages 3 and 5, filed the potential class-action suit in U.S. District Court March 29. According to court documents, she is asking for a jury trial and damages and restitution of at least $5 million.
But attorney Eric Benink, who represents Keller, said the money is a secondary issue. The purpose of the lawsuit, he said, is to prevent Texas-based CEC Entertainment Inc., which owns and operates the restaurants in 48 states, from keeping the machines in its game rooms.
“We don’t think that children should be exposed to casino-style gambling devices at an arcade,” Benink said, adding that the games take only a few seconds to play and some of them feature a roulette-style wheel.
According to the complaint, many of the games in these rooms are operated by inserting tokens, which can be purchased for 25 cents each. When the games are finished, they dispense tickets that can be redeemed for prizes.
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She may have a point. But as a kid who has been to Chuck E. Cheese for numerous birthday parties and summer camp events I will say that the games there have not turned me into a degenerate gambler, though the only games I played were the ones that gave out a lot of tickets so I could get my prizes. The rubber witch fingers with the long nails were my favorite.
ReplyDeleteI can't tell you how many times my kids came to me for quarters so that they could play those games to win prizes we could have purchased for HALF AS MANY QUARTERS AS THEY SPENT WINNING THEM!
ReplyDeleteStill, the place sold cold beer, so it beat the hell out of a lot of kid-friendly places we could have spent our time.
I think people who are offended by "gambling" should take their kids home if they see it that way. Why does everything have to end up in court these days?
Tsaritsa, it was just fun to me. I didn't think of it as gambling, but then again casinos weren't all over my area when I was a kid.
ReplyDeleteSquatlo, I have no idea why everything is a law suit. In fact, I'm thinking of suing my followers who don't comment for emotional distress.
I never thought about those arcade games that way and if I hadn't read this post, I don't think I ever would.
ReplyDeleteWhere I live gambling and alcohol are evil and must be stictly controlled. Now that you have me thinking about it...I am surprised The Church hasn't banned these games.
They took away my wine coolers becuase they were enticing to kids and would surely lead them down the road to alcoholism. Wouldn't surprise me one bit if they closed down our Chuck E Cheese to prevent future gambling addictions:)
Cake, I never looked at it this way either. Having said that, I still can't really see it the way the lady who's suing does. The State Fair is gambling if that's the case. Along with any raffle such as St. Jude's Children's Win A Dream House and everything else that asks for money to potentially get money. Heck, she should sue the stock market, too.
ReplyDeleteI think she's half right.
ReplyDeleteThere's this game I was playing when my nephew was having his 3rd bday party. The light flashes back and forth. Land it in the right spot, win the jackpot. Land it right next to it, win 10 tickets.
I have rhythm. I'm a musician. (or, at least, was)
I pumped in $5 into that machine. I only hit the 10 10 10 10 10 over and over.
Finally one of the employees passed me by and said "Don't you know that game is rigged? Noone ever hits the jackpot..."
...fuckers...
Still, the kid got 200 tickets from me. I think he got an inflatable hammer or something with that.
I guess when I see billboards of a sad kid who's lost all of his blocks with a caption that reads: Need Help?
ReplyDeleteThen I'll take it more seriously. Kids don't have a clue about the concept of gambling unless a parent puts it in their head. To them it's just a game. That's my personal take on it.
I don't know what chucky cheese but i don't think games like that are harmful if the kids are supervised. I thinks 5m sounds a bit like an overreach to me. The kids can always visit a fair or another arcade and play the exact same games.
ReplyDeleteOh come on. It's whatever you make it out to be. It's a kiddy joint with a giant rat that sells really great pizza. Whats next? Can't go go-carting because it may lead to betting on Nascar? Be a parent and teach your kids. This lady blew it out of proportion. If she is so hung up on gambling why don't she protest legalization of gambling in the city of her choice? Don't shut down my Chuck E. Cheese. I really love their pizza.
ReplyDeleteNice site man!
Alice X - it's just a kid's zone where they play arcade games that give them tickets to redeem for prizes later based on their performance. And unless this lady can prove her child has a gambling problem, then even $5 is too much to me.
ReplyDeleteSKoF - Well said! "Be a parent and teach your kids."
Are you frickin kidding me? Since when does an restaurant with Arcade games all of a sudden constitute gambling? Maybe I am just old school, but it never ceases to amaze me on how much people will waste so much time and tax payers money to sue companies for stupid shit like this.
ReplyDeleteAnd then to top it off, YOU KNOW SHE IS TRYING TO GET PAID! Otherwise then why ask for 5 million dollars. How about this: Chuck E Cheese pay her back what her kids put in the slot to play a video game: 50 Cents call it a day. Pleaseeeeeeeee!
Good one, Sonia! If it's really in the best interest of the kids, if she did fool around and win, I'd split the $5 million with every other kid in the city. LOL! They can all have 47 cents apiece for their winnings.
ReplyDelete