pub bannings update!

[QuizMaster]

Everybody's been banned from that Millionaire in Newquay.

[Matt Vinyl]

Heh, if I do indeed see them again, I might casually 'monitor' their choice of game.

[Nil Satis]

On £1k WWTBAM, I never played it - how did it work? How winnable would that £534 be for a novice like me?!

I only saw this a few times but it was basically three standalone JPM machines placed with their backs to each other in a "circle" with a big neon sign above advertising the current jackpot, which would increase by 10p for each £1 game played. The game itself played pretty similar to normal Millionaire up to about the £3/£4 mark then after that you would get trickier questions that often relied on mental arithmetic as well as general knowledge - the two subjects that stick in my mind as always appearing were Eurovision and Saint's Days, so you would be asked:

Who won the Eurovision Song Contest 14 years before Teach-In?

Which of the following Saint's Days comes earliest in the year?

Both of these subjects cropped up in fact on standard Millionaire when it was in 'not wanting to pay' mode - I saw examples of both at the weekend on the last two standalone Millionaires I still know about. For both you'd need to know (or have written down in very accessible form) all the relevant facts and be able to quickly work out where in the list they appeared.

I never made it much above about £5 so I don't know what the last few questions were like, or indeed if it gave you several questions for each prize increase after that, but it was certainly an interesting concept.

Finally, interesting story from Matt Vinyl - wonder who these chaps were and what it is they were playing? Perhaps it is Hexpert and his football-mad chum!?

I think I've made my views clear on Hex and similar games. For me, being barred for playing those games would be harder than being barred from a Wetherspoon's!

[cp999]

Grecian, you will stand next to no chance of winning the jp on £1k Millionaire without serious effort. If memory serves, the questions subdivide at 125k (ie 6 still to go at that point), and the spoilers start at about 16k (and keep coming). They are "Which of these saint's days comes earliest in the year", "Who won the Eurovision Song Contest n years after it was won with '.........' ", "Who won the Nobel Prize for physics n years after it was won by '.......' " and variations thereof. (There are other categories too, though the Oscars spoilers wee oddly doable.)

I've not been banned from a gay bar since the early nineties; most of the time the bar staff don't care at all. Once upon a time, a friend of mine came into a gay bar to do the itbox and found I was already on it. He then exclaimed loudly (and sarcastically) "Oh. What a coincidence. You're homosexual too!" Then got a spoiler question on SIR about washing-up brand sales. "Fairy. It was big in sales and it's big in here too." What a comedian. ops:

[cp999]

Ive been banned from at least 50 pubs over the years(fortunately most in the late 80's) and yet my girlfriend has not to my knowledge been discriminated against (she is oriental).

I'm not sure if you would agree, but I think you're less likely to be banned if you go into the pub with a woman. I can only think of one time when I've had female company and got banned.

[cool]

I agree and you wouldnt want to argue with her--- she wanted to have it out with a 6ft plus 15stone doorman who insulted me. I was quite happy to lead the retreat! You are less likely to be banned in the company of a woman but it is often the landlords spouses that cause the fuss that leads to the banning.

[grecian]

Interesting stuff on the £1k WWTBAM. How many of these were there at their height? Thinking about it I think I may recall having seen one in the arcade in Gloucester Green in Oxford years back, but I don't think I ever played it. Did all of the big prizes go to known names within the SWP real boy / terminator community, or did some average punters luck out? Assuming nine spoilers in a row, the chances of lucking out would be about 1 in 262,000 on my calculations, so I presume not and all the cash went to the big boys! Is the Newquay one the only one left then?

[cp999]

I believe there were quite a few in Blackpool at one point. I never went there to play them, for two main reasons. a) I got banned from a fair few places in Blackpool in the early nineties and didn't really fancy going back b) I had so much other stuff at that point that I was happy enough demolishing it.

[grecian]

I believe there were quite a few in Blackpool at one point. I never went there to play them, for two main reasons. a) I got banned from a fair few places in Blackpool in the early nineties and didn't really fancy going back b) I had so much other stuff at that point that I was happy enough demolishing it.

I was in Blackpool on other business last November and had quite a good nose around several of the larger arcades along the seafront - precious little evidence of any SWP activity in those arcades, and I certainly didn't see any extant £1k WWTBAM games (I did find a £40 JP stand-alone WWTBAM, but the screen was f**ked). All rather disappointing - and I'd place Blackpool second only to Great Yarmouth on my list of Depressing British Places.

[QuizMaster]

I did the one in Coral Island a few years ago.

[Properpro]

On £1k WWTBAM, I never played it - how did it work? How winnable would that £534 be for a novice like me?!

Easy really, arrive with about £300 in pound coins.
Don't know about now, but all these WWTBAM's used to have a 'tipping' point, usually between £700 & £900. When this point arrived the machine would start offering intermittent easy runs of questions, (presumably to ensure a random genuine punter won the jackpot), it just didn't work.
Those in the know were aware of individual 'tipping points', arrived before the point was reached, and feed the machines until the easy questions started. £200 or £300 to win £900? Easy money!!. It was a right bun fight, sometimes with overtones of violence, (the amounts of money involved).

The alternative was to sort out the lists of blocking questions and type them out, they only needed one sheet of A4. The WWTBAM gave lots of time for you to reference your list if necessary!!

[Nil Satis]

Interesting stuff on the £1k WWTBAM. How many of these were there at their height? Thinking about it I think I may recall having seen one in the arcade in Gloucester Green in Oxford years back, but I don't think I ever played it. Did all of the big prizes go to known names within the SWP real boy / terminator community, or did some average punters luck out? Assuming nine spoilers in a row, the chances of lucking out would be about 1 in 262,000 on my calculations, so I presume not and all the cash went to the big boys! Is the Newquay one the only one left then?

The two I knew were in Milton Keynes and in one of the arcades in Blackpool - either Coral Island that QuizMaster mentions or the one opposite (something like "Mr B's"?). This was several years ago, mind you, and I think you are right that the arcades in Blackpool are now SWP-free zones. It is something of a depressing place but one we could all top I'm sure - a subject for a new thread methinks...

As for who won the big prizes, it must have been people who knew what they were doing - I'd find it inconceivable that ordinary players could luck out to that extent, given that they would have found it hard enough just to get to the £3 barrier.

On that note, a thought from my weekend peregrinations - I am sure we have all seen how popular Monopoly is for punters but has anyone ever witnessed punters actually getting to the end game and winning one of the measly prizes contained therein? It struck me while waiting for a drippy couple to get off 'my' ItBox at the weekend that I have never actually seen anyone do this while watching and waiting.

[grecian]

Thanks for all the comments on £1 play WWTBAM - very interesting. Presumably if the prize level went up 10p for each £1 entered, the Newquay WWTBAM would need another £2,000 to go up another £200 and into the "easier zone" that Properpro speaks of, so I can see why none of you boys are hotfooting it down there just yet!

[ROSSKEEN]

I was in Blackpool a couple of months ago.

Coral Island hasnt had the £1k Millionaire for years. It did used to have a standalone Weakest Link but its been gone a couple of years now. Mind you I was pretty appalled by the general state of a lot of machines in there. Many bulbs gone and coin mechs not working.

I dont think I saw many other quiz machines at all, even in pubs.

[Matt Vinyl]

So long as you guys don't tell anyone I actually went there ( ) there was a £1k WWTBAM on Eastbourne Pier the year before last. No idea if it's still there, however.