own up

Istenem · Post by **Istenem** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 9:11 pm

my local (with an itbox) was IOUing £26 today, had a word with the publican with whom i'm acquainted but it was the first he'd known about it.

so i deduce that some pro has stuck his dick in the mashed potato. i personally would not take -£26 on the chin for the sake of anonymity. but then i guess there is a different agenda if you need to keep a low profile.

(pic will follow when i'm at work, the computer at home is a fossil)

can a loss of £26 really be taken as an occupational hazard?

cool · Post by **cool** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 12:39 am

either the person was up to something or as is more likely the player couldnt be bothered to go through the hassle of claiming it. Pubs rarely pay out without the machine being checked and if the player lived a long way from pub knew he wouldnt be able to get back to get it as pub and machine companies have not heard of sending money owed by cheque. where was the pub? I walked off recently leaving loads of money behind but cant remember the location!

cool · Post by **cool** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 12:40 am

just re-read your post. My memory isnt that short!

JG · Post by JG » Fri Feb 08, 2008 12:56 am

Probably - then again insert £20 note, win a few bob. Hopper jam. Nah it's unlikely, more likely a pro shitting in your doorstep which is what you said in the first place. So sorry for that pointless interruption.

Properpro · Post by **Properpro** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 7:54 am

Depends on a lot of circumstances, but a loss may well be acceptable.
A one-off £20 to bring yourself to the attention of a potentially hostile 'gaffa' who may well ban you, or steady unnoticed reward every other time you visit. No contest really.

Money goes in, sometimes it stays there.

thepro · Post by **thepro** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 9:22 am

"shitting on your doorstep" who says you own the machines in your areagrow up you little bully lucky it wasnt me cos if you had "threatne me" you wouldnt have been doing it again!

bigv038 · Post by **bigv038** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 9:36 am

thepro wrote:"shitting on your doorstep" who says you own the machines in your areagrow up you little bully lucky it wasnt me cos if you had "threatne me" you wouldnt have been doing it again!

Bit OTT don't you think?

Istenem · Post by **Istenem** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 9:44 am

thepro wrote:"shitting on your doorstep" who says you own the machines in your areagrow up you little bully lucky it wasnt me cos if you had "threatne me" you wouldnt have been doing it again!

well that's taught me

believe me, the pub in question is very friendly, i don't go to nasty pubs (very often). it raises another question, when i go back tonight i anticipate winning. how can SWP be a viable industry? there must be an inordinate number of clowns about who are losing a lot (which i rarely see) to fund our prizes.

thepro · Post by **thepro** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 9:47 am

i appologise i thought your original post came across as threatning sorry i misintepreted it, im actually a normal guy that works just hate bullys. i dont play quiz machines often i do certain fruit machines instead a lot more money to make and a lot quicker easy to make £20 plus profit a pub on a decent route

grecian · Post by **grecian** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 10:01 am

I suspect you're right that a pro has visited and deemed it not worth putting in a claim for the missing monies.

I nearly always do ask for anything more than £5, but more in hope than expectation: the number of places, even big chains, that take a number but never ever ring back is unbelievable. That said, the last couple of times I've been paid fairly decent amounts in cash straight away (one at Northern Monkey's home ItBox recently - sorry NM if you found it broken in the last couple of weeks...)

For a pro I'd imagine it's different though - it's their livelihood and they can't really run a risk of aggravating landlords or getting "known" in particular pubs or areas. Also, I imagine someone like INCA could drift in and, ten minutes later, be £19.50 up from FFQ and on his way if he wants. Therefore, if that money gets swallowed up, it's only a waste of fifteen minutes of his time and there's likely to be another willing machine somewhere nearby.

I wouldn't regard it as "shitting on your doorstep" though Istenem - everyone's entitled to visit any pub, and given none of us know which is your local we're not in a position to take steps to avoid it!

I think there are *a lot* of punters out there playing these things. Some of the ItBox groups on Facebook, say, have over a thousand members, many of whom seem fanatical about playing them even though (by their own admission) they lose money on them. If I go out on an SWP raid, I can expect a noticeable proportion (10%? 15%?) to be being played. Chances are, those players aren't pros.

Istenem · Post by **Istenem** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 10:24 am

sorry about the shit, it was meant to be light-hearted but i phrased it badly. so that is my bad.
re. IOU messages i will always pipe up although it seems to be happening less lately. and i have been known to kick up quite a fuss on return visits (where somedody along the line has had sticky fingers) which is neither mannerly nor appropriate. but i guess you are right, -£26 quid, well £-10 for the jailed stake anyway is not going to stop the world turning and there are other pubs along the way.

Northern Monkey · Post by **Northern Monkey** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 10:40 am

grecian wrote:
I nearly always do ask for anything more than £5, but more in hope than expectation: the number of places, even big chains, that take a number but never ever ring back is unbelievable. That said, the last couple of times I've been paid fairly decent amounts in cash straight away (one at Northern Monkey's home ItBox recently - sorry NM if you found it broken in the last couple of weeks...)

Well not sure which i would class as my local but one near here always either pays out £2-£4 short or £2-£4 extra (presumably at the first punter's expense). Therefore always worth snatching a quick £1 on Bully and collecting to see if you get this additional shot at a "Bully Bonus"

Anyway I went for a job interview in E14 last night and having conducted due diligence on both the potential employer and the the itbox across the road it is an attractive proposition

Can also now understand how people were raping the Scrabble

Not being able to find a cash point it was one of those happy occassions where having paid for a pint I cpuld only scrape together 50p which I cautiously doubled with a quick go on Celebrity Snap.

This went in Scrabble nervously as still got 4/5ths of a pint to drink and lo and behold the target is at 45 and then still easily attainable twice more.

Modest result on Bully £1 play and a quick foragee round some of the others and £24 out. Another pint to accompany a fag and no need for the cashpoint.

This is how quiz machine playing should be although it might be difficult explaining in my exit interview that I am dissatisfied with work because the WC2; EC4A SWPs are all too difficult.

grecian · Post by **grecian** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 12:21 pm

LOL at Hornby's tale. I've always found the Wharf fairly thin on the ground for machines - there's a lack of pubs (lots of bars) and therefore not much SWP action to my eyes. I'd hate to work in the Wharf and the two main reasons are the lack of SWPs and the lack of pubs! I imagine there's a bit of action in some of the surrounding areas though - Greenwich comes to mind as somewhere I've played a bit in the past.

Anyway, very good work on the knife-edge SWP wins, and good luck with getting the new post. Can't say I'll be gutted losing a top-drawer player such as yourself from the general area, but it'd be a pity not to see you around occasionally.