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sink a hundred quid in a fruit machine
Fruit machines were my nemesis for a few years. As a kid I always liked the lights and the game element and there was always this mystery about how to play them. Then someone showed me how to play them. First time I played one on my own, the worst thing happened, I took the jackpot. £15 in those days so not exactly vegas.
Of course this made me think I was some sort of gambling genius but the house always wins over time. Learnt the hard way but stopped eventually. Once I got a proper job and started getting a half decent wage, I stopped looking for the quick win. Played one on holiday this year. First time in ages, after a couple of quid it spun me in £15 and took me straight into the feature. Old me would have been “hoho! It wants to pay out!” but I just took the money and I walked off.
Tonts-
Fruit machines
Although I did used to earn ~£100/week playing the ones at the pub I worked in. This was in the days of the £4 cash jackpot or £8 token jackpot - early/mid 90s. The bar staff would let us know if there had been any big payouts in the evening (based on the number of tokens in the till), if it was a bit light then it was easy to take ~£30-£50 out of the machine(s). The bar manager would happily swap any tokens for cash.
I did also stick 9EUR in a fruit machine in Cannes because they wouldn't let us into the casino, 3EUR a spin, third spin gave me the 1500EUR jackpot. Merci.
Greenbank
The thing with gambling is if you have the mindset (like I do) that you're more terrified to lose money than any buzz you get out of winning it then it's incomprehensible to see people lose a month's wages in an hour.
But it's fucked (like all addictions), I grew up on council estates surrounded by people who gambled, we were always skint as fuck and as soon as I started working I couldn't imagine spending anything before sorting bills, food etc but my older brother would get his pay packet and sink a hundred quid in a fruit machine without batting an eyelid.
The worst thing though, is after a 60 second buzz from winning they go straight back to betting it all again.