Carnival Games Of Skill And Chance

Are We Being Ripped Off?

by Roland Kriewaldt

As a child I used to love going to the Midway at Toronto's Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), or "The Ex" as we locals say. Every August it would roll into town for three weeks before school started. They had big rock concerts, livestock shows, ferris wheels, bumper cars, cotton candy, snowcones, and they also had the carnival games of the Midway.

Here one could supposedly win a monster-sized stuffed toy for only fifty cents. Nowadays it's $3.00 or more. The guy at the booth would always do a demonstration to show how easy it was to win, and then I'd get my turn and lose my money. I'd try again, of course, thinking that my missing the hoop, or jug, or balloon, was just a coincidence, a slight error in my judgment that would be corrected on my next turn, or the one after that.

The sequence of the hustle is pretty obvious. First, we're lured by the prospect of getting something for almost nothing — a gigantic stuffed animal worth more than the $3 it costs to potentially win it. And so we play and we lose until reaching that limit where the prize no longer seems equal to what we've spent trying to win it. At that point pride and fear may kick in, causing us to chase our lost money by spending even more — a common human folly for which Las Vegas is very thankful.

The desire to win is tenfold for a young man trying to impress his future girlfriend as she stands next to him awaiting her prize. Under these combat conditions, only losers quit. Sometime $20 later, we become that loser, or if our pain threshhold is high, perhaps $50.

Pride before the fall. We'll likely get indignant, making a scene and acting like an idiot who's too proud to admit he's been had; a victim of our own foolishness. And with that girl walking 10 feet ahead, it's doubtful anyone will be getting something cute and fuzzy today.

But these games are rigged to not function properly: the angle might be impossible to hit the target, the hoop is too narrow, the dart is too dull or weighted incorrectly — there is always a purposeful hitch to put the odds against our winning. It's like a poor person trying to become the president of the USA: the rules state that you have to raise $20 million dollars first. Sorry about that...

Ultimately, the house always wins. Although it's not the casino business, the object is still to create hope and take your money in the end. It's never as easy as advertised, otherwise they'd get cleaned out by anyone with moderate eye to hand coordination. Instead, I wouldn't be shocked if some of those stuffed animals are the same ones that were dangling in my face as a kid. They might just have been dry-cleaned. [I have to say, I'm almost glad I never won after seeing some poor schmuck having to carry a 30 pound stuffed bunny around on rides or to the bathroom, etc.]

As kids, our parents handled our entertainment budget. It's more fun throwing darts, balls, rings, and hard-earned money away when it's someone else's. As we get older (and hopefully wiser), the money we're throwing away is our own, so keep a cool head, take a reality check about the value of winning, set a limit and then stick to it.

Quitting is not always for losers— it's also a sign of wisdom when we know things aren't going to get any better. It's best to walk away smiling and leave when the game stops being fun. Don't leave feeling annoyed or insulted. That's how we can save ourselves a lot of money and spare ourselves some grief. After all, it's just a game, not a test.

So if you're planning a trip to Toronto's Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), a carnival, or even a casino, consider this a heads-up. I hope I got to you in time. Perhaps, rather than blowing your entire budget on cotton candy and feeding the concession booths, why not donate $3.00 to Realitycheckers.com.

Sure, you won't win any big, cute fuzzy things, but at least you know you're not getting cheated. You've already claimed your prize: some helpful advice and a few laughs along the way.

Winner! We've got a winner here!