I’m sat here in the change desk at work looking at the public carelessly wasting their money on machines, the majority of them knowing that there is an overwhelming chance of them leaving this amusement arcade out of pocket. To a lot of people, especially your average middle-aged housewife, the gambling machines are an obsessional addiction. Some think if they hit the 'start' button with different temperaments it'll change the course of the reels' destination! Others talk to the 'bandits' as if to coax or comfort them into landing a winline.
The examples are relentless. One particular woman comes in every day and spends anything up to £30 per session. Even worse, another woman would spend all the housekeeping money in here, while her kids have to wear their school uniforms during the holidays as they don’t have any other clothes. I have, on occasion, found myself falling into the same traps and have spent £££’s at a time on worthless gambling machines. It's so easy to become hooked on them and very expensive.
Having worked at this arcade for nearly a year, I at first found it a physical shock. That was after carrying heavy timber and sawing it and working mainly outdoors in freezing or wet conditions, and then suddenly finding myself walking around an arcade. It took a while to get used to the boredom of the job, but I've adjusted and now use my work time to write letters, conspire 4Q's next move, and plough my way through many a fictitious epic. My respect for the human race has lowered somewhat since I began working here, as most people I deal with are real dregs of society.
