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View Full Version : NH Man Loses Life Savings On Carnival Game



Teh One Who Knocks
04-30-2013, 10:58 AM
By Michael Rosenfield, WBZ-TV


http://i.imgur.com/Bi9vyrL.jpg

EPSOM, NH (CBS) – Henry Gribbohm says he lost his life savings, $2600, on a carnival game and all he has to show for it is a stuffed banana with dreadlocks.

“You’re expecting the kids to win a few things, let the kids have a good time,” said Gribbohm. “It just didn’t turn out that way.”

Gribbohm says he attended a Manchester carnival run by New Hampshire-based Fiesta Shows and wanted to win an Xbox Kinect at a game called Tubs of Fun where contestants toss balls into a tub. When he practiced he says it was easy, but something changed when he started playing for the prize and the balls kept popping out.

“It’s not possible that it wasn’t rigged,” said Gribbohm.

The 30-year-old from Epsom says he kept trying to win back his money by going double or nothing. He dropped $300 in just a few minutes, then says he went home to get $2300 more and soon lost all of that as well.

“You just get caught up in the whole I’ve got to win my money back.”

Fiesta Shows says the game is run by an independent contractor who has worked for Fiesta for years. Fiesta tells WBZ-TV it is interviewing the contractor to “get to the bottom of what happened” and the game is not being set up at the upcoming carnival in Derry.

“They’ve been with us quite a while,” said Fiesta Vice President John Flynn. “First I ever heard of anything like that.”

Flynn said he did not know the name of the contractor off hand, and said it was “pretty next to impossible” to lose such a large amount of money at the game.

Henry says he went back the next day to complain, and the man running the game gave him back $600. Henry split with the banana and the cash, and filed a report with the Manchester Police Department.

Manchester Police Lieutenant Maureen Tessier says the department is investigating to determine if there was any fraud.

Gribbohm says he is considering a lawsuit.

“For once in my life I happened to become that sucker,” said Gribbohm. “It was foolish for putting up my life savings.”

DemonGeminiX
04-30-2013, 11:11 AM
$2600 is not much of a life's savings.

redred
04-30-2013, 11:27 AM
it is when you're a dumb ass

Goofy
04-30-2013, 12:11 PM
Darwin award winner of the week? :-k

Noraf45
04-30-2013, 12:14 PM
“It’s not possible that it wasn’t rigged,”

Has this man never played a carnival game before? He should consider himself lucky the carny even gave him back $600 the next day.

Story time:

Years ago my wife and I went to a carnival and they had this game where you threw a ball and had to break two plates with one throw (they were spaced apart). My wife wanted to try and the guy explained how to do it, gave her the ball, and started to walk off to the side. She threw the ball immediately, while his back was turned before he even got to the side of the stand, and broke 2 plates. He tried to tell us it didn't count and that she was supposed to wait for him to get over to the side first. He only gave in and handed us a giant stuffed giraffe once a crowd formed and started booing. It turns out with that game that there's a foot switch to the side that somehow reinforces the plates from behind to make them harder if not impossible to break.

In another case, my current boss's father used to work at a carnival game stand. The popular one where you lob a softball into a tilted basket and make it stay in. They demonstrate it and it stays in easily, but when you throw it it bounces out. Once again, a foot switch activates a spring under the basket so the balls bounce out.

deebakes
04-30-2013, 12:20 PM
just buy one of those dumb things at walmart, it will ALWAYS be cheaper :shrug:

Teh One Who Knocks
04-30-2013, 12:26 PM
just buy one of those dumb things at walmart, it will ALWAYS be cheaper :shrug:

It doesn't impress your girlfriend/wife if you buy it at Walmart :nono:

deebakes
04-30-2013, 01:25 PM
then spend 10% more and buy it at target :shrug:

Hal-9000
04-30-2013, 03:39 PM
I suck at baseball...I tried the game with 3 bottles stacked in a mini pyramid on a stand. You throw the ball and have to knock down all 3. My first throw I nailed all of them off the stand (and the ball rebounded a little wildly and may have caught the carny in the back...just a little.)

Carny gets pissed, claims 1 bottle was still on the stand (it was literally leaning against the stand) and then he won't give me my stuffed animal. I COMPLAINED that it wasn't explained that the bottles had to leave the stand as well as be knocked down, people beside me started booing and he had to give me the stuffed toy.

I'll never forget his stare as he gave me the damned hippo or whatever it was...like he was giving me a gold bar and would be back later at my house to retrieve it :lol:

Muddy
04-30-2013, 03:44 PM
Sorry, moron.