Fruit Machine Chat

is it legal for bar staff to play the machines in pubs they work in.

I went into a pub the other day and i was waiting to get served. One of the staff who was off duty recognised me and started to play the machine i went in for very slowly.

I still bought my drink and played the other machine but the staff member continued to play the machine as slow as possible on 10p per play until i left.

WHICH ANNOYED THE HELL OUT ME

p.s won £18 on the other machine

yes, it is legal. However, alot of bar companies/breweries have rules against this. If it really bothers you, phone up and complain.

Why shouldn't it be legal? if the bar staff at my work aren't playing the machines they keep an eye on for them and let me know what to play when i finish, perks of the job.

Mentioning this however they aren't allowed to play on shift, for obvious reasons, i'm a chef though and nobody bothers if i play them at quiet times, as long as i chuck my jacket on.

Some spoons are awful for this. I've even seen the odd manager addicted!

One pub I went to (fakenham, some ppl will know which one I mean) you actually have to wait for the land lady to get off the machine for her to serve you! we were waiting there about £15 while she laboriously played out a board on raiders!

know it well

Unfortunately you can't do anything about. If you complain you risk bringing attention to yourself. You could use it to your advantage by flattening the machine in question before their typical playing time.

It is in the nature of all players to want to increase their market share, and it annoys me to see players doing my regular games, but the fact is machines are available for all to play if over the age if 18. I'm sure we all know types who get aggressive about people playing "their machines", but it can't be stopped and they just look stupid.

Part of the "game" really.

keep your eye on the offending barman when they're working. from experience running bars, I'd guess approx 1 in 5 barstaff are skimming the till and staff that play machines alot are more likely to be doing it. if you spot them fiddling the till grass them up to the manager.

I'll make it clear I'm NOT saying all bar staff that play machines are on the take, just saying it's reasonably common

This is the reason why the barstaff aren't allowed to play on shift, happens all the time. I don't have access to the till however so i can play whenever i want, it's a lot easier to shark when your in chef whites reading the paper at the bar. Nobody will say anything to an employee.

When I was a barman I was allowed to play after a shift but under no circumstances was I allowed to shark or turn the m/c off when it was ready. How many ex/barstaff on here have been in the situation of a ready m/c with 20mins left to work and someone walks in and drops it. :x

I always thought Landlords/ladies could only play the m/c outside of working hours. Personally, if they play, play in front of me and lose your profits for me to pilfer .

Our survey says 9/10 Publicans/barstaff are 'James Hunts'.

Never play while on shift, just AFTER!

CrosbyRules wrote:Never play while on shift, just AFTER!

Watch it while on shift, take a break just at the right time.

I played on shift once or twice, at about 4pm when the bar was empty. But otherwise I dont play it at all.

[quote="&quot"]When I was a barman I was allowed to play after a shift but under no circumstances was I allowed to shark or turn the m/c off when it was ready. How many ex/barstaff on here have been in the situation of a ready m/c with 20mins left to work and someone walks in and drops it. :x

[quote]

Couldn't turn it off at my work, the Midas box puts a stop to that, alarms every so often if a machine is off during opening hours, the amount of times i've been in the situation where one's been flying and i have ten minutes to go and someone walks in and drops it!

"Watch it while on shift, take a break just at the right time."

That could go so badly wrong. Even ready machines take the piss. Imagine losing a further £30 in your break on a ready machine then some git jumps on and 105s it. GRRRRRRRR!!