Should've stayed local

[kidgloves]

Well, another half term nearly over and 6 long weeks before the next 2 weeks off, it's a hard life but somebody's got to do it. So what tales of this holiday? Well apart from doing important stuff like visiting the folks, getting pissed with my brother and owning him like a royal muther at P.E.S and Tiger Woods, catching up with close friends over a nice meal and some cinema/bowling, there was enough time to go into 'El Bandito' mode.
I could easily have kept local, friendly staff in the arcades and profiles of machines that I'm used to, bartenders that know you and slip you the nod or the ney whether to play for the price of a drink, but no, we decide to jaunt off to Great Yarmouth and swim with the sharks on machines with unknown profiles/percentages/modchips from the black market. Can't say I don't like a challenge then.
The first day went fairly well, didn't get caught on anything for any length of time and all behaved pretty well and as expected. Some nice moments included a trio of Barcrests that acted out as follows:
1. King Kebab - Showing cash gambles to £3 from the off so I decided to force. 2nd feature gives a very suprising spicey kebabs (been about 4 years since my last) alas it forced the 3 normal kebabs on me before the feature would offer KK mega - result £35. With all this cyclic credit related malarky to this feature I push on on the presumption that the normal game is at the same state as it was pre spicey kebabs. Another £15 and 10 cash knockouts for JP but no streak.
2. Big Brother - crystal ball was a bit shy for the first £10 but it gave up the Reel Magic JP after about £35 and the good old taxi was there on next feature, 2nd JP repeated for the full £75. Quite rare as I remember these nearly always doing £50.
3. Monty Python's Flying Circus - Wasn't really showing at all but I just wanted to hear a few sound effects again as it was cranked up to the max volume. Flat £25 for about £30.
My favourite 'Hit and Run' bar x 7's/Magic 10's et al were on the whole good to play. My hit rate surpassed my run rate quite well, I put £3 in each unit and it has to give a win or 'show' setups that I deem useful to play on. Lots of isolated £10's one or two £45's off the bars, sadly no 7's at all. I got involved with 2 over our stay, one was full from the off whereas nothing around it was and it played fairly but tightly. Annoyingly the refill light came on after I'd collected about £70 so I gave it up as a poor top up or management shenanigans on the floating policy.
The second I got completely shafted on, my own fault. Nowhere near full just lack of discipline so lost about £80 there before giving it up as a bad job as the missus was getting bored, and I feel greatly aware that whilst she is great about these things, sometimes it just makes sense to stop and well...go and enjoy the holiday with your wife.
Yarmouth if a funny place for pubs, they are fairly well spread and most just appear to be well.... peoples converted front rooms. Not many chains or big commercial places to go to. The Wetherspoons had a dead Life''s A Beach, The Pier sported a Jumpin Jack Cash will SSS'd and Mega'd for about £29, I ignored the DOND and the Monopoly FRUIT machine, however we played a really old Monopoly QUIZ macine by JPM I think, cash prize of £3 on the mystery cards.
One pub had an Addams Family which barcoded cheap but no streak, however it's annoying how these offer one or two reasonable bonuses after a JP pretending to be streak happy even when not. I got number run and managed to squeeze in £6, lower than an 11 to a 3 for £8 then the beer stained button stuck down straight away forcing a lower than a 3 to lose, then the fucker went stone cold.
Next to this was a LOTR Fellowship, the old progressive style was like a fond memory, it cash gambled to £5 first off and JP'd not much after but I was a little aprehensive as I'd earlier been stung on the same machine on the pier whilst killing some loose change, £5 JP 10p play. It was getting a reasonable way up the cash side and I wrongly thought that it could probably take a tenner max to climb out to JP and chance of streak, you know like Pick Your Pesos on £5 10p play. God knows what kind of evil chip was in it, but it kept losing the cash gamble at the £2-3 mark and I eventually got a £5 offered on nudges after about £27 in ! No streak, I thought what chance have kids got on something like this ? Never seen such a poor profile to this type of game, neither of them offered superhold to really test the good old days.
Heart stopping moments involved a DOND feature on the lo tec version where I was left with the Mega Streak box and £4, offer was £17.20, no deal and shown the £4 - thanks. Section 16's were brief experiences, usually £2 hit and hopes, although I did put a £20 in a Rainbow Riches mainly to get change and got the 3 rainbows for silver pot of £152. The local lads were forcing a Royal Roulette, which didn't streak and were most perturbed to hear me collect so many pound coins, they started arguing about who should have played it, I refrained from going over and explaining to them that whoever it was, how long they took to walk over, how many coins they put in and whether they would pause for a fart before they started playing would all have to be factored in to the subtle art of randomisation if they thought that win was due to them.
Now I don't know what it is about last days at places, but I sure need to train up on my discipline. It's as if I think I'm never going to play a machine again, so here it all went tits up. About £250 in coins on me, I go back to a certain arcade where the chances are a Bar x is due the Bar/x/o feature from where I'd left it before...no players around...left it £70 light etc so my tracks from the previous days playing were well covered. Sure enough after about £55 it goes full so I plough on, then the middle reel starts slipping it's axis and allthough it's not reel alarming, it get's fucking annoying when 3 bars shows up and you've won nothing etc etc. The attendant just switches it off and there's no chance of an enigineer sorting it before we leave, I'm already involved to the tuno of £60 so have to write that off there an then.
Madness takes over and I decide to hit it big on the Mega Slot. Anyway, £180 or so later I've had 1 Mega Slot for £39..thanks, another swift kick in the bollocks as to why playing Section 16's with anything more than £2 is lunancy.
Anyway if you are ever down there, take a look at any of the It boxes Spot the Difference high scores in any of the pubs that have them, I think we covered them all...you're looking for BOZMIK as the name entry, that's mine and the wifes grafitti left in the rosy town of Great Yarmouth.

[naalelnakla]

were you up after all that. very good read i must say i enjoy a long post like that

[MattB]

Long post there kid!

Yarmouth is fairly dire for playing fruits, as you'd expect any seaside town to be. The quicksilver there only used to have 1 £25 AWP (all fired up) as well, whats the point?! Did you try the pier tavern? That's sometimes ok for a hit, i think many of the chavvy types are banned from there.

Matt

[kidgloves]

Long post there kid!

Yarmouth is fairly dire for playing fruits, as you'd expect any seaside town to be. The quicksilver there only used to have 1 £25 AWP (all fired up) as well, whats the point?! Did you try the pier tavern? That's sometimes ok for a hit, i think many of the chavvy types are banned from there.

Matt

Yeah, didn't go in the Quicksilver as I remember it being awful for choice from before. The Pier Tavern was where the Jumpin Jack was and the quiz monopoly.
The place opposite the entrance to that pub--long bar ?? had plenty of Red's but all dead. They haven't changed the machines in there for ages, even a Snailblazer in there.

[MattB]

Oh yeah....missed that!

That JJC has been there for ages now. It was even in there last time i was in Yarmouth, which was March 2006 - a year! Spoons and the longbar are well covered as well i believe, so all in all its a cack place to win anything.