LEFTOVERS: Silly carnival fan tosses good money after bad
We’ve all been there before.
After a few hours of strolling around the carnival, you spot that great prize at a seemingly easy game and just know you can win it with a few bucks.
After about 15 tries, you walk away angry, and the debacle at the game booth ruins the day.
This frustrating scenario is half the fun of going to a state fair or other such event.
Except for New Hampshire resident Henry Gribbohm Jr. Perhaps his pride got to him, or maybe the appeal of winning an Xbox just for making a couple of softballs stay in an impossibly tilted basket was too strong.
But he couldn’t accept his loss. The 30-year-old burned through $300 trying to win a video game system for his son at a carnival in Manchester, N.H. That was all of the cash he had on him, so Gribbohm did the only logical thing he could think of: He went home to gather up his life savings of $2,300 and returned to the game booth.
It no longer was about the Xbox. Gribbohm was focused on getting his money back and going double or nothing against the carny on each throw.
You know how this ended. All $2,600 was gone.
An Xbox, by the way, retails for between $200 and $300.
The angry man returned the next day to complain and was given a stuffed banana with dreadlocks and a $600 refund.
Gribbohm hasn’t learned his lesson, though. He said he plans to use the money he got back to bet on the Buffalo Bills to win the Super Bowl every year and double up his bet until it happens.
That should end well.
■ SPARE A SQUARE? — There have been too many documented problems with the building once called Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum and now known by some corporate nickname or another to even begin listing them in this space.
Whether it’s the area around the stadium, the unappealing construct of the stadium itself or the monstrosity that is Mount Davis, there are a plethora of reasons to despise the place.
But every so often, you still hear a new one.
Angels rookie pitcher Michael Roth tweeted out his reason to dislike playing games in Oakland.
“This clubhouse has the thinnest toilet paper. Might have to contact the union about this …” he posted.
Yet another thing you never heard about in “Moneyball.”
■ BREAKING EVEN — The Cowboys might not be “America’s Team” anymore, but those who believe the nation has slipped into mediocrity might feel like Dallas is the perfect analogy for the United States.
It was that type of year in North Texas.
The Dallas Cowboys bumbled their way to an 8-8 season that left fans and management eager for progress.
The Mavericks, dealing with an injury to All-Star Dirk Nowitzki, stumbled home with a 41-41 record. Not to be outdone, the Stars finished their labor-shortened season at 22-22-4.
None of the teams made the playoffs.
Since this is Dallas, the fans are fed up and ready for blood. If it were Cleveland, they’d throw a parade.
COMPILED BY ADAM HILL
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
