You’re hungry and want a snack. You go to the vending machine and one item, your favorite item, has an extra bag stuffed into the first coil. It’s kind of stuck underneath the proper first bag, in a way that had to be intentional (it’s not the result of someone else getting screwed). Probably the vending machine guy had an extra bag left and just stuck it in there or something. In any case, it’s there.
Now, you might get 2-for-1 if you go for it, but there’s also a decent chance you’ll get nothing. You only have one dollar (everything in the machine costs $1).
I’ve done that plenty of times. Once, I kept on gambling after the second, third, and fourth bag of chips all got jammed up in the machinery. They might all have come toppling out! What the hell: a few dollars so rarely buys so much entertainment!
Machine maker would not spend the $$$ to make one that is random because if not random, found out very quickly.
Also would need the help of machine filler up person.
Filler up person could find a way to have one item looked doubled and ever give it out until the last purchase of that item, then they could do random machines at random times but…
If it was just a random slot each day the does not give the goods without the chance for a double play, I would find a different machine if this was a know & legal thing for the machine company to do.
Also there would have to be more ‘you lose’ than ‘you win’ or what would be the point for the filler up company to do it?
If just one person & they wanted to this long term, they would need to be cagy & not let any pattern develop or they will get caught sooner rather than later.
Well, lotteries certainly reason that way, so why not vending machines?
But the payoff could be exactly even – no advantage for either party – and it could still be a win for the vending machine company, if it entices more people to come and play.
I’m not understanding the risk. If I’m picturing this correctly, the weird one is guaranteed to fall, but maybe not the one behind it. That’s exactly what I remember happening the one time I noticed something like this.
Depends. How hungry am I? Do I have access to other food right away, or will I shortly, or might it be a few hours? Do I prefer my favorite to my second favorite by just a little, or is it one of those situations where there’s really nothing else at all in the machine that I’d want to eat?
Under some of these combinations of circumstances, I’d take the gamble; under others, I’d buy something else; under still others, I’d hang on to my dollar.
The “bonus” bag could remain stuck where it is, while also preventing the bag that is properly placed in the coil from falling.
Full disclosure: I know this because I encountered this exact circumstance this afternoon at work, I gambled, and I lost, thus the inspiration for this thread. Had I the forethought, I’d have taken before and after pictures. Next time, I suppose. (because I will make that gamble pretty much every time)
The “bonus” bag could remain stuck where it is, while also preventing the bag that is properly placed in the coil from falling.
Full disclosure: I know this because I encountered this exact circumstance this afternoon at work, I gambled, and I lost, thus the inspiration for this thread. Had I the forethought, I’d have taken before and after pictures. Next time, I suppose. (because I will make that gamble pretty much every time; I’m stupid like that I guess).
