Drunk Bar Hustle
Reading time: 2 – 3 minutes
I used to work for a place that would put coin-op video games in bars all over LA. Now the coin-op angle has dried up since the Xbox but that damn video poker crap that sits on top of the table is still a money maker. Depending on where you live and where you can be these tabletop games clean up big time. Most of the bars that are real dives and I mean places where drunks stumble out are your potential clients. These drunks are trying to avoid going home to their wives and they will play Megatouch forever. If you live in a town where you have blue collar workers this will be a money maker.
Setup:
- Look for used Megatouch machines on Craigslist.
- Find a technician from ITT tech who can fix these machines when they break down
- Set up a 50/50 split with the bar owner and count the money in front of him/her so they know you are on the up and up.
- Once you are in the game go from bar to bar seeing if you can setup 1 or 2.
- Get a list of all the bars in your neighborhood and areas where you are willing to drive.
- Get a coin counter and some coin bags from the bank because it’s the money that jingles not the money that crinkles.
Parlay:
- Look for better machines that accept dollars and credit cards
- Expand your territory
- Resell the old machines to people who have a Man Cave in their house as they would love to have one
This is a old hustle that was dying when it came to video games but this video poker stuff is still at plenty of bars and Happy Hour spots. You don’t have to have the newest machines as they all have the basic same games so don’t overspend. Place a couple of these and you will have a constant source of money and the bar owners will be happy for the additional revenue.
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You have to offer prizes – not money.
This type of gambling is illegal in most municipalities.
this is a great idea…when i used to hang out at the bar with my cousin we had to wait in line to play these games. i don’t socialize much so these were perfect for me and they aren’t illegal because they are just for fun, you don’t win anything
You definitely can’t do that in Atlanta. They just locked up a bunch of folks running illegal gambling operations. Damn bible-belt!
@UBJ – They are not real gambling machines. They are basically video poker that you will have on your phone. There’s no money involved at all.
@Keish – You usually see these tabletop games at most dives in LA. They are just plain video games. So I know they should work anywhere because it’s a one person game and it shouldn’t involve gambling at least I’ve never seen that happen. Usually its a guy who is wasting time while he watches the game.
@Carl – I’m sure the machines are being mixed up with gambling. If they have regular video games these games should be able to go in there. This is not gambling as much as it is the same poker, solitaire that you play on your phone. It’s not gambling at all because it’s one player and there’s no money won at all. You just put in a quarter just like you were playing Galaga!
Oh, ok. For some reason I thought they were paying money. Apparently, I’ve been in some low-life spots because I know exactly what you’re talking about.
wow…i see what you are saying, they can be put anywhere. lol this is great, i had like 5 places pop into my head where u wouldn’t normally see them. and what’s a dive???
@Carl – Well they aren’t low life but they are where Men end up who don’t want to go home. They are always drinking and playing pool in some dark bar that is called something stupid like The ThunderBird. We got a lot of those in LA in the more Blue Collar areas but if you aren’t from there then you would pass them up.
@Keish – A dive is a run down kind of bar. Its usually the size of a barber shop or something. They have some in Manhattan by Wall Street if you look around you’ll see some guys coming out of bars throwing up on the backstreets.
I know, I know you’re wondering why is Freeman there? Well I’ve tried a lot of places in my you don’t know so don’t judge it til you go in there. I even went to one that was a converted gas station service station which was by far the worst.
THIS is why I come to this site. I’d have never thought of this. A lot of people will play just to get the high score so you may not even need a prize. Good idea.
Thanx! A lot of these machines are pretty old now as I worked at this place when I was in my teens. The machines are about the size of a copy paper box and are just plug and play. Any person who went to those technician trade schools can fix these things. To me it’s a great small time hustle and if you look for them on craigslist you might find a guy who went out of business who has a ton of these in his garage.
The quarters, dollars and credit cards add up fast.
These machines are what the ugly strippers be playing all night at the strip club in Atlanta since no one want to ask them for a dance.
LOL, yeah they are dives! There are a lot of people who pass time at a bar playing this stuff and since it’s quarters you make good change!
Man I’ve only seen these things at those corner spots where you peek it and it looks like night time in the middle of the day! Exactly what you said because they are in most corner rundown bars. I bet you this would work better in the midwest because those cats like to drink!
I just saw the new video but Freeman “I know the paper’s out there!”
Califormula you are always here when I am changing videos. Yep, the paper’s out there (for those who are lost when we say this watch the featured video)
I was thinking it would work in Jersey a lot too because wherever you find ethnic bars this hustle will make you money. Some people just drink way more than us. In the bay you probably can put this in the Chinese bars cuz those cats are always playing pool.
Nah, really I’ve been in some low-life spots. I remember a spot in Wilmington that served 40oz bottles of malt liquor at the bar. Or better yet, my boy’s bachelor party in Philly at an illegal underground strip bar.