A cheeky dad has gone viral for tricking an arcade machine into awarding him hundreds of points to scoop bigger prizes. Brian Burns shared footage of his score appearing to shoot up from 205 to 260 in less than 10 seconds.
The higher the ticket count at the 'ticket eater', where players claim their winnings, the bigger the prize they can claim. The 39-year-old's TikTok has been viewed almost 2.5million times since it was posted last month, with many viewers saying they now want to try it and claim bigger prizes themselves.
Social media users were quick to point out that the trick could land the dad in hot water if he were caught as he'd likely be 'escorted off the premises' while Brian joked that he could find himself banned next time.
Other viewers quipped his hack would likely have left him relatively empty-handed as his ticket boosting would leave him 'still not enough for a pencil sharpener set' or just a 'small packet of sherbet'. The dad-of-one claims he ended his hour-long visit with just 30 tickets, but managed to boost his tally to 500 using the trick so his son could return at a later date and use them to claim a prize.
Brian Burns with partner Nicola Wood (Kennedy News/@burnsy833)
He's jokingly shrugged off criticism by posting policeman emojis on comments insisting it's 'just a bit of fun' and isn't a 'massive' issue as he didn't use the technique to claim an expensive item. Brian said: "I only had 30 tickets but I ended up with about 500. I didn't feel guilty. If I got caught, I got caught.
"My picture will probably be up next time I go, I'll probably be banned. Maybe they've seen the video. I kept the tickets for my kid to use them.
"A few weeks before I saw a little boy standing there doing it, so I tried it and it worked. When I went back this time, I thought of getting a video. You're talking about 30,000 tickets for a game console, so you'd be standing there most of the day and you'd probably get caught.
(Kennedy News and Media)
"The reaction's been crazy. I've seen other people tagging me saying they've done it and they're sticking up for me against people who say it doesn't work. I've just been putting laughing faces and police emojis [to the critics], because it's just a laugh.
"The stuff you get if you win is nothing, it's like the stuff you get at the Pound Shop, so just to be bumping it up to get a mug or something isn't really massive I don't think. It's a bit of fun. It's not like I've gone in with a couple of quid and bumped it up to get an Xbox. I wouldn't stick around all day and do that."
Brian says his 'trick' only works on certain machines that don't use barcoded tickets, as those would sense the same ticket being inserted. The Glasgow-born dad's post has been liked more than 70,000 times, with many mocking his trick but others claiming to be 'excited' to try it out.
(Kennedy News and Media)
One said: "If you spent half an hour doing that, without getting caught, you'll have enough for a mini pack of sherbert."
Another joked: "Still not enough for a pencil sharpener set." One said: "It works… until someone comes up to you and escorts you off the premises."
However, one said: "Totally works! We did it today after watching this! Our 20 tokens turned into 580 [crying laughing face emoji]." Another added: "I'm going to the arcade tomorrow. I'm going to try that. Let's hope it works!"
(Kennedy News and Media)
A third said: "Damn if only I knew this two weeks ago when I was in Skegness."
A Hollywood Bowl Group spokesperson, said: "Brian has uncovered a known fault with one of our popular arcade machines. We have worked with our partner supplier to rectify the specific fault with the ticketing machine and continue to run routine checks across other machines in our business.”
