Dave and Busters: Innocent fun for some and addiction for others

The room is always buzzing with the sound of laughter, the ringing of bells, and loud music from local Dave and Busters. This place is like Chuck E. Cheese for grown-ups – food, alcohol, and games, what more could a person ask for? The room filled with the smell of food being cooked in the kitchen, there was smoke and the lighting was low so that the game lights would shine brighter, drawing passersby to play and win tickets.

There were men and women running around with their tickets overflowing from their pockets and wrapped around their necks with smiles that spread from ear to ear. Their D&B ticket cups were filled to the brim with yellow paper tickets. “Do you think we have enough tickets to the Family Guy Monopoly game?” one of the boys asked as he and his friend ran to the awards table to count their tickets. “I don’t know, but if we don’t I don’t want to waste my tickets on some stupid prize, I want to wait until I have enough for the game. It took me more than three times to come here to get enough tickets,” said his friend. A prize that would normally cost $ 20 at your local Walmart can cost hundreds of dollars here, but no one pays attention to the price when they are having so much fun.

There was a huge crowd around the Jeopardy game. Four people sat on stools in front of a big screen, competing with each other to see who could answer the questions correctly and get the most tickets. The game is set up as the show you can watch at home, whoever calls first with the correct answer gets the most tickets. People around him were shouting answers left and right trying to help the four who were playing; the music, loud as it was, made it difficult for players to hear what everyone was saying to them. A girl with long flowing blonde hair started yelling, “Oh my God, I don’t know the answer! Is it George Clooney or Brad Pitt?” To his dismay, the answer to the question was Brad Pitt. She lost the game and lost the ticket jackpot; most of the tickets went to a tall man with brown hair and dark brown eyes.

This man with dark brown eyes and brown hair is the center of which our story revolves. His name is Derek Foster. Derek doesn’t look like your typical arcade junkie, but I can assure you that he is. Looked like he came out of the southern men’s edition of GQ magazine and walked into the bar tonight. His hair is slicked back, he has a bit of a stubble on his face, and he wears Wrangler jeans and a plaid button-down shirt. He wears tanned work boots and a John Deer belt wrapped around his waist. With every correct answer he gets in the Jeopardy game, he blurts out a “Yes!” His voice is deep and has the slightest hint of a southern accent.

“I’m addicted to Dave and Busters,” Derek said as he took a quick sip of beer. “I’m here every week … sometimes two or three times. It’s a good, quick escape from reality. After getting off work at the lumberyard, I like to come here and blow off steam, you know, play whack – a-mole and try your luck with Jeopardy. “

The game room is full of people playing. As I follow Derek to his next game, I can’t help but smell the mix of alcohol, sweat, and food circulating all over the place. The smell of alcohol is strong; mainly because of the number of people who have spilled their cup of boos on the ground while being pushed around the playing field.

We hit one of Derek’s favorite games, the ticket wheel. “This is how the game works,” he said with intense eyes. “First push the lever on the right all the way down, now you need to make sure to push it hard or else the wheel won’t turn. After pushing the lever down, all you have to do is wait and see what number the arrow is. land. This is the easiest game and you get the most tickets. ” Derek put his hand on the lever and pushed down as hard as he could, the wheel must have turned at least six times before finally coming to a stop at number 50. Tickets started coming out of the machine, but Derek didn’t take his tickets. instead, he played over and over again until he had over 500 tickets. Then he folded all the tickets neatly and put them in his Dave & Busters mug.

“My goal is to get that giant purple and black stuffed gorilla for my little sister … that’s 10,000 tickets. I’m almost halfway there! I hope I have enough tickets before her birthday, which is in four weeks,” he said. Derek. while looking at the gigantic monkey.

It is almost midnight and people begin to leave the building one by one. The room grows quieter and quieter with each person who leaves. Some rush to the prize counter to collect their tickets and get their prizes before they have to go home, while others save their tickets so they can get a better prize the next time they enter. Derek is one of these people. He makes sure all of his tickets are safely tucked away in his D&B mug, puts on his jacket, and walks to his car on the cool, chilly night. “Maybe next time I’ll have enough for that gorilla, but not today.”

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