"Luck is his companion,Gambling his his game."

 If you recognize those lyrics you must have been
a fan of the TV show "Maverick" staring James
Garner. He played a gambler in the old west.
  The tune came into my mind as my grandson and
I walked along the boardwalk in Wildwood
yesterday.
  He seems to have inherited my fascination with
what we used to call the "Penny Arcade."
  The term "Penny" hasn't been used around
these parts for 50 years or so. But the "Arcades"
continue to flourish, luring the 'Marks' inside with
bright flashing lights, loud music, and the chance
to win some sort of fancy prize with a little skill,
some luck and, of course, a few quarters...or a
couple of bucks.
   The machines inside don't change very much
from year to year. One of the most popular is
a 'crane-like' device that hangs over a glass
chamber filled with prizes.
  The idea is to navigate the three pick up
arms over the prize of your choice within
30 seconds, then watch as the arms drop
down to pick up the prize and deliver it to
a slot where it's dropped for your pick up.
 Each year the operators have to come up
with prizes that will attract the paying customers.
  (Here again you could substitute the term
'Marks.')
  This year, for instance, there are stuffed
dolls painted to resemble the comic book
character 'The Green Lantern' which is
the theme of a recently released movie.
  But my grandson, and many others,
all seem out to get a novelty they call
"The Angry Bird"
  This fuzzy-ball-like sphere has he
features of ..well sort of..I guess...an
angry bird's face. The most popular
model seems to be about the size of a
softball although smaller versions are
available.
  For just $5 you can get three tries at
snaring an "Angry Bird" from the
chamber with the movable arms of
your crane.
   I watched at least twice as my
grandson skillfully grabbed one of the
'Birds" and lifted it nearly into the
'drop zone' before it fell back among
the rest of the flock to await his, or
somebody else's try.
   I wondered if the person who
designed this contraption used
calculus or physics to compute
the exact weight to lift ratio
needed to make sure the
bulk of these 'Angry Birds
would remain in their 'nest.'
  About that same time my
daughters left for a trip to
Atlantic City.
  That's when I realized that the
time I, and my kids, and my
grand kids spent in the "Penny
Arcades" was not at all wasted!
   Those dens of lights and sounds,
are just a of  sort of a 'Triple A
Affiliate for the Big Games'
a little further up the coast!
    New Jersey is a pretty clever
State! 
   I'm hoping the girls will come
back with a little more than
'Angry Birds!'
   Hope you've got all your
quarters ready and that all your
NEWS is good!