Imagine you’re in your teens and the girl in school you have a crush on agrees to go on a date with you and you decide to take her to Dave & Buster’s for a fun night of chicken tenders and skee-ball. The parentals drop you two lovebirds off and you quickly load up your D&B Power Card to play while on your way to play a round of Fish Bowl Frenzy.
Everything seems to be going well at first. She beats you in a round of Mario Kart, which you don’t mind because you find it cute that she can be so aggressive, but you are ready to show off your skills. The two of you make your way across the arcade floor all the way to Hot Shots hand and hand politely smack talking about how she won’t beat you at your own game since you are your school’s star point guard.
You both swipe your Power Cards as you snarl at one another as the game counts down to its start. The game starts and you’re not even looking her way only focusing on the mission at hand and that’s victory. One shot after another goes in and you swear you can hear the announcer from NBA Jam yelling “He’s On Fire!” The clock is counting down from 10 and you are laser focused on the goal as you blindly grab for each basketball in order to get as many shots off before the clock reads 0.
The buzzer signals the end of the game and you celebrate your certain victory as you look over to tell your crush that defeat was inevitable and that she did a good job nonetheless. As your eyes meet, you can’t help but notice that that cute girl has a smile extending from ear to ear. You are completely caught off guard as you notice she has 1 more point than you do. “How can this be?” You ask yourself silently as your date comes in for a giant hug and kiss on the cheek. You have spent many days thinking about how wonderful it would be to feel her embrace only to have the moment ruined by her victory.
You sulk and say you don’t want to play anymore. The girl picks up on your insecurities and drains a full-court shot on your pride as she begins to tease you about losing to a girl and offering a do-over. You eventually take the bait and quickly lose again. And again. And again.
It’s apparent to everyone that there will be no second date, so you challenge her to another game but decide to raise the stakes some. She feels as if she has nothing to lose and asks what you have in mind. You remember that Dave & Buster’s has a new feature that allows guests to place a bet on many of their games in the arcade. You both are under 18, which you have to be to place the wager, but quickly remember that your Dave & Buster’s Power Cards are under your parents’ names and has their credit card information on them.
The two of you are now off to the races laying one $5 bet after another with no sense of accountability in sight. The hours pass and the date comes to an end. You lost $60 of your mom’s money to the girl of your dreams and as you go to say your goodbye and close the night with a kiss, you hear not your first name come from your mom’s voice, but your first, middle and last, instantly letting you know your ass is grass.
As a massive wave of embarrassment washes over you from your mom cock blocking you, you can only concentrate on what it could be that has gotten you in trouble. Mom reads you the riot act about how it is illegal for you to be betting at this age and how this behavior could lead you down a rocky road of addiction.
Over $19 billion was bet on online gambling in 2023 and now arcade emporium Dave and Buster’s wants a piece of the pie. Starting soon, guests will be able to challenge a friend or even a crush to a game of Guitar Hero and put some cold hard cash on the line. The company operates over 220 locations throughout North America and while it is a family friendly business it mainly caters to the 21-39 demographic which is where the vast majority of American bettors lie.
Dave and Buster’s partnered with tech upstart Lucra for this venture. The software company started in 2019 and acts as a peer-to-peer sports gaming platform. Some of Lucra’s investors include Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry, LA Clippers owner Dennis Wong, NFL tight end Zach Ertz and tennis great James Blake. The wagers will be placed through the Dave & Buster’s app and the average bet is believed to be around $5 to $10. The desire to enter the lucrative world of gambling is a no-brainer for a company like D&B but issues will arise from this at the store level and the question is how will the company handle them.
There are those that are not well composed to handle defeat, especially in a public setting. What happens when a guest is teased after a loss alike to the young man in the story above and decides to retaliate instead of accepting his loss? What will a location do when someone says they did not bet or bet the amount listed in the app? As much as I’m intrigued by the exciting opportunity this brings for patrons, there are some concerns that I feel should be addressed before launch.
Currently Lucra profile holders are unavailable to place wagers in Tennessee so it is not known at this time if visitors of the four locations in the state will be able to challenge their friends to a game of air hockey.
Steven McCash is the Lead Music Writer and Utility Man for SoBros Network. Steven is the host of the ‘Drinking With…’ podcast, and the pioneer of New Music Friday, highlighting each week’s new releases in the world of music in addition to the occasional live show review. He also pitches in as a Nashville lifestyle writer and football analyst (hence the ‘Utility Man’ title). Follow on Twitter: @MC_Cash75
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