A California mother of two is suing Chuck E. Cheese Pizza for $5 million, claiming that the family restaurant's arcade games transform kids into gamblers. Debbie Keller, who has 3- and 5-year-old children, says many of the chain's games are essentially kiddie slot machines, spitting out winnings — in this case, tickets redeemable for prizes — based on chance rather than skill. Keller's lawyers say the games "create the same highs and lows experienced by adults who gamble their paychecks or the mortgage payment." Chuck's lawyers counter that the games harm no one and break no laws. Is Chuck E. Cheese essentially a casino for kids?
Yes, Chuck E. Cheese is a Vegas-like scam: "It's time to crown a new hero in the mom world," says Jeanne Sager at The Stir. Keller is right that many Chuck E. Cheese machines are games of chance. When kids can't win enough tickets to "pick up their piece of plastic junk," they end up shrieking, forcing parents to buy game tokens until their offspring hits the jackpot — it's the only way to "get yourself to somewhere more pleasant, somewhere with wine."
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