Troy resident, Faye Hojeije, brought her two sons, Hassan and Hussein to a local festival in Dearborn Heights on Sunday.
At one of the carnival games, mom bought her boys a “family bucket’ of rings from game operator, Francis, for $5 to play a game of chance called “Ring a Bottle” on the carnival midway.
The rule stated: “Ring any bottle and win choice.”
Find out what's happening in Dearbornwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Although odds against winning are very steep, Hassan managed to get one of his rings over a bottle from about eight feet away and won according to the posted rules.
Francis then came up with an unwritten rule, proclaimed that Hussan did not really win, and refused to reconsider.
Find out what's happening in Dearbornwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Witnessing both sides of the story and advocating for Hassan, I explained to Francis that Hassan won fair and square according to posted rules and that he is entitled to pick any plush prize displayed in the concession.
Concerned about the commotion and a small crowd gathering, Francis eventually got another carnival worker, Dana, to hear the story.
Dana then announced to Hassan: “Choose any prize you want!”
Hassan then picked the 4 ft. tall plush Polar Bear.
The discussion was witnessed by photographer and retired Detroit P.D. sergeant, David Malhalab.
Additionally, Francis told us the story of a man who spent $60 (10 rings for $2) at “Ring a Bottle” the previous day before he finally got lucky and went home with a prize.
Concerned about possible cheating, the display of “games of chance,” and the practice of enforcing unwritten or made up rules by carnival workers, David responded to the Dearborn Heights P.D. and attempted report the incident to desk officer, Corporal Martin Biek.
Corporal Biek then refused to take David’s complaint.
As a result, Malhalab will be filing a complaint with the Michigan Attorney General’s Office to investigate the rampant county-wide corruption condition regarding the protection of such games.
Note: Traveling carnival companies (privately owned) are prohibited from operating games of chance because such chance-based games would be in violation of Michigan state law and are also outlawed throughout the U.S. Only non-profit organizations such as churches are permitted to operate games of chance on a limited and controlled basis, with a State of Michigan license and monitored by the state.
The FBI conducted a forensic study on "Ring a Bottle." In 2011, J. Royce Fichtner published a Drake University Law School study entitled: "Carnival Games: Walking the line between Illegal Gambling and Amusement." This study discusses the elements of chance-based carnival games according to law, and is a state of the art resource for police officers and prosecutors regarding carnival games and gambling. The Drake study refers to the FBI study (on “Ring a Bottle”) and specifically refers to "Ring a Bottle" as a chance-based carnival game. Based on my formal police training on carnival game enforcement according to the Michigan Carnival Games Manual, the directives and opinions of the Michigan Attorney General's Office, and recently the Drake publication, the information in this blog is founded on facts and my opinion. All carnival games displayed by a private corporation in Michigan must be skill-based.
