1934 article: fleeced by carnival racketeers

[luchog]

One thing I noticed, the spinning spiral electrical thingies haven't been around for a while. Perhaps they were deemed to be too deceptive? (Considering where the post was in relation to the spin motion, the demonstrator, and the mark.)

The book I mentioned earlier is Eyeing the Flash : The Education of a Carnival Con Artist by Peter Fenton (former writer for National Enquirer); and is about his life as a carny in the '60s (not '50s as I thought); including details on how the various games were rigged and "gaffed", and the various techniques used to "work the marks". It's a pretty good read.

 

[1984]

Next time you go to the carnival, look closely at the basketball toss. It should be easy, but it's not. If you can get a peek from beside the hoop, instead of from the shooter's line, you will see that the hoops are angled and eliptical. It's an optical illusion- they will look round from the shooter. Make's it a whole different ball game...

Stop making excuses. You're just a bad shot.