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How an Ex-Cop Rigged McDonald’s Monopoly Game and Stole Millions

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by Melody Bot, Jul 30, 2018.

  1. Melody Bot

    Your friendly little forum bot. Staff Member

    This article has been imported from chorus.fm for discussion. All of the forum rules still apply.

    Jeff Maysh, writing at The Daily Beast:


    On August 3, 2001, a McDonald’s film crew arrived in the bustling beach town of Westerly, Rhode Island. They carried their cameras and a giant cashier’s check to a row of townhouses, and knocked on the door of Michael Hoover. The 56-year-old bachelor had called a McDonald’s hotline to say he’d won their Monopoly competition. Since 1987, McDonald’s customers had feverishly collected Monopoly game pieces attached to drink cups, french fry packets and advertising inserts in magazines. By completing groups of properties like Baltic and Mediterranean Avenues, players won cash or a Sega Game Gear, while “Instant Win” game pieces scored a free Filet-O-Fish or a Jamaican vacation. But Hoover, a casino pit boss who had recently filed for bankruptcy, claimed he’d won the grand prize–$1 million dollars.

    I don’t even know which part of this article to quote, just read the whole thing.

     
  2. benschuyler

    Regular Prestigious

    This is fascinating and looking forward to digging into this behemoth of an article over the next few days.
     
  3. paythetab

    Chorus.FM Album Reviewer (Adam Grundy) Supporter

    Haha very fun read. Wow, is the only word that comes to mind at the moment.
     
  4. TellYourFriends

    Lexington, KY Prestigious

    This has to turn in to a movie, right?
     
  5. Former Planets

    Aaaachem!

    Yeah, I was 10 minutes into it last night when I realized it was a bit of a commitment. Looking forward to taking some time and reading the whole shebang.
     
  6. Beholdtheriver

    Regular

    “I’d say… ‘do we need an attorney or do I need to call the home office’” Jacobson suggested, ‘or do I need to call Burger King?’”

    ^^^my favorite part
     
    OpenIntro and lostawholeyear like this.
  7. Anthony Brooks

    brook183 Supporter

    I kept thinking “why don’t i remember this being in the news?” and then the article answers that question near the end. The trial began on Sept 10, 2001
     
  8. TerrancePryor

    https://mp3sandnpcs.com/ Prestigious

    Scarlett Johansson is gonna portray him.
     
    tytymcg, AndrewSoup, Penguin and 7 others like this.
  9. Kiana

    Goddamn, man child Prestigious

    I will def read this later. I always assumed people never won these things but a girl I went to school with won 30k in the Safeway monopoly game and ngl I'm bitter af lol
     
  10. BradBradley

    Regular

    I’d heard stories about this in passing prior to reading the article. Mostly just that an employee (I previously thought of McDonald’s directly) had rigged the game and was doling out prizes to his friends. This article/the real story is much more bizarre and interesting. I was also wondering why I had never heard the full story or why all of this wasn’t more common knowledge and then... oomph. Makes sense. When someone makes a movie out of this, that will be a heck of a final punchline right before they roll the credits.
     
    SEANoftheDEAD likes this.
  11. Kiana

    Goddamn, man child Prestigious

    Ok I just lost it at this was a McSting
     
  12. rxbandit89

    probably over-caffeinated. Supporter

    This is wild! I grew up in the area around the "golden triangle". What a story.
     
    Kingjohn_654 likes this.
  13. contra11mundum

    I hate spoilers. Supporter

    This story blew my mind.

    Waiting for the Scorsese / Leo movie. Lol
     
    tytymcg likes this.
  14. Buscemi knows best

    You owe me a Sausage McMuffin

    Also in so hard for a movie. This was a wild ride.
     
    tytymcg likes this.
  15. Analog Drummer

    Regular

  16. OpenIntro

    llama llama

    Fantastic story. Could not stop reading it this past weekend. I always had a feeling this game was rigged.
     
  17. oldjersey

    Pro Podcaster Supporter

    Wow
     
  18. wakaflockajamez

    die die die, cry cry cry

    great read
     
  19. AndrewSoup

    It's A Secret To Everyone Prestigious

    "Joe Maggard, a disgraced Ronald McDonald actor who was convicted of making harassing phone calls while posing as the clown."

    like, what
     
    tytymcg likes this.
  20. rxbandit89

    probably over-caffeinated. Supporter

    And that's it! We get no more information about that other than the one quote! hahahaha
     
    tytymcg and AndrewSoup like this.
  21. AndrewSoup

    It's A Secret To Everyone Prestigious

    there is a universe inside that one sentence.
     
    coleslawed likes this.
  22. tytymcg

    Newbie

  23. tytymcg

    Newbie

    There’s a whole another article waiting to be written about that as well
     
  24. tytymcg

    Newbie

    Sooooooooo many lines in this story deserve their own investigation and article, like this,

    “ Baker recalled that one of the FBI’s top agents, known as the “human lie-detector,” interrogated him, and added that if the FBI had focused on surveilling terrorists and not McDonald’s winners, 9/11 might never have happened.”

    That’s a wild line
     
    AndrewSoup likes this.
  25. tytymcg

    Newbie

    TellYourFriends and coleslawed like this.