A Real Life Version of the "Claw Game"

Last week, we showed you how you could own a home version of the "claw game" that is a fixture in most amusement parks.

This past weekend, I was out at a restaurant and saw a version of the classic game with a twist.

The "prizes" in this particular claw game were ALIVE!

The game is called "The Lobster Zone." For two dollars, you get 60-seconds to manipulate a crane directly over a tank full of live lobsters.

If you do everything correctly, the crane grabs the lobster, gently drops it down a shoot and the lobster is promptly brought to the kitchen where it is "prepared."

The game gives you a chance to win a $20-$30 dinner for two bucks.

I sat at a table right next to this machine and saw five different people put in a total of $26 dollars before anyone caught a lobster. So I'm guessing that the restaurant is making a mint on this device.

As you can imagine, groups like PETA aren't thrilled with the idea of this game. But the creators don't seem to mind the attention that the controversy brings. They also seem to embrace the "amusement park" feel of this game because they were even at IAPPA this year.

I'm not exactly sure how I feel about this game.

I guess once the lobsters are taken from the ocean, it's a certainty that they are going to be eaten sooner or later. Also, as our waitress said last night, at least this way the lobsters have a fighting chance.

But there was something disturbing about a game being made out of an animal's last moments. It seemed like something out of "The Running Man."

All I know is, I was rooting for the lobsters. After $26 dollars was inserted into that machine, I guess the restaurant owners are too!



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