I had the image today of those claw-style games that you put a dollar in, then maneuver the claw in two dimensions, then drop the claw.  Hopefully, at the end, there’s enough tension in the claw to hold on to whatever you desire as it retracts, hoists the prize, and delivers it back to the access point.

One must use the right finesse in aligning their wishes and intent, then as the manus ex machina retrieves that which is desired, one hopes that its grace is strong enough (for long enough) to bring the gift back to where one can actually retrieve it; all the while, hoping it doesn’t slip away before one’s eyes, and the whole process has to be restarted – with commensurate investment, of course.

Subsequently, the rate of return is lower than normal random distributions would allow, but when when the gift is given, “success” is touted.  When the inevitable happens, and the claw comes back empty, onlookers are so often wont to say “Well, you did it wrong.”

One could argue that you shouldn’t look on the process as merely to “get something.”  If not, then what is the point?  Isn’t the offer an implicit Promise? An explicit one?  I suppose if one is investing that much, for no real return, other than the enjoyment of playing – well, I suppose that’s why Las Vegas exists, too.