Justin Caffier for Vice:

Far away from the glitz and glamor the e-sports circuit, a different breed of semi-professional gamers is eking out an honest day’s work at arcades around the globe. If the Ninjas of the MLG, with their celebrity lifestyles and lucrative promo deals, are the World Series of Poker stars, these arcade hustlers—referred to within their community as “advantage players" (APs)—are more akin to legal card counters. These unassuming sharks will walk into a Dave & Buster's (or any other entertainment center with an arcade awarding tickets that can be exchanged for prizes), hit their handful of preferred games, and quietly rack up thousands and thousands of tickets. Doing this just a few days a week can quickly amass enough of a ticket balance to trade for the top shelf prizes that casual players could only dream of redeeming, like game consoles and iPads, which APs often sell for profit.

As a kid, the idea of doing this at an arcade was a daydream scenario - just go full Ocean’s Eleven and get the great prizes. It was even the plot of a great Bob’s Burgers episode.

But to find out that it was real? That’s why this is a great read.