Watch: Man 'Wins' Coin Game With A Sledgehammer

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — A man whose luck just wasn’t with him as he played a coin slider game over the weekend took matters into his own hands to guarantee a “win,” according to St. Petersburg Police. Now, officers would very much like to speak with him about a criminal charge to two.

According to police, the man in question walked into Teresa’s Food Mart, 2601 30th Ave. N. around 3:30 p.m. Sunday. At some point, he decided to try his luck at the store’s “quarters game,” an email from police said.

After several failed attempts to get the slider bar to push cash over the ledge to secure a win, the man left the store, a few quarters broker than he came in. Police say he walked outside to his vehicle, but returned a short time later to give the game a go just one more time.

“When he lost again … he pulled out a sledgehammer and smashed the game,” the email said.

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Store surveillance video shows the smash in action. The man is seen on the video reaching under his shirt, pulling out the sledgehammer and smashing the machine’s glass. He then reaches inside, helps himself to some cash and walks out of the store.

Anyone who recognizes the man in the video is asked to call the police department at 727-893-7780. Tipsters may also text SPPD+ their tip to TIP411. The department asks that tips reference report No. 2016-023927.

St. Petersburg’s “Coin Machine Smasher” isn’t the only unusual suspect to make news in the Tampa Bay area recently. On Monday, an armed “painter” reportedly robbed a Brandon Publix store. Earlier this month, a bearded man pulled off a $1,000 razor heist in the Carrollwood area. It’s unclear if the man used any of those razors to change his appearance after his alleged crime.

Video and screenshot courtesy of the St. Petersburg Police Department

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