As the (in)famous video game music track states, “Daytooooonaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Let’s go away!” Though I don’t think the singer meant for 15 to 20 years for illegal possession of firearms. If the previous two sentences make you feel like you don’t understand anything at all anymore, that’s okay, we’ll walk you through this odd tale of contraband and arcade cabinets. You may want to pause for this Daytona USA musical interlude first though.
That song you may or may not have just listened to is the theme from Sega’s 1994 arcade title, Daytona USA. If you weren’t around at the time, it was one of the premier arcade racing titles at the time. It still holds a place in the hearts of many an arcade fan and is thusly a sought after cabinet for those who can afford to collect them. Perhaps that’s why someone decided it would be a good place to stash $400,000 in cold, hard, cash.
Police in Australia detained a motorcycle (bikie) gang member during a traffic stop. They found a baton weapon in his possession alongside $4,000. This helped lead to a series of raids on properties that the man owned. On one of said properties was a series of arcade machines and Daytona USA being one of them. It’s a large cabinet, complete with a seat and pedals for operating the virtual vehicle. This particular model was a two-player cabinet, making the unit even larger.
Up at the top of the unit is the marquee sign with the added twist in this case being that a gun, ammunition and the aforementioned $400,000 happened to be stuffed in there. How did police know to look? Was the marquee already uncovered? Is it standard operating procedure for Australian police to search arcade cabinet marquees? All very good questions that we don’t actually have answers to. What we do know is that police also found a second gun, explosives, and a bullet proof vest at the property; none of which are standard accessories for Daytona USA or any other arcade game for that matter.
The gang member was charges with numerous crimes including possessing an unlicensed firearm, possessing a prohibited weapon, bulletproof clothing, and a few other related charges. Desecrating a Daytona USA was not one of them. While the man is still a suspect and hasn’t been convicted of anything at this time, it does still seem like he’s achieved a “rolling start” towards some legal challenges. …That’s a joke that will become more apparent if you listen to the song below.
