Bankrupt Chuck E. Cheese moves to destroy 7 billion prize tickets
Voucher stash worth about $9 million in merchandise
Charles the mouse mascot probably isn’t too happy about this.
Management for the bankrupt Chuck E. Cheese hopes to destroy 7 billion prize tickets that have accumulated in its supply chain during the coronavirus pandemic.
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Parent company CEC Entertainment Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June, and asked a bankruptcy court in Texas for permission to spend about $2.3 million for three vendors to shred the vouchers on Monday, Bloomberg Law reports.
According to The New York Post, this serious stash of vouchers – valued at $0.0013 per ticket – is worth about $9 million in merchandise at the kid-friendly restaurant and arcade, or enough to fill 65 cargo shipping containers.
Chuck E. Cheese hopes to destroy 7 billion prize tickets that have accumulated in its supply chain during the coronavirus pandemic. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Now, CEC hopes to shred the tickets because “Prize Tickets are redeemable by guests at significantly higher value than the cost of Prize Tickets,” per the court filing.
Though some Chuck E. Cheese locations have permanently closed amid the ongoing outbreak, others have reopened for business. As the industry shifts toward “contactless service,” a trend only accelerated by enhanced health and safety protocol due to COVID-19, CEC hopes to replace the traditional coupons with electronic tickets and also bid farewell to the “muncher” machines that count up the prizes, the Post reports.
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A hearing has been scheduled for Sept. 21.
CEC Entertainment Inc. was contacted for further comment.