Shotgun Blast Will Not Deter PS3 Buyer

[Peench]

Despite a shotgun blast to the chest, Michael Penkala stayed focused being one of the first U.S. buyers of the new PlayStation 3.

In the early-morning hours of November 17, the Massachusetts resident was first in line at a Wal-Mart store in Putnam, Connecticut, waiting with three friends for Sony's next-generation game console to go on sale. In his pocket was $2,600 in cash.

Then the bandits showed up, masked and carrying guns. "They approached two kids first, and they got 75 cents out of them, and I was the third person they came to. And I wasn't giving it up for anything," Penkala told the Worcester (Mass.) Telegram & Gazette. That refusal earned him a beating as the robbers tried to get his wallet.

Penkala, who'd had the foresight to dial 911 on his cell phone, says he scared off the robbers, but one turned while fleeing and fired a single shot from about 10 feet away, according to the Telegram account. But he was a man with a mission.

"When they let us in the lobby there at Wal-Mart, I was on the floor coughing up blood and telling the workers to take the wallet out of my pocket and give it to my friends so they could continue waiting in line and purchase the PS3s," Penkala told the newspaper. "For some reason I wasn't thinking about my wound, I was all about those PlayStations."

What makes his dedication all the more remarkable was that he wasn't a fervent gamer looking for new thrills from the PS3. No, the 21-year-old was looking to resell the consoles on eBay--after eight days in the hospital, he ended up with four, including one given as a gift by Wal-Mart--and make a profit.

Source

[Jon Liu]

uhhh, not sure if I care for that story. While it shows dedication, his only aim was to sell it anyway. So he took a shotgun blast to make a few bucks...

So the robber didn't stop the guy from selling it on ebay for a price that's like Highway Robbery.

[Rhino Chaser]

That is nothing. I heard that Spoon took 4 shotgun blasts while waiting for the Xbox and didn't need anyone's help to make his purchase. Futhermore, he went home and played for a few hours before driving him self and his console to the hospital.

[Fragmintz]

This guy is an idiot. Not only did he put himself at bodily risk to make maybe a couple thousand bucks, by accepting the consoles from Walmart, he probably had to sign some kind of indemnification waiver for being shot on their premises. He probably could have initiated suit against them for creating a dangerous environment, with inadequate security and negotiated his way into a much more lucrative settlement than what he would get for 10 PS3s.

[BrewCityUpstart]

Now thats capitalism at all costs lmfao!

[D_Litch]

*Note to Self* Get shot at Wal-Mart, get a free PS3.

[WormholeXtreme]

Why would you wait in line with $2400 cash? I don't even want to carry $10 on me.

[BiffCo]

I prepaid everything in full at the 360 launch so I didn't need any cash other than my credit card to purchase the extended warranty.

I don't shop at Wal-Mart. I've never felt safe in one of their stores expecially after 7pm. Why is it that they choose to put up Wal-Marts in the worst locations?

Give me a Super Target. Target rocks...

-Brad

[SpOoNmAn]

Originally Posted by Big Brad

I prepaid everything in full at the 360 launch so I didn't need any cash other than my credit card to purchase the extended warranty.

I don't shop at Wal-Mart. I've never felt safe in one of their stores expecially after 7pm. Why is it that they choose to put up Wal-Marts in the worst locations?

Give me a Super Target. Target rocks...

-Brad

I came close to brandishing my carry weapon once, and it was in a Walmart at 2am. 4 thugs looked at me and my friend(we were making a late food run during a lan party) and started following us. I took my cell phone out and handed it to my friend and told him to dial 911 if something happened.

They saw me hand the phone over and as I did I turned to them, raised my right arm ever so slightly getting the muscles primed and they put their heads down and walked away. No way in hell was I going to get jumped from behind in a store.

I apologize for Keezying

[ZoomZoom71]

YTM, spoonie!

[D_Litch]

Originally Posted by SpOoNmAn

I came close to brandishing my carry weapon once, and it was in a Walmart at 2am. 4 thugs looked at me and my friend(we were making a late food run during a lan party) and started following us. I took my cell phone out and handed it to my friend and told him to dial 911 if something happened.

They saw me hand the phone over and as I did I turned to them, raised my right arm ever so slightly getting the muscles primed and they put their heads down and walked away. No way in hell was I going to get jumped from behind in a store.

I apologize for Keezying

Damn.

The only time I was in Wal-Mart and it got confrontational was when I went in there to get a DVD (Season 4 of Futurama I believe) and some guy told me to let him have it(because it was the last one). I politely told him to pleasure himself with a metal object and checked out. I was watching my back as I walked out of the store though, I love bender but I'm not getting jumped for him.

[BrewCityUpstart]

Originally Posted by SpOoNmAn

I came close to brandishing my carry weapon once, and it was in a Walmart at 2am. 4 thugs looked at me and my friend(we were making a late food run during a lan party) and started following us. I took my cell phone out and handed it to my friend and told him to dial 911 if something happened.

They saw me hand the phone over and as I did I turned to them, raised my right arm ever so slightly getting the muscles primed and they put their heads down and walked away. No way in hell was I going to get jumped from behind in a store.

I apologize for Keezying

Big deal. Black guys look at me like that all the time here. Especially the ghetto Walmart a mile from here.

[Jon Liu]

lol, big black guys like Brad??