Hoopla Scam.

Hoopla is supposed to be a simple fun game - throw a hoop over a prize that rests propped up on a target peg. But your chances of winning at one Blackpool stall were found to be 2,600 to 1 due to the special hoop size and pegs they were using.

Local Trading Standards called in Dr David Lucy, a Lancaster University maths expert, who recreated the game in his laboratory and found that the size of the hoop and angle of the peg made it practically impossible to win.

But how did they discover this scam?

Trading Standards officers secretly filmed two girls, aged 14 and 15, paying £3 for five attempts at the game. Within eight minutes they had spent £70 - and won nothing. I'm sorry can I read that sentence again:they spent £70 playing hoopla!

Council public protection officer Shaun McKinney said: "One individual who had come to Blackpool had spent £1,200 to £1,500 playing the hoopla game.” !!! "Obviously a lot of it was to try and win their money back from the initial losses, and it's a case of keep playing until they think they can win it back." Obviously.

Is your life draining away, as you keep on doing what you've always been doing, in the hope that somehow, one day it's got to get better? But every day it never does? How can you say no to another dose of the same? “the truth will set you free”.

Scams, lies and the deceits we sell are children of evil. Children because they look good, they appeal to our hearts. Evil because they let us down, pull us down and don't care when they've got us down. Evil always says it's telling the truth, but it always lies, for lying is its native language. Only the truth can set you free. Evil promises to give you the world but only so it can take all you've got: keep on and you'll get back what you've lost - £3, £70, £1200. Evil entices to exploit. Only the truth can set you free. All your life people and the world have played on your wanting for the things you could have, the person you could be. They've played on your eyes and enticed your desires but never delivering - O maybe a little bit, but it's just some cheap candy for the lure, a little loss to soften you for the rip-off. Only the truth can set you free.

None of us have ever been free of the scams of life. All of us have lived among them at one time, gratifying our cravings, following desires and thoughts that drain away our life. But there is a way out, a way to break free. Because of His great love for you, God, who is rich in mercy, can make you alive with Christ, rescuing you from evil, restoring you to hope, lavishing His love upon you, giving you life, life in all its fullness, filling you with love, joy, and peace. Give ear and come to the Lord, hear Him, that your soul may live. Turn to the Lord and He will have mercy on you.