Chuck E. Cheese seeks court permission to destroy 7 billion prize tickets

Chuck E. Cheese is seeking to destroy 7 billion prize tickets, enough to cash in for $9 million worth of prizes.

It may seem like a strange goal, but it all ties back to the coronavirus pandemic and the restaurant's parent company filing for bankruptcy.

Because of the bankruptcy, CNN reports that Chuck E. Cheese has to seek court permission to spend money on anything, including the $2 million it will cost to purchase and destroy the tickets.

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The tickets were reportedly printed before filing for bankruptcy in June, leaving the supplier with a mountain of printed tickets that Chuck E.Cheese no longer needs.

The chain began shifting to eTickets before the pandemic, but COVID-19 forced it to accelerate the process in order to reduce contact.

Chuck E. Cheese's lawyers say it's better to just pay the $2.3 million to have the tickets destroyed than to risk having them fall into the hands of the general public.

It's "a cost which is far lower than the cost to the [company] should these prize tickets be circulated to the general public and presented ... for redemption," the court filing reads.

The bankruptcy court judge has yet to rule on the motion.

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