A student working in a slot machine club in the centre of Cluj (Romania) tells that he hit the panic button one night by mistake. The security guards arrived within two minutes and he was urged to explain what had happened. He was closing down and counting money, which complicated the situation because he was found with quite some cash in his hands. […] A few streets away, a bartender in one of the pubs in the city’s underground cellars grins when asked whether he has a panic button: he has not just one, but two. The law requires him to have panic buttons in combination with a contract with a private security firm; otherwise he can get no license. He shows one of the buttons, hanging on the wall next to a small iron cage containing a Desperados beer bottle. It is a tiny black box with a label and telephone number on it. Student and bartender may have to confront unpleasant situations: irascible or violent customers, who get aggressive when drunk or after losing large amounts of money at slot machines, but also security guards suspicious and running on adrenaline when panic buttons are pushed.
Ⓒ Şerban Văetişi and Ger Duijzings. Location & date: Cluj-Napoca, Romania, Tuesday 3 April 2012 (from 10pm until midnight). Image: Ger Duijzings through DreamStudio.
