Jim Bumgardner cheats at Foursquare and he’s not ashamed to admit it. He utilized the API to see how far he could go with stealing mayorships and gaining badges.
The “Java Monkeys” [user] got the biggest reactions. Foursquare users get far more irate when they lose mayorship of a Starbucks, as compared to a Statue of Liberty or Mount Rushmore. People are much more attached to the small places they visit over and over, and have some personal investment in. The smaller the venue, the bigger the value.