As for pokies in pubs.

some one has to pay to keep publicans in the manner to which they are now accustomed and it helps to keep beer prices down.

Recently been dealing with a 59 year old man who has been unemployed 3 years, with no family support, living in cheap one room accommodation. The chap was diagnosed 12 months ago with dementia. In the past year he has accessed his superannuation, in two amounts, $10k, and finally the remaining $30k. The whole $40k was put through poker machines at a local hotel in less than 6 months

And that, Paul, is one of the big problems.

Some forms of gambling are banned because it's hard to keep track of the money, and the Government doesn't like that.

There are very few who ever end up in front after playing the pokies.

Many clubs and pubs would go out of business if it were not for pokies. More jobs gone. All because a few people can't control their gambling. It's the same old story: bugger up everyone's pleasure for a few losers who cannot live their own lives without meddling from Left wing politicians.

//it helps to keep beer prices down.//

But not as far down as buying beer from the bottle shop, and nowhere near as far down as brewing it yourself (which avoids the alcohol excise, which is hefty chunk of the cost of a beer). Also, brewing is a fun hobby and you can brew better beer than what you can buy in most pubs anyway.

//Many clubs and pubs would go out of business if it were not for pokies.//

Funny, they still have plenty of pubs and clubs in WA. Maybe their business models are successful because they're actually pleasant places to go with decent entertainment, rather than just being dank, gloomy caverns that constantly ring with the hideous cacophony of poker machine noises.

I've stopped going to my local club for that very reason. They used to have a nice beer garden - ripped out to make more room for pokies. They used to have live bands two nights a week - now they have a crap DJ one night a week.

The only other entertainment they have is gambling and a large television which, in defiance of the laws of probability, somehow always seems to be showing golf or rugby league (and if you're bored enough to watch televised golf or rugby league, it's probably time to end it all).

I have a television at home. I have beer at home. I could gamble from home, if it wasn't such a dull way to waste my money. If venues have nothing exciting to offer, then what the hell is the point of them?

I discussed my concerns with the club's 'entertainment manager' shortly before I stopped frequenting the place. I suggested that maybe a wider variety of entertainment might attract more patrons, or encourage existing ones to stay loyal. I specifically suggested a pinball machine because I'm a sucker for the things. He told me straight up that he would never support it because the space that would be taken up by pinball machine could be taken up by yet another pokie, and pokies are more profitable.

Mind you, this is a club - they're supposed to be not-for-profit enterprises that exist for the benefit of their members. So much for that idea, I guess. It's not like these guys are doing it tough, I get their annual report and they're making money hand over fist. And they already have at least a gross (144) of poker machines, yet they can't spare the room for one damn pinball machine to keep their patrons entertained?

Well bugger 'em then, if they're going to be like that. I was only two years into a five-year membership, they could have quite easily kept squeezing money out of me. Now I only ever go for the free stuff that my remaining membership entitles me too. I spend my money at a nicer club where the management don't have their heads up their arses (and they have a pinball machine, and a free jukebox. I even make donation via the pokies every now and then because I feel kind of guilty about the free jukebox).

I hope that the clubs and pubs who think that pokies and piss are all they require for a successful business model wake up to themselves before they find their patronage shrinking too drastically. It's cheaper to drink at a mate's place, we all have our own electronic gaming devices, and if clubs think that pokies offer an equally entertaining electronic gaming experience to that provided by a Playstation, or even just an old Atari... they're dreamin'

Maybe they'll figure it out in time, and start offering people things they can't get cheaper and better at home. The use of a pinball machine, perhaps. Or maybe some live music. Possibly a magician, they're always fun (especially if their tricks go wrong). In-house racing of small animals with wagering on the side, a form of gambling I'd happily back. Probably not topless bar wenches in this day and age, although…

Just something a bit more bloody interesting than a gross quantity of poker machines and a poor selection of beer.