Blow up the pokies?
April 22nd, 2008
There are no pokie (poker) machines at the club where I am a member.
I don’t think I would ever want to have pokies at a Sailing/Yacht Club.
But $200,000 in annual earnings??? That’s a hell of a lot of money that can go in coaching, development and club vessels…
Southport Yacht Club is ditching its 30 poker machines because they are “annoying” and the club is turning its pokies room into a VIP members lounge.
More than 400 members of the Southport Yacht Club on the Gold Coast have opted to give the machines the flick and turn the pokies area into a VIP members lounge amid growing concerns over problem gambling.
But club commodore Neale Hollier said the decision to scrap the machines had little to do with anti-gambling sentiments.
“I think the lot of the members … a) didn’t play them and b) just found them annoying because they took up a fair amount of space that could be better used,” he said.
“So our thoughts were: `Let’s get rid of them’.”
Mr Hollier said the 30 machines, which have been at the club for 10 years, grossed about $200,000 in annual earnings, but that figure had been steadily declining.
“They have been profitable. However, we’ve found since the non-smoking laws came in the drop in usage of these machines has been quite substantial,” he said.
“It was getting to a point where not this year, but by next year, we’d be in a negative situation.”
Mr Hollier said the club would offer all 30 machines up for sale and hand back its gaming licence to the government.
But he backed the continuation of poker machines at other clubs, saying it was up to patrons to decide which type of venue they visited.
Does your club have pokie machines? If so, where does the money go?
Should sailing/yacht clubs have poker machines as a source of income, or do they eliminate ambience?
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