Against... But, if people want them [like extended trading hours], then who am I to tell them the can't have 'em...

Was in Tas during the introduction... so many good pubs went to sh!t

Good for nothing noise machines

Mobydisc said...

GalahOnTheBay said...

So apart from taking money from the folks who play them, what good are poker machines anyway?

No really...

Good for cheaper drinks and food in pubs and clubs. Ever asked for a beer in a Perth pub? Be prepared to fork over ten dollars for a pint.

Bother me it dosnt, I havnt had a beer in 5 weeks and feel great

^^^ had a sip of one the other night and it wouldnt bother me if I didnt have another. I recon Ive lost 3-4kgs.

saw some in a pub in SA. like a zombie shack. no way WA

Ruined Victoria, many small businesses & sadly many good families with parents who have (unfortunately) no strength to fight the habit!

They create an antisocial behavior and I personally got sick of hearing "I'm just going to pop in next door & drop $50 into the pokies!"

I despise the money theiving garbage bins!

For me they are utter mind numbing
but the few times I have gone to the casino
I like to watch others play the games not the machines...well for an hour maybe

But thats all the Salvos and the others need
is more people in need from them spending money they can't afford too.

More families in ruin....I think Aussie has a big enough mess to help fix up now
with WA Qld, NSW and Vic being hit hard with all the disasters...

And Cyclone season is not over yet....we could still cop one up north

Poker machines are for the people that own them to get richer and the Taxes that get paid....and the poor to get poorer....

Its a no from me.....

Yeah fair enough they cause damage and the world would be better off without them. However that goes for a bunch of other things out there that are tolerated to some extent or another. Too many people think they know best and what they know should be imposed on others.

If people want to waste their money on a pokie, who am I to say "no you can't"? I don't think I have the right to do this nor does anyone else in society, even the pokie player's children, spouse or parents.

Its about freedom. If I want to do something stupid that is not affecting others then I should be allowed to do it. Of course with pokies there is always the danger excessive use will drag a family or company into financial ruin. Some people's addiction to the machine does affect others. In these cases perhaps the others affected should be able to approach the gambling venue and ask the gambler be banned from playing there. The gambler could also have some form of court order to stop them accessing funds to gamble. Some form of regulation and control may be appropriate there.

Otherwise the less regulation the better. Venues should be allowed to be screw the machines down to be as ungenerous or boost them to be as generous as possible. The gambler will soon learn what venue's machines don't pay.

If the state can't raise revenue from voluntary "sin" taxes then they will raise increased revenue from sectors of the economy that have nothing to do with vice. Personally I'd prefer the state government to raise for example $1 billion dollar from pokie taxes than from putting an excise on the fresh bread and milk or slugging me with some income levy to raise the money.

Having one venue in a state with pokies is crazy. Its basically a monopoly and completely anti competitive. You'd be better off banning them completely.

Just another way for the government to tax the people, vote no !!!

Has destroyed a lot of classic pubs in vic, thanks to joan Kerner gov

Im on a stint in Roxby in SA for a few weeks.
Went to the pub for tea and walked past the pokies section.
FArk its a pretty depressing place. They are just zoned out on the flashin lights and sounds from the machines.

Not hard to see how easy it would be to get hooked and how hard to stop.

My thougts are we dont need em at all.

W

dave.h said...

doggie said...

Thing is moby is that we do have them here just in one place. It's the casino and that's fine, I just don't want them in my local.

the machines in burswood arn't actually pokies. I can't think of the proper name for them of hand. I think they might just be called card machines from memory(I remember this from many year ago when they tried to introduce them hear).
I think the big difference between them and a card machine is the amount of games that they throw at you at one time, hence taking your money two or three time's faster. that's why they(pokies) are considered worse I think.
Please any one correct me if I have got it wrong.

I wasnt aware that there were two types, jeepers like we need another type of money grabbing machine!?!

I like to play poker with a few mates, thats as far as it goes for me.

No red thumbs from me mate, totally agree

Pokies ultimately feed the govt revenue and they are like allowing smack dealers to operate in every pub - as long as they skim some $$$ and send to the govt.

Govt sanctioned deceit, misery, addiction, theft etc etc and all the social and family fall-out that follows.

Dumb.. really kn dumb.

So far Packer and co. have been held off from getting their greedy mits into the west. With online betting taking over from his casino revenue, the lobbying will get more forceful/enticing for those in parliment. Let the pollies know you will never vote for them again if they allow pokies in.

^^^ Oh boy here we go.
Don't get me started on the "share" markets. Just another way for mug punters to share their money with the top end of town.