Tactics to keep pokies players at machines

Pubs like the tiny Colyton Hotel in western Sydney are not just in the business of selling food and drink.

Last week, its gaming turnover was $1.8 million, 92 per cent of turnover. The hotel’s target turnover is $104 million a year.

“Two point five ($2.5 million a week?) In a week, yes,” gaming manger Emma Pearson told the West Australian.

The pub is part of the ALH stable, owned by Woolworths.  ALH has 330 licensed venues and 12,000 poker machines — the most of any company — netting revenue of $1.2 billion a year from suburbs like Colyton in Sydney’s west. That’s an area with a population of 8400, household income $1415 per week, unemployment at 9.7 per cent.

Ms Pearson has agreed to a new late night roster and she has recorded her boss, ALH operations manager NSW Rob Courtney, in action at a meeting where he admonished workers — despite exceeding gaming targets.

“You’ve got to greet every customer within two minutes. ‘Hello!’ you’ve got to offer them a drink within two minutes and you’ve got to offer them food within five minutes,” Mr Courtney was recorded saying.

 “I can tell ya ... the last four months the profit of this hotel has been down 30 to 40 grand per month ...on last year.”

The VIP Gaming Room is the only room in the hotel that’s always full and with punters showing up at three and four in the morning in their pyjamas, gaming room staff are told to ignore public bar customers — stay with the gamers.

“They can’t be hungry, they can’t be thirsty, they can’t be cold, they can’t be hot, they need to have no reason to leave that seat,” Ms Pearson told the West Australian.

While she says she’s seen players crying and hitting the machines, she claims she has never seen a problem gambler who is clearly in distress counselled and removed from the gaming room in the last two years.

Leon Gettler - 21st August 2018