Pokies and Slot Machine Information

Delaware slot machines save horses

The horse racing industry in the US State of Delaware is booming - thanks to slot machines. The racing industry was once in a parlous state and the introduction of slots adjacent to racetracks has provided the prize money for horse racing.

“Today the state’s three racetracks each have a slot hall next door, with 11 percent of the largesse funneled into purses for winning horses … Before slots were introduced, Delaware Park in Wilmington employed fewer than 100 people. Today, the track’s “slot and hospitality team” provides work for 1,400. “

Boston Herald Article

Whilst no doubt its great for the horse racers/trainers/riders/punters, ultimately the slot machine losses are coming from the average citizens in those same places. You could set up slot machines to finance almost anything - its just shuffling funds out of average folks pockets.

League to fight pokies tax

The Government of New South Wales, Australia has been battling clubs in that state since 2004 over increases in poker machine tax. These taxes on pokies turnover are claimed by clubs to be reducing their ability to help their local communities. Clubs, unlike pubs, have a community focus and often are sports related.

Rugby league clubs in New South Wales are being enlisted to help in the battle against the tax increases:

“The campaign slogan “Labor hurting the heartland” will be launched at the Wests Tigers v St George Illawarra game this Friday night”

Daily Telegraph Article

There is so much at stake here - billions of dollars in gaming losses are registered in New South Wales every year, and much of it ends up in government coffers. With an election looming, it will be interesting to see if the government holds its position or yields to the power of public opinion the clubs will no doubt be able to sway in their favour.

Greens on the pokies warpath in Tasmania

Tasmania is Australia’s Southernmost State, and has a population of around 485,000. 3,680 slot machines are allowed in the state, all controlled by one operator - Federal Hotels.

The Green Party in Tasmania has announced that it will be seeking to wind back slot machine numbers:

“Announcing the pokies roll-back plan in Launceston on Thursday, Greens leader Peg Putt said the Lennon Government was addicted to gambling taxes”

Ninemsn Article

Naturally the operators of the machines are none too pleased and have announced plans to seek compensation in the event the Green Party is able to put effect to its plans.

AGT profitable again

One of Australia’s most innovative slot machine manufacturers, AGT, has announced a profit for the first half of the 2006 financial year:

“Ainsworth on Tuesday reported a net profit of $3.1 million”

Sydney Morning Herald Article

AGT is a reasonably new supplier to the market, founded by a legend in the gaming industry, Len Ainsworth. Their flagship Ambassador range of machines are great machines and games, marred only by an odd, jerky video scrolling mechanism.

The Ambassador range are the only ones to feature an approximately 68cm (29″) sideways mounted CRT television screen as its primary display. This gives game designers a huge amount of space to work with - and they look great. If they convert the screens to LCD instead and eliminate the unfortunate curve of CRT screens, it will be an outstanding display.

Gaming machines seized in South Carolina

In many States in the USA conventional slot machines are illegal. The recent proliferation of Indian casinos is reducing this trend somewhat, but given they operate largely on sovereign land it could be argued they’re outside the actual US State borders in any case.

The recent seizure of 464 slot machines in South Carolina brings to light a new breed of slot machine - one hooked up for internet play.

“S.C. authorities seized 464 gaming machines and computers … Of the 464 machines taken, 395 were tied to Internet games … Long counters lined with flat-panel monitors and padded office chairs filled the dark, often smoky Fort Mill cafes. Keyboards usually were stored under counters because players didn’t need them for the games. Employees offered free soft drinks and snacks to players engrossed in their screens. Cafe customers got cards for prepaid time to surf the Web, but the computers were preset to play video-slot games … Then players could take their cards to cashiers and take home their winnings.”

Charlotte Article

Theres certainly a market for enterprising individuals to operate internet cafe style businesses selling time on virtual slot machines such as ours (with permission), but the issue of making win payouts changes the scenario entirely. In Australia at least, the rules and regulations binding operators of slot machines are complex and would prohibit such operations.

Medication influencing slot machine play?

Addiction to slot machines is increasingly common in countries with large populations of pokies. Most players don’t spend more than that required to enjoy a night out, but others indulge far more than is prudent.

As if the natural addictive tendencies of slot machines weren’t enough, some medications may contribute to the problem:

“M. Leann Dodd of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and a team of neurologists identified 11 cases in which compulsive gambling had developed almost overnight in people who were taking medication for Parkinson’s”

USA Today Article

A potential upside is, as noted in the article, “The research may teach us about pathological gambling in the general population”. Presumably if the drugs involved are capable of inducing the behaviour, the parts of the brain responsible can be identified.

The study is also careful to note that there is no suggestion the drugs are definitely in a cause and effect relationship to the gambling.

Woolworths biggest pokies owner in Australia

The giant Australian retailer Woolworths now owns 1,200 slot machines in Australia - more than any other company.

“The company now has 243 hotels in Australia, with 1,200 poker machines, making Woolworths the biggest pokie operator in Australia.
“

ABC News

Pokies revenue is revenue lost to retailers. Slot machine players usually have nothing to show for their investment, whereas purchasing items from retail stores at least yields something you can take home.

By marrying its massive retail presence with pubs and their slot machines, Woolworths wins either way.

Aristocrat makes another acquisition

Aristocrat, one of the worlds largest slot machine makers, has ventured further into the potentially profitable world of poker style slot machines through the acquisition of Pokertek.

“SYDNEY (Dow Jones)–Australia’s largest gaming machine company Aristocrat Leisure Ltd. (ALL.AU) said Wednesday it has acquired just under 10% of PokerTek Inc. (PTEK) in the U.S. for US$8.6 million. “

Yahoo Article

Automated Roulette machines linked to a common real roulette table are common in Aussie casinos. They take up space, but allow many more players to participate on a single table than would otherwise be the case. Automated Poker Rooms may allow similar savings on staff and table costs.