Those nice men from Wesfarmers, sitting in pokies-free Perth, have wilted in the face of a strong campaign over kids in venues and committed to spend millions cleaning up their gambling venues, writes Stephen Mayne.
Pokies 
Godwin Grech: the plot thickens
Public servant Godwin Grech is back in hot water — this time over his involvement in the Western Bulldogs’ scheme to build a gaming venue in Melbourne, according to The Age.
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: Grimshaw v Ramsay
Crikey readers take sides in the great slanging match between the chef and the host.
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: Pokies, clubs and local government
Readers weigh in on pokies, local government, Bob Ellis and more.
Will Woolies give Labor $20m for pokies empire?
With Labor now effectively declaring the pokies business was damaging its brand, Woolworths has come to a major fork in the road.
Woollies, Mathiesons and the licence to print money
From a harm minimisation perspective, large scale pokie operations appear to be a big part of the problem, writes Charles Livingston.
Pokies stats reveal the ‘extreme capitalism’ of Woolworths
It really is time Woolies was forced to defend its position on pokies, writes Stephen Mayne.
Rudd’s brilliant disaster diversion from China donations scandal
The ALP remains the only major political party in the world that actually runs pokies operations to help finance its campaigns, writes Stephen Mayne.
Pokies moguls in Machiavellian Fairfax plot
Roger Corbett and Ron Walker lunched at Machiavelli’s in Sydney this week. Were they plotting the future of our most venerable media company? Stephen Mayne writes.
Sydney police take slow look at homeless charity
NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione is under pressure to produce the results of an inquiry into the dubious charity called Just Enough Faith Foundation, writes Alex Mitchell.
How big media omits Woolworths from damaging pokies yarns
Melissa Fyfe had a cracking page one story in The Sunday Age yesterday revealing the rorting of so-called community benefit payments by various AFL clubs at their pokies venues, writes Stephen Mayne.
We need to wind back the pub’s pokie addiction, too
It is common for the industry to present itself as a folksy, struggling community level business, providing mostly harmless fun to the suburban working class. Unfortunately the reality is vastly different, writes Charles Livingston.
Blow up the pokies… but not at the expense of the pub
Senator Steve Fielding’s taxation schedule and his plans to modify poker machines would devastate pubs and clubs and wipe many of them out of existence, writes Alex Mitchell.
Tim Costello: Souths can’t be blamed for addiction to pokies
If the NSW State Government Treasury can surmount all moral objections to reap huge financial rewards why would a football club deny itself? writes Tim Costello.
Pokies duopoly tumbles, Brumby holds all the aces
The total losses from John Brumby’s shock pokies announcement last Thursday have hit $3.3 billion, writes Stephen Mayne.
Brumby’s unprecedented $2.7 billion wipe out
Never before has a government decision wiped out $2.7 billion of sharemarket value, writes Stephen Mayne.
Tips and rumours
It’s strongly rumoured that Bruce Matheson and his business partner will be the party that receives the pokie licence today. This culminates several years of strategy with the Labor Government to achieve. It’s further rumoured this started with a need for critical mass, hence his partner selection and purchase of 1,000 hectares of land several […]
Last drinks: our pubs in financial crisis
Major banks are about to disclose a major hit from their doomed loans to the hotel sector, writes Alex Mitchell.
Iemma ups pubs’ gambling while Russ flicks the pokies
Such irony. Two multi-millionaires, Russell Crowe and Peter Holmes a Court, move to ditch Souths Leagues Club’s 160 poker machines because they don’t think the social cost of the pokies is “appropriate” - most poker machine players are on social security, 30 to 50 per cent of pokies profits come gambling addicts.
Australia’s pokies: a tour by numbers
Pokies probably won’t become a hot button issue for the upcoming election, but there has been a recent rise in bad press. Here are some facts and figures on the role of pokies as entertainment and revenue collectors.
Labor and gambling – thick as thieves
Kevin Rudd has struck a chord with his anti-pokies stance but the facts are the Labor Party is more responsible for Australians being the world’s biggest gamblers than anyone else.
