The recession has failed to put the brakes on poker machine gambling, with the top 10 clubs each turning over more than $10 million a month.
The staggering figures leaked to me this week show a secret war is raging between the Redcliffe Leagues Club and Greenbank RSL for the title of the state's top money-spinner.
The "war" is being fought in predominantly blue-collar suburbs by club members aged 40 plus, many of them female, who enjoy the spoils such as cheap beer and wine, $10 rump steaks, free entertainment and even a free shuttle bus.
I'm told the plush Greenbank RSL turned over more than $15.8 million last month, a shade ahead of Redcliffe Leagues Club, which spun $15.6 million. There was a spirited battle for minor placings, with Kedron-Wavell Services Club turning over more than $14 million, Sunnybank Rugby Union Club $14 million, Caloundra RSL $13.9 million, Southport Sharks $13.6 million and the Broncos Leagues Club $12.5 million.
The big improver is the Sunnybank rugby club, which has a strong Asian contingent.
The top clubs are allowed no more than 280 machines. The rivers of gold continue to flow, with most top 10 clubs slightly up in net profit for the month.
Their biggest threat is the rise of gambling in hotels, most of them owned by rival retailers Coles Myer and Woolworths.
There are 41,809 operational "electronic gaming machines" or pokies, in pubs and clubs in Queensland latest figures supplied by the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing show.
There were 23,052 machines in 558 clubs compared with 18,757 machines in 766 pubs.
The State Government offers little public feedback on the industry for fear of an anti-gambling backlash. This may be because it gets a staggering $10.5 million a week, or $550 million a year, from the machines.
The president of a successful Queensland club went months without even seeing a single problem gambler. And the image of the desperate gambling addict squandering the family grocery money is rare.
He said: "The typical club members are a husband and wife, 40-plus, perhaps semi-retired who come once or twice a week for a show and a cheap meal. They budget $20 to play the machines for two hours for fun with minor jackpots.
"It's a cheap and cheerful form of entertainment; much cheaper than dinner at a restaurant and a night at the pictures."
He believes clubs should be supported because they contribute generously to community projects, unlike most hotels whose machine profits go back to shareholders.
Two years ago the Queensland Household Gambling Survey identified 14,000 problem gamblers in Queensland, many of them casino and racetrack punters. So problem gamblers represent 0.47 per cent of the state's adult population - almost an insignificant number unless, of course, one of them is your partner, daughter or son.
Greenbank RSL chief executive John Limbrick says the club's 80,000 members make it one of the top three in the country.
"The more we generate with gambling the more we can give back to the community." he said.
The club donated to more than 100 organisations, from the RSPCA to the Queensland Cancer Council, schools, churches, the St Vincent de Paul Society and the War Widows' Guild. He says clubs go to great lengths to keep problem gamblers away.
The $550 million in pokie taxes represents less than 1.55 per cent of State Government revenue.
More than $142 million will go to the community through Community Investment Fund programs.
With figures like that, it seems clubs are here to stay. (Credit: The Courier-Mail)
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