00:00Peter Cooke has worked in hospitality since he was 16, but he's never seen times this
00:09difficult for the industry.
00:10I think we're all struggling.
00:12The visitations are down and when people get here they don't seem to have the same sort
00:16of money to spend.
00:19He says installing poker machines at his hotel in Yakondanda would help him make a profit.
00:24We made the decision that through food and beverage and our accommodation is that we
00:29could make a go of it, you know, and we could survive on those three revenue streams.
00:36Now in difficult times, we're now saying, well, geez, that's not quite enough.
00:42But in Yakondanda, pokies are banned and have been since 2001.
00:47The Indigo Shire says it's known for being pokies free and isn't aware of any community
00:52appetite to reconsider its position.
00:56Peter Cooke says the localised nature of the ban puts his pub at a disadvantage to
01:00those in neighbouring shires.
01:03Why should I be different to the hotel that's 30km down the road or 20km down the road?
01:07Indigo Shire is one of nine councils in Victoria without poker machines.
01:11Many of them say it's crucial they make those decisions and not the state government.
01:16If that money was spent on poker machines, I guarantee small businesses within the towns
01:21would probably close.
01:22Local charities or the local council themselves bear the cost of the negative impact economically
01:29and socially of the introduction of poker machines.
01:32Peter Cooke says he understands the resistance, but he believes tough times call for a change
01:38of thinking.
01:39We don't want to become a gaming venue.
01:42We just want to be a small country hotel that can produce enough revenue to provide this
01:47service.
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