“Ching! Ching! Ching! Ching! Ching!” There’s nothing quite like the sights and exciting sounds of a pokies machine in action – or better yet, a whole floor. While it can be a little overwhelming at first, once you step into the zone, you’re in for a ride. But there’s more to pokies than just that experience.
Every Aussie who loves a good round of pokies, will certainly relish the fact that there are loads of online pokies using no deposit bonuses available online. Not only that, with so many different providers available, you have the luxury of choice! Online pokies are a relatively recent invention in the grand scheme of gaming. Before online pokies, all we had were the machine in casinos and venues around the country to satisfy that pokie itch. Today we’re going to dedicate a little space to some lesser-known facts about the one-armed bandits.
1. You can smoke in some pokies rooms in pubs
Thought that ciggie smoking had completely left the building back in the late 90s and 2000s? While you can’t puff away at the bar on a cigarette in regular licensed venues there is a workaround for smokers in NSW. In some pokies areas that are closed off to the general bar, you’re able to smoke there while you play at the machines. Yes, while inside the venue. This is particularly good news for smokers in winter who don’t want to catch the rain and who also want a punt. But on the other hand, isn’t it about time you quit, anyway?
2. WA doesn’t do pokies, they do skimpies
If you step off the plane in Perth and then start walking around talking about how much you won on the pokies last week at the local then you’re likely to get some puzzled looks. “Won what on what? Did you play Chase the Ace at the skimpies?” That’s because over in WA there are no pokies except for what’s available on the floor at the Crown Casino in Burswood in Perth, just outside the CBD. Yep, that’s right, no machines anywhere else in the state. There’s a reason why RSLs aren’t a thing in WA. On the other hand, WA is home to skimpies, where pubs, yes, any pubs, can host women in lingerie pouring the drinks for a few hours a week.
3. NSW has the most pokies
While this might not be that much of a stunning fact, it’s a fact nonetheless. NSW is home to the highest population of people in Australia, and it is also home to the highest population of pokies machines. There are around 100,000ish machines all over the state of NSW in pubs and clubs, as well as the casino floors. Over the past year, NSW-ers have poured around $7.6B into pokies machines around the state which averages out to almost $1000 per person on pokies alone – a truly whopping figure.
4. Brendan Fevola and pokies
Aussies love the Larrikin battler, and Brendan Fevola can certainly be described as just that. The famous footballer who has gone on to a career in media and recently scored a Guinness World Record for the highest altitude football catch was once in treatment for serious gambling addiction when he was caught playing the pokies in a morning spin at a Melbourne hotel. This came following a rough ride for the footballer after being sacked by his football club and being asked to leave Melbourne’s Crown Casino in Southbank.
5. Most pokies are clones
No, no, we’re not talking about a clone like “Aliens cloned my body!” When pokies machines are cloned it means that the company simply copies their own game and adds different sounds, graphics, stories, and themes. It’s like skins in video games. In fact, the entire game you’re playing – say it’s Jewel of the Nine, could be exactly the same as Space Odyssey, all the way down to symbol configurations on reels (but with different pictures), and the exact same payouts. If you’ve ever sat there playing a game and think that it feels oddly familiar, that’s probably because it is.
Another fun fact is that pokies companies change certain values like the RTP or the terms of the feature when they want to use the same game in an overseas market. Due to different regulations in different places, the games may require slight tweaks so that they can fit within the law. Rest assured that the pokies you play in Australia are under some of the strictest regulations on the planet – there’s no scamming or rigging happening on the part of the poker machine company or they would get in very, very serious trouble.
