Tabcorp

TABCORP... WTF??

Went for a wander down St Kilda Rd in Melbourne today at lunchtime. Had to go to the post office but return trip coincided with the first at Yarra Valley. Knick into TAB for a look. Chevron 'Hotel'.... not a pub anymore. Latte's galore but nowhere to buy a beer.

2 Ambulances out the front of TAB. Blokes being resuscitated. Something must be going on thought me. Sign on door of TAB - "CLOSED". Nothing left inside.. just walls and doorway and concrete floor. Read sign on door...very polite... "Next closet TAB 1.9km away".

"It was still there on Friday" one bloke said trying to give his mate mouth to mouth. "But gone today. They must have gutted it at weekend".

SHAME ON YOU TABCORP!

I know at one stage years back it was costing $3000 a month to have SKY on in a pub/tab situation - and when they only get so many cents commission from each ticket sold it takes a long while to make that back I guess. And it was against policy to have Foxtel on instead.


Many pub tab's have now reverted to just the EBT machine in the bar and have gone away from the counter service apparently. And with the recent changes that mean agencies themselves print the day's form guides instead of getting the big bundle of all meetings via the newsagents, some venues don't event print out many meetings for display, you might get fields if you are lucky.


It's just assumed I guess that everyone bets on their phone and accesses form on the net - anyone else just passing through who drops in for a punt in an agency is probably an inconvenience. Many people though are uncomfortable betting and hanging around in a "pub" environment, and prefer a stand alone shop front.


Interesting to note in QLD they are looking at trialling self serve kiosks in non-traditional venues, such as a supermarket for example. Maybe this might come in here down the track. If you had said to someone back in the 70's that you would be able to access your cash 24/7 from a machine located in the front wall of the bank they probably would have laughed at you, but of course things change rightly or wrongly.

The Stawell Trotting Club has a stand alone TAB just inside their front doors but it too pretty much relies on just one EBT machine although I think there is a bell you can ring at the counter but I have not seen anyone at the counter for months. On the big nights I go there to watch like last Saturday, there are a dozen plus regulars there and I sometimes think with only 1 EBT someone will not get on.