By Clyde Mooney
The NLG Hotel Group has accused a daily tabloid of publishing raw, unqualified financial figures about one of its Sydney gaming venues.
Under the headline 'Reeling in big profits', The Daily Telegraph earlier this week reported that the state's top ten pokie pubs are raking in a combined $1.6 million in profit from the machines a week and speculated that this made them 'one of the most lucrative ways to make money without breaking the law'.
"The 10 hotels made a staggering profit of $20 million in the three months to March with the El Cortez Hotel at Canley Heights, in Sydney's southwest, banking $160,000 a week after tax," said the The Daily Telegraph report.
"The El Cortez, which turns over about $93.6 million in gambling revenues each year for about $8.6 million in net profit, is owned by hotel group National Leisure and Gaming and has been ranked in the top three for the past three years."
However NLG was unimpressed with the headline-making.
Dan Brady, NLG Hotel Group CEO, told TheShout: “The Daily Telegraph’s article on NSW top ranking gaming venues on Monday (Aug 1) is the epitome of irresponsible journalism; it is a disgrace that the media disregard staff and patron safety by advertising revenues to would-be criminals and seasoned armed robbers.”
Well if the pubs were to have the proper amout of security they would have less concerns. What about pubs not mentioned that get robbed or convenience stores that get robbed, these things happen because of their ease of being targeted not the money they hold. A bank has more money at 1 time than 10 of the best pubs do.
I was held up at a venue not even in the top 100, the reason it was held up was because we had poor security and nothing else.