President John O’Rourke | PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
  • IMPORTANT // Please look after your loved ones, yourself and be kind to others. If you are feeling that the world is too hard to handle there is always help - I implore you not to hesitate in contacting one of these wonderful organisations Lifeline and Beyond Blue ... and I'm sure reaching out to our PRE community we will find a way to help. T.

President John O’Rourke

It is in my eyes.

When I think of the O'Neal/Gale era the inaction on pokies is equal as a negative to the positives of the premierships.

We are literally in the business of human misery, death and destruction of lives. It's a disgrace.
Don’t be so ridiculous and grand standing , I could make a bigger claim about selling alcohol , whilst it’s still legal it most certainly doesnt warrant that kinda knee jerk response
 
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It is in my eyes.

When I think of the O'Neal/Gale era the inaction on pokies is equal as a negative to the positives of the premierships.

We are literally in the business of human misery, death and destruction of lives. It's a disgrace.
And remember.
Always talk crap responsibly
 
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She needs to be careful with that sort of admiration for the team. She'll be labelled a liniment sniffer by the physed teachers.
Yes, saw that post or remark on another thread.

I thought it was both high handed and disparaging at the same time.

Perhaps the author of that remark did not score a free ticket to the RFC B&F?
 
Don’t be so ridiculous and grand standing , I could make a bigger claim about selling alcohol , whilst it’s still legal it most certainly doesnt warrant that kinda knee jerk response
And remember.
Always talk crap responsibly

Suggest you educate yourselves on the impact of pokie machines. North of 400 people each year commit suicide as a result of the impact of gambling, and almost always pokies. And that is before you get into the other huge amounts of harm they cause.
 
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Yes, saw that post or remark on another thread.

I thought it was both high handed and disparaging at the same time.

Perhaps the author of that remark did not score a free ticket to the RFC B&F?

I've been several times, but always paid for tickets.

Apologies if liniment sniffer was offensive, just footy vernacular for fans who try and spend time around the players.

Wasn't intended to be disparaging, like twice implying Dustin is a drug taker for example.
 
Suggest you educate yourselves on the impact of pokie machines. North of 400 people each year commit suicide as a result of the impact of gambling, and almost always pokies. And that is before you get into the other huge amounts of harm they cause.

How many commit suicide due to alcohol abuse? Or gambling generally? Or smoking cigarettes? Are we banning all of those?

There needs to come a point where people take responsibility for their own decisions.
 
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Suggest you educate yourselves on the impact of pokie machines. North of 400 people each year commit suicide as a result of the impact of gambling, and almost always pokies. And that is before you get into the other huge amounts of harm they cause.
When are you taking up your fight against alcohol and cigarettes?
And by the way, working for sporting organisations, you’ve probably been employed by clubs who are either sponsored by alcohol companies or even owned pokie venues themselves at one stage or another.
 
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How many commit suicide due to alcohol abuse? Or gambling generally? Or smoking cigarettes? Are we banning all of those?

When are you taking up your fight against alcohol and cigarettes?

The comparisons you are both trying to make are flawed.

For a start the national spend on gambling is bigger than alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs combined. Out of 242 billion spent on gambling in 2017-18, over 180 billion was on pokies. You are comparing a nuclear missile with a handgun.

Comparing alcohol and pokies on a social level doesn't stack up either. About 80% of people drink but the number who have social or health problems as a result is much smaller. The vast majority of people who enjoy alcohol do so without any impact on their well-being.

Pokies on the other hand see close to 50% of players suffering problems from gambling. That's because they are specifically designed to target people who can't afford them, keep them at them as long as possible and to strip as much money from them as they possibly can. People literally cannot win on a pokie machine.

Ice is a better comparison to pokies than alcohol is.

Cigarettes is closer to the mark but as a society we proactively try and fight cigarettes on a much stronger level than pokies. And I'd be disgusted if we invested in them as well.
 
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Full disclosure, I don't rate Presidents and boards, to me they are an outdated mechanism that allow rich people to feel important in footy clubs.
Not sure what Peggy's financial status is, I suspect that she would be well off. One thing I do know though, Peggy didn't join the board, and then become President to make herself "feel important".
 
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Suggest you educate yourselves on the impact of pokie machines. North of 400 people each year commit suicide as a result of the impact of gambling, and almost always pokies. And that is before you get into the other huge amounts of harm they cause.

perhaps educate yourself further over the impact of alcohol on the community , where do you want me to start, don’t be so patronizing
 
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Don't take my word for it, 10 minutes of reading will show you comparing pokies and alcohol isn't valid.
Maybe from a finacial pov, but from a social perspective, you may be way off the mark mate. The booze wins every time.
 
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Aah, pokies.

If we get out of pokies and just sell the licence to someone else it is just shifting the blame elsewhere. Don't get me wrong, I hate pokies, they should never have been allowed in Victoria. But if we get out of pokies I want to see us hold on to the licences and not the machines. If we get out of pokies the way most people are thinking about it there will be zero less pokies in Victoria.

Do it properly, get out of pokies and reduce the total number of pokies in the state, that's real action not just posturing.

DS
 
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Has there ever been a reason given why we haven't? We should be better placed than most clubs to get out of them.
I recall just in the last couple of years Benny saying that, basically, we can't afford to yet. There's an article on the topic in The Australian, but I don't have access. We do need to get out of them as soon as possible.
 
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A wealthy club like ours should be out of it by now. That was what was forecast once the legal issues with the licence was resolved. The ongoing club association with pokies must be helping pay for the redevelopment of Punt Road Oval is all I can think. I’m uncomfortable with that.
The club must clarify its position on gaming.
 
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