They gathered in their dozens inside an Alice Springs pub. Knowing the odds were against them, they belted out a rallying cry made famous from a song by Australian band The Whitlams: “Blow up the pokies and drag them away.”
The Sydney-based hospitality giant, Iris Capital, had just spent $50m buying some of the town’s biggest pubs and hotels. It already owned the casino and its more than 300 poker machines, but wasted no time applying for 60 more at its four new venues.
