Bill Ralston: Free convention centre anyone?

What’s wrong with getting a free convention centre in exchange for more pokies?

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12th May, 2012

All this fuss over the SkyCity convention centre and pokie machines is a bit bewildering. This is probably because I don’t really understand gambling. I’ll have a flutter – usually a sweep for the Melbourne Cup where my selection staggers its way to the glue factory shortly after the race. When SkyCity’s Auckland casino opened, I tried blackjack, but the rules were too complicated and the game required me to count up to 21, which seemed a bit beyond my modest mathematical talent. Baccarat was mind-bogglingly complex and the poker they played was completely different from the version ...

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