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One Last Spin: the power and peril of the pokies
A poignant and compassionate work of literary journalism that tackles Australia’s most controversial pastime.
Almost 200,000 poker machines sing and flash in pubs, clubs, and casinos in every corner of the country. They’re highly complex devices, their components designed by mathematicians, musicians, animators, and ergonomic experts. They’re also widely considered the most harmful form of gambling, the cause of the majority of gambling addictions. So how did Australia evolve into a pokie nation?
With startlingly candid interviews from gambling addicts, politicians, manufacturers, neuroscientists, counsellors, anti-gambling campaigners, and gambling advocates, One Last Spin explores how the machines work to hook people in, and the vicious fight being waged to evict them from the country’s social life. It is a confronting tale about the human cost of addiction, of governments pandering to corporate interests, and of the insidious power of the industry’s PR spin.
Almost 200,000 poker machines sing and flash in pubs, clubs, and casinos in every corner of the country. They’re highly complex devices, their components designed by mathematicians, musicians, animators, and ergonomic experts. They’re also widely considered the most harmful form of gambling, the cause of the majority of gambling addictions. So how did Australia evolve into a pokie nation?
With startlingly candid interviews from gambling addicts, politicians, manufacturers, neuroscientists, counsellors, anti-gambling campaigners, and gambling advocates, One Last Spin explores how the machines work to hook people in, and the vicious fight being waged to evict them from the country’s social life. It is a confronting tale about the human cost of addiction, of governments pandering to corporate interests, and of the insidious power of the industry’s PR spin.
- GenresNonfiction
336 pages, Paperback
Published May 7, 2018
2 people are currently reading
49 people want to read
About the author
Drew Rooke
3 books7 followersDrew Rooke is a freelance journalist and author whose work has been widely published, including in The Monthly, The Saturday Paper, Kill Your Darlings, and Overland. His first book, One Last Spin: the power and peril of the pokies, was published by Scribe in 2018. He is a 2021 Our Watch Fellow.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 6, 2018
For someone new to Australia, the whole concept of ubiquitous pokies, and why Australian pubs feel more like casinos, requires some explanation. Rooke does that and more, showing why poker machines are so harmful, and illuminating the murky club industry in cahoots with state and federal governments, draining the life out of local communities they claim to support.
One More Spin is well-researched, snappily written and timely - real investigative journalism, much more than just an anti-pokie polemic. The interviews with gambling addicts are heartbreaking, and those with the industry insiders will leave you furious. Hopefully it reaches the wide audience it deserves and we’ll get to read more from Drew Rooke in future.
One More Spin is well-researched, snappily written and timely - real investigative journalism, much more than just an anti-pokie polemic. The interviews with gambling addicts are heartbreaking, and those with the industry insiders will leave you furious. Hopefully it reaches the wide audience it deserves and we’ll get to read more from Drew Rooke in future.
January 9, 2022
Excellently researched and beautifully articulated insight into the trials and tribulations of pokies in Australia. Rooke tenderly presents the stories of those who’s lives have been affected by this psychological phenomenon and delves deep into the darkness behind the industry and its intentions.
July 13, 2018
4.5 Stars
This is a well researched and compellingly organised and written treatment of a very important and timely topic. It lays bare many of the lies (yes, let’s call them what they are) the poker machine industry retell time and again to divert blame for “problem gambling” SOLELY onto individuals.
When poker machines are configured to psychologically manipulate people to play for extended periods of time, encourage bets of up to $10 a spin and are so ubiquitous it’s not surprising they entrap some. And like other “drugs” once you are entrapped it’s a life’s work to free yourself.
I also found the revelation that clubs return, on average, less than 2% (in NSW) of poker machine takings to their “communities”, disturbing. Claims that they are operating solely for the community’s benefit (and thereby reliant on poker machine takings) are thereby ultimately shown to be misleading at best, deceptive at worst.
But times they are a’changing. A growing number of clubs and pubs are removing poker machines and an awareness of their deleterious effects is on the rise. This book adds to the growing chorus for a thoughtful but also somewhat urgent rethink of the place poker machines have in our entertainment venues and our lives.
This is a well researched and compellingly organised and written treatment of a very important and timely topic. It lays bare many of the lies (yes, let’s call them what they are) the poker machine industry retell time and again to divert blame for “problem gambling” SOLELY onto individuals.
When poker machines are configured to psychologically manipulate people to play for extended periods of time, encourage bets of up to $10 a spin and are so ubiquitous it’s not surprising they entrap some. And like other “drugs” once you are entrapped it’s a life’s work to free yourself.
I also found the revelation that clubs return, on average, less than 2% (in NSW) of poker machine takings to their “communities”, disturbing. Claims that they are operating solely for the community’s benefit (and thereby reliant on poker machine takings) are thereby ultimately shown to be misleading at best, deceptive at worst.
But times they are a’changing. A growing number of clubs and pubs are removing poker machines and an awareness of their deleterious effects is on the rise. This book adds to the growing chorus for a thoughtful but also somewhat urgent rethink of the place poker machines have in our entertainment venues and our lives.
August 29, 2020
Blow up the pokies.
While I'm sure the industry and pub/club lobby would be happy to dismiss this book as another piece of anti-"gaming" propaganda, the fact remains that these machines and the venues that house them take in more money than they disburse for community ends, and cause more harm than this lesser disbursement alleviates. This much is demonstrably true.
While this book, and the research on this topic not sponsored by million-dollar industry/lobby grants, makes a convincing case for far worse misery and exploitation caused by EGMs and the commercial interests profiting from them; I think that the simple cost-benefit analysis of money-in versus money-out is the more damning. If they take more than they give, how can any rational argument be made that they provide a net positive outcome for the communities in which they exist?
While I'm sure the industry and pub/club lobby would be happy to dismiss this book as another piece of anti-"gaming" propaganda, the fact remains that these machines and the venues that house them take in more money than they disburse for community ends, and cause more harm than this lesser disbursement alleviates. This much is demonstrably true.
While this book, and the research on this topic not sponsored by million-dollar industry/lobby grants, makes a convincing case for far worse misery and exploitation caused by EGMs and the commercial interests profiting from them; I think that the simple cost-benefit analysis of money-in versus money-out is the more damning. If they take more than they give, how can any rational argument be made that they provide a net positive outcome for the communities in which they exist?
October 1, 2024
One Last Spin offers an intriguing look into the world of gambling, addiction, and the complexities that come with it. The emotional depth of the characters really made me reflect on how high the stakes can be in real life. As someone who's experienced the thrill of online pokies, it made me think of platforms like Smart Pokies, which provide a vast array of pokies for casual players and enthusiasts alike. It's important to balance enjoyment with responsible gaming, and this book is a great reminder of that.
October 6, 2024
Slot machines are not just entertainment, but a real adventure for those who like to try their luck. With interesting themes, bonus rounds, and the opportunity to win big prizes, they have quickly gained popularity among players around the world. And for those interested in gambling statistics, check out the detailed data and analysis at GamblingStatistics - it will open up a new dimension of the game!
July 7, 2019
"Australia has pokies the way America has guns."
- Dr Katy O'Neill
As a young Australian, reaching adulthood this century, I never knew a world before ubiquitous pokies. This was absolutely gobsmacking, to find out their history and about the revenue that keeps them embedded in every town.
Essential reading.
- Dr Katy O'Neill
As a young Australian, reaching adulthood this century, I never knew a world before ubiquitous pokies. This was absolutely gobsmacking, to find out their history and about the revenue that keeps them embedded in every town.
Essential reading.
July 8, 2019
Extremely well-researched and sheds a lot of light on Australian pokies.
The gaming industry eerily follows a trend that’s reminiscent of other industries, such as the tobacco, fast food, and fossil fuel industries. Like the author, I too worry about the consequences that these industries impose on our communities, all in the name of a profit.
The gaming industry eerily follows a trend that’s reminiscent of other industries, such as the tobacco, fast food, and fossil fuel industries. Like the author, I too worry about the consequences that these industries impose on our communities, all in the name of a profit.
March 25, 2025
When choosing a casino, I always pay attention to the quality of games and the convenience of the platform. At Sixty6 , everything is on par: modern design, fast loading, and cool slots that really addict you. The game is easy and comfortable - exactly what you need to have a good time!
September 8, 2018
An interesting analysis of the pokies phenomenon in Australia.
Read
December 12, 2018Timely and meticulously researched, One Last Spin is a candid, important investigation into the predatory rise of pokies in Australia by a fresh new voice in Australian journalism.
Anna Krien
A masterfully researched and skilfully written account of a virus that has flourished unchecked for decades. At once a page-turner, sociological study, and damning indictment, Drew Rooke has provided us with further proof — if ever it were needed — of the calamity that is the poker machine industry.
David Leser, Journalist and Author of To Begin to Know: Walking in the Shadows of My Father
Early in Drew Rooke’s One Last Spin, a gambling counsellor tells him, “Australia has pokies the way America has guns.” This book is an affirmation of that claim: the social harm poker machines create; the political leverage of the gambling lobby; the fallacy that pokies are somehow a force for communal good and intrinsic to some archetypal idea of Australianness. Through interviews with addicts, academics, opponents, clubs management, and industry peddlers, Rooke shows how pervasive and poisonous the situation has become — and how, learning from past defeats, the campaign to halt the march of the “VIP Lounge” is gaining momentum. This is a brave and compassionate work of advocacy journalism by a fresh new voice in Australian nonfiction.
Sam Vincent, Journalist and Author of Blood and Guts: Dispatches from the Whale Wars
This could have been a mightily depressing book. And yet it’s not – largely because Drew Rooke makes for an amiable guide, inspiring sympathy for the people he meets.
The Saturday Age
One Last Spin is a meticulously researched, compelling, shocking work on journalism. Rooke moves effectively from the history of pokies in Australia to profiles of people affected by gambling addiction, and includes interviews with industry figureheads, researchers and club employees. It’s an important book concerning a problem that will hopefully continue gathering momentum as an urgent political issue.
Good Reading
Compelling reading.
Hawkes Bay Weekend
One Last Spin gives readers an eye-opening and somewhat harrowing glance inside the world of the pokies, both from the perspective of those who play it, and those who run it, providing a comprehensive investigation into gambling-related issues in urban, suburban and regional Australia.
Kill Your Darlings
I was immediately intrigued by the sad compelling nature of his book, a mixture of personal anecdote, stories of people in the grip of gambling addiction, academic research and interviews with those researching and working in the gambling industry.
Julia Tsalis, Writing NSW
An eye-opening read about the insidious nature of pokies in Australia and their grip on our society.
Julia Tsalias, Writing NSW
Anna Krien
A masterfully researched and skilfully written account of a virus that has flourished unchecked for decades. At once a page-turner, sociological study, and damning indictment, Drew Rooke has provided us with further proof — if ever it were needed — of the calamity that is the poker machine industry.
David Leser, Journalist and Author of To Begin to Know: Walking in the Shadows of My Father
Early in Drew Rooke’s One Last Spin, a gambling counsellor tells him, “Australia has pokies the way America has guns.” This book is an affirmation of that claim: the social harm poker machines create; the political leverage of the gambling lobby; the fallacy that pokies are somehow a force for communal good and intrinsic to some archetypal idea of Australianness. Through interviews with addicts, academics, opponents, clubs management, and industry peddlers, Rooke shows how pervasive and poisonous the situation has become — and how, learning from past defeats, the campaign to halt the march of the “VIP Lounge” is gaining momentum. This is a brave and compassionate work of advocacy journalism by a fresh new voice in Australian nonfiction.
Sam Vincent, Journalist and Author of Blood and Guts: Dispatches from the Whale Wars
This could have been a mightily depressing book. And yet it’s not – largely because Drew Rooke makes for an amiable guide, inspiring sympathy for the people he meets.
The Saturday Age
One Last Spin is a meticulously researched, compelling, shocking work on journalism. Rooke moves effectively from the history of pokies in Australia to profiles of people affected by gambling addiction, and includes interviews with industry figureheads, researchers and club employees. It’s an important book concerning a problem that will hopefully continue gathering momentum as an urgent political issue.
Good Reading
Compelling reading.
Hawkes Bay Weekend
One Last Spin gives readers an eye-opening and somewhat harrowing glance inside the world of the pokies, both from the perspective of those who play it, and those who run it, providing a comprehensive investigation into gambling-related issues in urban, suburban and regional Australia.
Kill Your Darlings
I was immediately intrigued by the sad compelling nature of his book, a mixture of personal anecdote, stories of people in the grip of gambling addiction, academic research and interviews with those researching and working in the gambling industry.
Julia Tsalis, Writing NSW
An eye-opening read about the insidious nature of pokies in Australia and their grip on our society.
Julia Tsalias, Writing NSW
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews