Wasn't this the publican who tried to change the name of Tanswells? Jackie http://heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,11174710%5E2862,00.htm l From today's Herald Sun. Historic town fights against Pokies Danny Buttler 25oct04 A SHOWDOWN is looming as the quiet Victorian town of Beechworth fights to remain pokies free. An application by local publican Chris Chriscoll for a gaming licence has galvanised a community that drew on people-power to crush an attempt to introduce one-armed bandits in 2000. Community groups, council and business leaders fear pokies would threaten their town's economy. And their planned fight-back coincides with church calls for the Federal Government to step in to remove ATMs from pokie dens. The Uniting Church and Inter-Church Gambling Task Force said the Government could use its banking powers to stop independent operators from moving in when big banks had removed their ATMs from the venues. In Beechworth, historically associated with bushranger Ned Kelly, locals fear the impact of the one-armed bandits. Vic Issell, who helped organise the 2000 campaign, said the community had already sent a clear message to gaming operators that they should stay out of town. Mr Chriscoll's application to the Victorian Casino and Gaming Authority is not for a specific venue. But locals fear it is the first step towards bringing pokies into the historic gold-mining township. "It is a surprise that they would wish to apply again, it's clearly against the community's wishes," Mr Issell said. "If they apply for the venue to be in Beechworth, there would be very large opposition to that application. "I don't want to speak for everyone else, but if people were opposed to a hotel installing them, then they might chose not to go there." Hotelier Mr Chriscoll said he was merely renewing an existing venue operators licence and had no desire to share any more information with the local community. "There's nothing to say, I'm just not prepared to educate these people," he said. The VCGA said Mr Chriscoll faces a probity check to see if he was of fit character to hold a licence. Only then could he apply to install machines in a specific venue. The local member for Benambra, Tony Plowman, warned that anyone who tried to bring pokies into town would be wasting their time and money. "They'll never come to Beechworth, the community doesn't want them," he said. "To my mind it would destroy the whole tenor of what this town stands for, it's a tourist town built on history and heritage. Pokies have no part of that." Indigo Shire mayor Bill Hotson, who presides over one of a handful of pokies-free municipalities in Victoria, said the area was lucky to have missed out on the electronic gambling boom. Cr Hotson said poker machines were available just 25 minutes away from Beechworth. Federal Family and Community Services Minister Kay Patterson has asked banks to trial a range of restrictions to make it harder for problem gamblers to access money at gaming venues.