Half the pubs in my town swapped pokies for pinball and I'm torn on it

I grew up in Geelong and every local had a corner with a row of poker machines humming away. Over the last 5 years, at least 6 of those venues ripped them out and put in retro arcade cabinets and pinball tables instead. On one hand it's awesome, you can grab a schooner and actually talk to mates without that depressing electronic chorus in the background. But on the other hand, the pokies paid the bills for these places, and I've seen two of those pubs close down since making the switch. The ones that survive seem to pull in the younger crowd on weekends, but the old regulars just stopped coming entirely. Is this a genuine trend across the country or just a Geelong thing? I'm curious if anyone else has watched their local do the same flip and what happened with the crowd balance.

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