In about a month's time, Buninyong Golf Club will say goodbye to its 29 pokie machines, reports Brendan Gullifer.WHILE many Ballarat clubs are planning a pokie-funded future, Buninyong Golf Club is quietly counting the days until its electronic gaming machines are taken away.The club's committee made the decision three years ago that pokies were not good business. Club general manager Roger Permezel calls it an insightful resolution."They really thought long and hard about what is their core business and the answer is it's golf," he says."It's been golf for a long time. And they wanted to make sure that's how it stayed."Mr Permezel says his club has big plans for redevelopment. The vision is for a sustainable, community-involved club _ without gambling _ that focuses on dining, golfing and family events, and functions."We're just looking forward to going back to our roots and being a big player in the growing community of Buninyong."I guess we see that gambling isn't the only option you've got for engaging with the community."Mr Permezel has been general manager since 2006. His career includes working for The Federal Group, the company behind the launch of Australia's first casino at Wrest Point in Tasmania.Despite his gambling-industry background, Mr Permezel said he did not arrive at the club with a commitment to a pokie-based business model. The club's decision, made a year before his arrival, was based on a business case, rather than any philosophical opposition.When it first acquired machines in the early 90s, Buninyong Golf Club was one of the few pokie venues in Ballarat, drawing players from across the city.But with the increasing wealth of Buninyong _ Mr Permezel said the community's demographics exceed those of nearby Ballarat _ the number of gaming members at the club dropped to less than 100, out of a total membership of 650.And only 20 per cent of those are from the Buninyong area.With regulations governing the number of pokie venue staff on premises, the club was barely breaking even on its gaming machines.So in about a month, its 29 pokies will be gone. Twenty-three will be transferred to the Ballarat RSL.According to the sub-branch's treasurer, Bill Bahr, the Ballarat RSL has been losing money on its 10 machines for years. Ballarat is in debt to the Victorian branch, which acts as the head office of the RSL for the state, for $600,000.The current premises, which the club has occupied for 88 years, need serious renovation.The club operates on a skeleton staff and with the support of volunteers.The new machines will position the club for the future, Mr Bahr says.Victorian RSL CEO Michael Annett says Ballarat is a strategically important RSL presence. "We need to have a footprint of the RSL right throughout Victoria to deliver our services and objectives," Mr Annett explains.While interim renovations are being undertaken at the Lyons St South premises to accommodate the new machines, Mr Annett says the long-term plan is to find a new site for the Ballarat RSL.He says there are 304 sub-branches in Victoria. Seventy are licensed to serve alcohol with electronic gaming machines on site, with another 35 licensed but without pokies.The role of clubs, apart from providing a social venue for members and the community, also includes display of memorabilia, welfare of returned soldiers and their families, assistance with pensions and other payments, and education.And there's no doubt pokies can fuel substantial growth.The Ararat RSL sub-branch has 55 electronic gaming machines. It is one of only two pokie venues in town. (The other is Chalambar Golf Club with 33 machines).According to the Ararat sub-branch website, the club originally held monthly meetings in the Mechanics Institute. In 1995, three years after gaming machines were introduced into Victoria, the sub-branch purchased new premises for $90,000 and undertook building works.New clubrooms were opened in 1996 after a $1 million renovation. Latest building works were completed in 2005 at a cost of $1.8m.The Ararat sub-branch has a staff of more than 40, with more than 3000 members, according to its web page.But not all RSL sub-branches agree bigger is better. Members at Camberwell City, Balwyn and Kew have all reportedly voted against poker machines.Club presidents have said pokies don't fit with the ethos of old mates catching up.Meanwhile, the Victorian Commission for Gambling regulation, the body which oversees pokies in the state, says it "views favourably" applications from RSL sub-branches to have pokies.In documents outlining its support for the move to increase pokies at the Ballarat RSL, it says: "Against the benefits which have been demonstrated there is ultimately, little evidence of detriment."