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  • Written by News Feature

For anyone playing pokies the idea that money might come raining down from above is the stuff that dreams are made of. The idea that the excitement levels of their play might be ramped up and that their exploits might be hailed by their fellow citizens and celebrated in the press is, likewise, something that most pokies players can only fantasise about.

But for a band of brave punters in a New Zealand pokies room who were on hand to foil an attempted armed robbery in June that is precisely what has happened.

When two knife-wielding men stormed into the sleepy Selwyn Tavern in the North Island town of Rotorua just after midday on July 9th they had expected a straightforward pay out. But their plan fell foul of the quick reflexes and public spirit of the bar’s regular pokies punters, who reacted heroically to the robbery as it took place and wrestled one of the would-be thieves to the ground.

Bar owner Miriam Chapman, who was working alone at the time of the heist, described how her regulars leapt to her defence, sending money flying into the air as they grappled with one of the crooks as his cowardly accomplice fled. The day’s biggest loser was subsequently arrested by the police and charged with theft and aggravated assault, whilst his partner in crime was being tracked down.

Ms Chapman told local reporters that it seemed as though it was ‘raining cash’ at the height of the struggle, before her loyal punters collected it all in, and ensuring that she was not so much as a penny out of pocket.

The Selwyn Tavern regulars were the toast of Rotorua. They were lauded in the New Zealand Herald and widely praised for their courage and civic responsibility. Ms Chapman, admitted to being shaken up but was otherwise unharmed.

Anyone hoping to avoid such energetic interruptions to their play is advised to play the mobile casino pokies.com or one of its competitors, even if it does mean that they will miss out on the enviable experience of seeing money rain down from above.

The online pokies industry is growing rapidly and whilst the popularity of traditional pokies rooms remains undimmed, more and more players are turning to digital pokies via their smartphones or laptops. The games themselves may be every bit as exciting as the machines that are such a feature of bars throughout Australasia, but they are yet to match the excitement experienced by the punters of the Selwyn Tavern.