This week, the Ganim family purchased the Varsity Lakes Tavern, a popular pokies pub in Sydney. Shelling out an impressive $16 million for the tavern, the Ganims have made this year’s most expensive property acquisition. The venue has gained stellar reputation over the years among pokie players and pub goers.

It offers a wide range of entertainment options, including Texas Hold’Em poker tournaments, TAB facilities as well as a number of other weekly competitions for patrons to take part in. The success of the tavern likely contributes to its high selling price. The Tavern’s steep price tag has also been boosted by its other facilities.

The property also hosts one of the biggest Fitness First locations and a retail outlet. The combined rent for the property will earn the Ganim family an additional $1.3 million every year. The pub was sold by the Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group as part of a sell-down of its assets. The group is offloading quite a few of its properties but continues to operate many pubs, clubs and hotels across Australia.

The ALH is one of the biggest gambling operators in the country. The group owns hundreds of pokie clubs and pubs and brings in millions of dollars in revenue every year. During the last half of 2012, profits from Woolworths’ pokies generated $759 million for the ALH.

So, the group will not be losing a great deal of money by selling the Varsity Lakes Tavern while providing the Ganim family with a generous new revenue stream. As it stands, the Ganim family seems to want to keep the Varsity Tavern and its operation as is. So, if you’re a pokie player in the area, you can still visit the pub to play your favourite pokie machines and have a pint.

About the Author

George Anderson
Author George, has over 25+ years’ experience in the Pokies and Casinos industry throughout Australia and New Zealand. Loves to research new Pokies games on the block and follows announcements from top industry providers about their upcoming releases. As soon as a new interesting pokie game appears on his radar, George is there to check it out and give you the scoop before anyone else and tell you about all casino sites where can play the latest game. Before this gig, George worked as Pokie game tester, making him an ideal candidate for this genre of work. He is also an animal lover and a proud owner of three dogs.