Australia, the world's gaming superpower

There's no special day for slot machines; any day is good. It's a Monday in February, and at the Seaford Hotel in Frankston—a suburb about fifty kilometers south of central Melbourne—a handful of regulars are playing after dinner. The machines are stacked in rows, each with a stool in front of them.

The floor is carpeted, there are no windows or clocks, just four tables to keep the game going until late..