During a Christmas lunch with mates, Neil Walshe reluctantly shuffled into a pokies room.

Nothing was amiss: Flashing lights and high-pitched slot machine jingles are a common backdrop to pub meals in Australia.

But then came a startling realisation.

"As they always do, my mates say, 'We're going to go and have a slap', and so I walked in the room with them," Walshe recalled to Nine.com.au.

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