Bankstown Hotel

I used to come here every week for an inexpensive pub steak or schnitty. Since COVID, the food has become hit and miss. It’s not bad, and there are worse places to eat in Bankstown, but it doesn’t feel like the best spot for steak or schnitty anymore. There are better options nearby, including the RSL club down the road and Sporties across the way. The pokies have also become a disappointment for me. Before COVID I’d regularly hear people win while I was playing. Now that seems to happen much less. I’ve been coming here weekly for a few years without a win. On my last visit I put $150 into a machine and got only $3 back in total payouts, playing $1.50 and 60-cent hits. Not once did a payout beat my bet. That was the last straw for me, and it made the stories I’d heard about people putting thousands through without winning back even their stake feel true to my own experience. Reserving a machine doesn’t seem to mean anything. People remove the reserve and play, while staff don’t intervene. I can understand why staff might find it difficult, given how some people behave here. The staff are much friendlier and more helpful than at Bankstown Sports Hotel. I was told there I couldn’t come in because of my mental health issues, which was blatant discrimination. This place is better in that respect.