Managed one of the roughest pubs in the country ?

[mike]

Was it like something out of Once We Were Warriors Magoo and were you the bouncer
as well as the manager ? Sounds like a "full on time". 

No doubt a great way to unlearn about human nature.

[Magoo]

Flaxmere. the lowest socio economic community in the country.
but at least they had a good pub.
when i took it over it had lost money for 8 years running
i made that pub rock. bands and karaoke every thursday. we had three poker teams and had the biggest game running in hawkes bay.
they dont drink much the poker players, sobriety helps i guess. but their wives and girlfriends drank for them and sat at my pokie machines for four hours straight.
we had more pool teams than the cossie club, and hosted the 3 day 'kings and queens ' tournament every year with $10k prize.

had 18 gaming machines, opened at 10am usually had a line outside.
we put more through our machines than the rest of the company combined.
(8 pubs, four restaurants, 4 hotels)
on bene day (wednesday) there would be fights over the machines.
it was other worldly. and sad.

We had one bouncer, called junior.
if you played up when junior wasnt there, you could expect a visit later.
ive watched junior clear a room. he hit a guy so fast i had to use frame by frame to see it on the cameras.

i had a running battle with the mob. Mostly Notorious CHB and MMM Rogues. Quite a few from Hastings Aotearoa, the biggest and oldest of the mongrel mob factions.
used to find weapons left in the bar with my name on them. they would text me fucken death threats lol.
bolsey hawkins sergeant at arms for notorious chb sent 4 prospects down to pay me a visit one night.
i thought it might be my time. as i stood outside in the carpark, surrounded by four methed up would be mobsters with something to prove. i had to keep my hands in my pockets so they wouldnt see them shaking. dennis winitana had a fucken hammer.
i had given them a ration of shit about arriving in aunties Blue people mover, asking if they had removed the baby seats etc.so that was going over real well.
i have never been so happy, never, to see the blues and reds travelling at pace up Flaxmere ave.
if there was a god i was his that night.

we were broken into one night and one of the 60 inch screen stolen. a couple of days later i was out the front of the pub when a couple of kids came by on their bikes. one of them says 'uncle bolseys gonna give you a hiding cu*t' the other one said 'thanks for the tv bro' and they rode off..

i learned a lot from flaxmere and its people, who are the salt of the earth. a kinder, friendlier community of people you wouldnt find anywhere.
5% of the population causing 95% of the shit.

i brought the pool table off 'once were warriors' film set. tem morrison signed it for us.
it took 50 cent pieces that we sold at the bar for $2. proceeds to womens refuge.

my alarms used to go off a lot and for a while there was a guy jumping over the garden bar fence at 3am and emptying the ashtrays for butts. he was hard to recognise except for a plaster cast on his wrist.
one day i saw a guy in the bar and i recognised that cast and jacket. so i approached him and told him i saw him every night out the back. he was really apologetic and promised not to do it etc. he was off work with the broken wrist, works night shift and cant sleep so goes out.
i told him i didn give a shit. just dont empty the ashtrays on the tables and leave the mess behind
next time he came in Kelly looked up at the cameras and waved!
couple of years after i left the pub there was a murder behind the pub late one night. a group of youths kicked and knifed kelly to death.

i spent six years there. it all ended one sunday afternoon when rico came in to see where his missus who worked for me was and whers mu fucken tea. he punched her in the face then kicked her half a dozen times on the gaming room floor, he broke her jaw. she wouldnt press charges so i did and it never even went to court.

despite being very well remunerated, and really enjoying most of the job, i just couldnt get my head around that afternoon. ive never felt such blind rage.

there are a thousand flaxmere stories
this has been one of them

[Lilith7]

Flaxmere. the lowest socio economic community in the country.
but at least they had a good pub.
when i took it over it had lost money for 8 years running
i made that pub rock. bands and karaoke every thursday. we had three poker teams and had the biggest game running in hawkes bay.
they dont drink much the poker players, sobriety helps i guess. but their wives and girlfriends drank for them and sat at my pokie machines for four hours straight.
we had more pool teams than the cossie club, and hosted the 3 day 'kings and queens ' tournament every year with $10k prize.

had 18 gaming machines, opened at 10am usually had a line outside.
we put more through our machines than the rest of the company combined.
(8 pubs, four restaurants, 4 hotels) 
on bene day (wednesday) there would be fights over the machines.
it was other worldly. and sad.

We had one bouncer, called junior.
if you played up when junior wasnt there, you could expect a visit later.
ive watched junior clear a room. he hit a guy so fast i had to use frame by frame to see it on the cameras.

i had a running battle with the mob. Mostly Notorious CHB and MMM Rogues. Quite a few from Hastings Aotearoa, the biggest and oldest of the mongrel mob factions.
used to find weapons left in the bar with my name on them. they would text me fucken death threats lol.
bolsey hawkins sergeant at arms for notorious chb sent 4 prospects down to pay me a visit one night.
i thought it might be my time. as i stood outside in the carpark, surrounded by four methed up would be mobsters with something to prove. i had to keep my hands in my pockets so they wouldnt see them shaking. dennis winitana had a fucken hammer.
i had given them a ration of shit about arriving in aunties Blue people mover, asking if they had removed the baby seats etc.so that was going over real well.
i have never been so happy, never, to see the blues and reds travelling at pace up Flaxmere ave.
if there was a god i was his that night.

we were broken into one night and one of the 60 inch screen stolen. a couple of days later i was out the front of the pub when a couple of kids came by on their bikes.  one of them says 'uncle bolseys gonna give you a hiding cu*t' the other one said 'thanks for the tv bro' and they rode off..

i learned a lot from flaxmere and its people, who are the salt of the earth. a kinder, friendlier community of people you wouldnt find anywhere.
5% of the population causing 95% of the shit.

i brought the pool table off 'once were warriors' film set. tem morrison signed it for us.
it took 50 cent pieces that we sold at the bar for $2. proceeds to womens refuge.

my alarms used to go off a lot and for a while there was a guy jumping over the garden bar fence at 3am and emptying the ashtrays for butts. he was hard to recognise except for a plaster cast on his wrist.
one day i saw a guy in the bar and i recognised that cast and jacket. so i approached him and told him i saw him every night out the back. he was really apologetic and promised not to do it etc. he was off work with the broken wrist, works night shift and cant sleep so goes out.
i told him i didn give a shit. just dont empty the ashtrays on the tables and leave the mess behind
next time he came in Kelly looked up at the cameras and waved!
couple of years after i left the pub there was a murder behind the pub late one night. a group of youths kicked and knifed kelly to death.

i spent six years there. it all ended one sunday afternoon when rico came in to see where his missus who worked for me was and whers mu fucken tea. he punched her in the face then kicked her half a dozen times on the gaming room floor, he broke her jaw. she wouldnt press charges so i did and it never even went to court.

despite being very well remunerated, and really enjoying most of the job, i just couldnt get my head around that afternoon. ive never felt such blind rage.

there are a thousand flaxmere stories
this has been one of them

Well I enjoyed it. More, please when you feel the urge to share.

[harm_less]

Flaxmere is indeed a 'special' neighbourhood. We ran an oil exploration related seismic survey in the area back in the late 80s/early 90s (can't recall exactly when now) and part of the job involved leaving geophone connection boxes and cabling laid out along the surveyed line overnight. Typically in an urban area the security will run a few passes during the evening to fend off the thieves that see the gear as free copper, magnets and electronics for their taking. When we went through Flaxmere the security guys spent ALL night working full-on to keep our gear from ending up as bootie for the low lives there. The seismic companies are used to having that level of theft risk in 3rd world countries so interpret that as you will.

[mike]

Struth Magoo you must have a big pair. I used to scrap quite a bit in the 90's,
was part of the culture, so was strangers snogging in bars.

I have never stood down to anyone that has tried to pick on me or a mate
but that environment sounds real indimitating. Picking you know human
psychology well a powerful ally. Lot of weak followers in those gang's as you no doubt
know.
Seen my sperm donor scare away 6 Devil's Henchmen one night single handedly, was
like a scene from Warriors, jug of piss spraying them as the old boy bashed it down
on the leaner and yelled "No f.ckin C.nt tells my son to mind his own business" then he kicked
up the bar leaner while four locals nearby grabbed each of his arms as he lurched forward
to get them. He was kicking and thrashing that hard the locals were struggling to hold him back. 
The Henchmen ran to a corner and grabbed their Nazi skidlids and we're out of there.

Two weeks prior reportedly five henchmen had beat one guy up at the bar. One of the best scrappers
in Ch-Ch in his day the old boy and knows human psychology equally as well. Always used to say would 
rather take on a guy that was 6 foot 6 built like a brick shithouse with a small heart than a jockey with 
a big heart.

Old boy and me were forced to take on the bouncers at Twiggers one cup day, the 90's eh lollol. And
things a young lad can do when he's trying to emulate his Dad that he first met at 16 years of age. 

What year you talking? Would it still be to the same degree of nastiness ? (Loved your post could
just picture it)