Crowe axes slot machines in club

Crowe has also been phasing out cheerleaders in favour of drummers

Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe has axed gaming machines from a rugby league club he co-owns in Australia.

The move comes after the star led a campaign to have the club's 160 slot machines removed in a bid to make the place more family friendly.

Crowe and fellow owner, Peter Holmes a Court, managed to get South Sydney Rabbitohs club board members to agree.

Holmes a Court said attracting new members would help cover the A$1m (£0.43m) in annual lost revenue.

'Moralising'

Crowe and Holmes a Court made their case in a letter to club members last September.

In the letter, they said that excessive reliance on so-called "pokie" gambling machines would hurt Souths blue-collar catchment area of Redfern, in Sydney's inner city.

"We are not moralising here, we just believe that low-income areas like Redfern need less poker machines rather than more," they said.

"We believe a club can be successful if it caters for our members and the broad community; is a place where families can gather for conversation and good food; and the distracting din of pokies doesn't stop the conversation or drown out live music."

Another innovation Crowe has introduced since taking over has been phasing out cheerleaders in favour of drummers whose pounding rhythm is meant to lead fans' chants.

His presence at the club has helped attract top players to Souths, which has helped lift it to seventh in the 2007 season.