World Cup to provide brewer, brothel bonanza

MELBOURNE (Reuters) -- Brothels and brewers are likely to reap a business bonanza as Rugby World Cup fans converge for the six-week tournament that begins in Australia on Friday.

But gaming companies, also seen as potential major winners, were more downbeat about their chances of gaining a windfall.

The world's first listed brothel Daily Planet said its phones have not stopped ringing and the bordello enterprise is increasing staff numbers to cater for demand.

"I think we are in for an amazing time," said Chief Executive Andrew Harris.

Harris said the company had just received a booking from an overseas executive who wanted six girls for the entire weekend.

"And that's a bill for around A$40,000 ($27,600). He paid cash."

Harris said his girls would be wearing cute and tiny rugby shirts with lingerie bottoms to greet their guests.

He said the Rugby World Cup could increase revenues by up to 20 percent, adding that venues at "Showgirls Bar 20" would take bookings for groups of ten at A$60 a pop including lap-dances.

Australian brewers expect strong sales as thirsty fans pack sports grounds and pubs across the country.

Australia's second-largest brewer Lion Nathan Ltd will supply Hahn Premium Light beer at stadiums and its Tooheys New brand is the official beer of the Australian Wallabies team.

Lion Nathan spokesman James Tait said the company's New South Wales state beer volumes increased by 10 percent during the Sydney 2000 Olympics compared to average for that period and volumes were up by six percent during the British and Irish Lions 2001 tour.

BEER DRINKING NATIONS

Tait said many of the nations competing in the rugby world cup had a strong beer drinking culture.

"The demographic that is interested in the Rugby World Cup is perhaps less family orientated than the Olympics and the event is a good deal larger than the Lions tour so it is a bit of a hybrid," Tait said.

"Certainly when the Lions toured out here, pubs essentially went dry because demand was much greater than expected."

Australia's largest brewer Foster's Group Ltd is also preparing for a surge in sales in its home Victoria state.

Beer demand is likely to peak as the Rugby World Cup slides into the annual spring racing carnival and coincides with an international hybrid football game contested by players of Australian Rules football and Gaelic football.

"It is like the perfect storm. Everything is converging over a short period of time," Foster's Carlton & United Breweries spokeswoman Jacqui Moore said.

The company expects pubs to be jammed during the Rugby World Cup as fans gather to watch games on large screens.

Betting companies, however are not expecting big dollars.

"There are only really three favourites - New Zealand, England and Australia -- and the fact that a lot of teams don't really stand a chance, I think that might have slowed the punters down a little bit," said Gary Davies, a spokesman for tab sportsbets, a unit of Tabcorp Ltd.

Davies said Australians have placed about A$250,000 worth of bets with tab sportsbets and the amount should increase towards the A$4-5 million mark as games start, but that would only equate to an increase of about two percent of the unit's total turnover.

But Tabcorp's glitzy Star City Casino is having its strongest period since the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

"Our Star City occupancy rates for 2002/03 were abut 79 percent, so we are obviously well up from that number," Rowan Martin, Tabcorp spokesman told Reuters.

Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.