In these days of smartphones, Twitter and Instagram, it would be a scandal in an hour.

But in the early 1980s in Queensland, it was part of the job for Queensland’s under-treasurer Leo Hielscher as the Queensland Government first investigated casinos.

Hielscher spent the best part of seven decades as a public servant, including stints as Queensland Treasury’s senior public servant and then senior financial advisor to government and to business, heading Queensland’s Treasury Corporation.

However it was tourism - not strict gambling revenue from casinos - that was front of mind in the early 1980s, Sir Leo Hielscher said.

The casinos would attract the hotel developers that would build the accommodation that would attract the tourists that would generate the growth for everyone, was the thinking in the early 1980s.

But the thought of Queensland’s under-treasurer being shown how they cheat at cards in Nevada was a better story, for any reporter.

With Queensland’s recently-retired deputy police commissioner Vern McDonald by his side, Leo Hielscher was shown the gambling and casino ropes in Las Vegas.

“We went up through Malaysia, through Asia and we got to see the ones that we should avoid,” he said with a laugh.

“Then we went over to the States, to New Jersey, to Atlantic City and went to Bahamas.

“And then we came back into to Vegas, where we saw a few more things what not to do.”

Sir Leo Hielscher is now the subject of a book, “Queensland Made”, written by Joanne Holliman.

It is a bright anecdotal book about the life of man who has two bridges over the Brisbane River named after him. It talks of a young man playing cricket, football, the airforce and marrying Mary Ellen Pelgrave, “the prettiest girl in Holland Park.”

And the Nevada Gaming Authority anecdote from more than 30 years ago is just one more story in the book about a grand life from an ordinary Queenslander.

Back then Leo Hielscher was astute enough and a wise-enough figure to understand the ways and means in which money was distributed from casinos in some places.

“For example, some of the laundry contracts, they were not washing anything,” he laughed.

“The contract was fair as a laundry contract, but there was no washing of laundry being done, that was being done somewhere else.”

“Talk about Mafia.  Some of the ‘swarthy gentlemen’ we saw!”

He said the team investigating casinos received good policing advice from Vern McDonald, who he said had extensive contacts with Interpol at that time.

But that did not stop them receiving advice from the Nevada Gaming Authority on how to beat the cheats at the tables.

That included weights on the roulette wheel, roulette wheels with “almost invisible” steel pins.

“They could press a button and half a dozen holes would never come up,” Sir Leo remembers.

“They gave us a half a day on ‘how to cheat’,” Sir Leo remembers.

“And this was just the cheating at the table.”

Queensland eventually decided to issue licences for casinos in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Townsville and build them.

But hand shuffling at Queensland casinos was out. Cards dealt in Queensland casinos would come from “the shoe.”

“Queensland Made” is an easy-reading, down to earth conversation-style book with a man who is admired by all sides of politics and who has been instrumental in most of the state’s major projects.

Today, many Queenslanders only know him because they drive over bridges named after him, across the Brisbane River. That is the two “Gateway” Bridges.

“Queensland Made” tells of his young days at Eumundi – where he was born in 1926 in the shade of Mt Cooroy – growing through the Depression-era, to joining the Queensland public service at 15.

Leo Hielscher eventually shaped the 1982 Commonwealth Games, 1988’s World Expo 88, the decision to sell Suncorp, to build Griffith University and Queensland’s Cultural Centre among tens of others.

He worked with 16 Queensland treasurers, with current Treasurer Tim Nicholls receiving his final  advice.

And it includes many simply good stories, including one about funding Queensland’s Cultural Centre at South Bank from scratchies and casket tickets.

In 1973, the federal Labor Government introduced a new free health system for Australians.

Queensland, already had one, funded by the Golden Casket.

“When Bill Hayden and Gough Whitlam got into power in 1973, they introduced a free hospital system to the rest of Australia, that Queensland already had for 30 or 40 years,” Sir Leo explained.

“We kicked up a bit of a fuss, saying if you are going to give it to the rest of the Australia, you’ve got to recognise that we already have a free system and our taxpayers are paying for this one and contributing the other one.

“And we wanted to be in the national scheme. So we just joined into the Australian system.”

That freed up $4 million a year from the Golden Casket that was going in to Queensland’s hospital system.

“So that – amongst other things - freed up money the money that the Casket was putting into the hospital system,” Sir Leo said.

“And by this time the Casket was putting in $4million a year and the free hospital system was costing about $900 million a year.”

His voice trailed off.

The Queensland Government was obviously able to avoid paying some big costs.

“But that gave us $4 million a year free to do something with,” he continued after a pause.

“And the Cultural Centre was looming, it was costing about $45 million for the lot.

“It would take 10 years to build, so there you have it.”

Inflation however got in the way. In the 1970s and 1980s, inflation in Australia averaged 9 per cent.

The $45 million for Queensland’s Cultural Centre project blew out to $170 million.

“But the (Queensland) Casket money did not go the same way,” he laughed.

“We had to do something about it. So we developed the Scratchies.

“That is the genesis of Scratchies.

“Between the two of them – the casket and the Scratchies - we funded the whole thing..

“We funded the whole Cultural Centre at no cost to the Budget and no debt.”

Sir Leo Hielscher will be at Mary Ryan’s Bookstore at Park Road, Milton on July 24^th from 6pm.

Sir Leo Hielscher - Queensland Made is published by University of Queensland Press.