You're right there farlap, Different totes make a lot of difference to someone's total when they go on a run.
For example last year we had a Punter, backing winners left right and centre and was mistakingly using the NSW totes as opposed to the VIC Tab totes and the difference at one point was around 30,000 more than if the VIC TAB results were used.
Its allright if you keep winning but if you start losing you could be betting with a stake you dont have.
And most importantly, it makes it easier for checking if everyone is on the same page.