This year the Beach Hotel has decided to do what most venues would find unthinkable: get rid of their pokies! General manager of the Beach Hotel Elke Van Haandel says the pub ‘intends to show others that pokies aren’t required to run a successful venue’.
‘It’s a new chapter for the Beach Hotel and pokies simply don’t fit our vision for the future.’
‘Addicted pokie gamblers can have their lives torn apart. I find the environment a negative space and we can’t wait to turn that around and create a light-filled open space.’
There are big plans afoot for the Beach.
‘We are planning to be pokie free, waste free and get off the grid. Plus we have plans for new areas, new activations and refurbishments in the pokie area and the Resort rooms. With all this change, we will remain largely the same, supporting live music and providing a place for one and all to share a good time.’
Looks like the ethos of the Whitlams’ song Blow up the Pokies is finally taking hold. We look forward to less misery, more music!
