For the Shamrock Hotel’s request to add new pokies, it has been an uphill battle. For the past year, the hotel has been engaged in a battle with local residents over whether or not new pokies will be a beneficial addition to the Bendigo community. Now, the Shamrock Hotel will proceed with the installation of 20 new games.

Shamrock Hotel owner Jim Hogan has been planning for a $4 million renovation of the venue, which could only proceed with the help of poker machine profits. While the venue currently operates 45 pokies, it would require an additional 20 in order to raise the funds needed to give the Shamrock Hotel its makeover. Mr Hogan stated that the renovation would benefit Bendigo overall by creating more jobs and bringing in more tourism.

"There's very limited, if any, five-star accommodation throughout the state, unless you go to Melbourne," he says. "So this will bring a lot of trade into Bendigo, a new class of tourist and visitor to Bendigo, so it'll be great for the city, great for employment, obviously great for the hotel."

In April 2014, the Victorian Gambling Commission approved the hotel’s request for 20 new pokies – but the application was quickly met with resistance from the Bendigo City Council.

The council was concerned that the games would have a negative impact on the community by potentially driving up problem gambling rates – but the gambling commission argued that the new games would have a positive effect on the community by generating more gambling revenue and bringing in more tourists.

Additionally, the new games would not push Bendigo over its poker machine cap of 756 games, since there are currently only 614 pokies at local clubs. The new games will be installed shortly, and the renovation work will take place over the next few years. We are eager to see the results of the new poker machine profits.

About the Author

George Anderson
Author George, has over 25+ years’ experience in the Pokies and Casinos industry throughout Australia and New Zealand. Loves to research new Pokies games on the block and follows announcements from top industry providers about their upcoming releases. As soon as a new interesting pokie game appears on his radar, George is there to check it out and give you the scoop before anyone else and tell you about all casino sites where can play the latest game. Before this gig, George worked as Pokie game tester, making him an ideal candidate for this genre of work. He is also an animal lover and a proud owner of three dogs.