By Victoria Stone-Meadows
KELLY’S Motor Club Hotel in Cranbourne have won a national award for their gaming room and contributed money to a local community charity.
The hotel was awarded Best Gaming Venue in the regional category at the 2016 Australian Hotel Association National Awards for Excellence.
Hotel manager Michael Goldie said the award was a great validation of the hard work they had put in to redesign the gaming area.
“Last year we decided to look at how the gaming room operated,” he said.
“All gaming rooms previously were designed for NSW standards, where you put the machines in and get as much as you can out of them.
“We wanted to make ours more customer-friendly.”
The hotel made changes such as separating the machines to give people more space and increased the base lighting level by 400 per cent.
“It is now a very bright gaming room and the changes we made make it more inviting and people can mix with other people but not be living on top of each other,” Mr Goldie said.
To showcase the new gaming room, Kelly’s held a 50 per cent off meals night where people could come along for a cheap meal and see the newly designed area.
It was through the extraordinary success of the night that the hotel was able to contribute funds to The ACE (Aiding Casey Education) Foundation.
The hotel has a long history of supporting local schools in the area through donating money to assist parents and schools with students’ transitions from primary to secondary education.
“We’ve been doing the scholarship here for about 20 or 25 years and last year we have $50,000 to local schools and $50,000 again this year,” Mr Goldie said.
“Last year or the year before, Leon and his band of merry men at ACE were looking at doing a similar thing and we thought it’s the same as ours but more involved into the genesis of why issues are there at basic level.
“We thought why not funnel the money into that.”
Kelly’s Hotel donated $4000 from the half-price meals night at the hotel to ACE.
Dr Leon Shapero, chair and managing director of ACE, said the money was a wonderful gift to receive from the hotel.
“The ACE Foundation is both honoured and delighted to receive such a generous donation from Kelly’s Cranbourne,” he said.
“The $4000 you have raised and donated will 100 per cent reach children in need within the City of Casey.”
Dr Shapero said the money would go towards programs such a study facilities and free tutors for high school students, return to school program for young mothers, and encouragement awards to students.
He said it would also help provide 2500 meal replacement drinks per month to high school students who attended school without having eaten breakfast, or who arrived without any lunch.
“To Paul and co-owner Michael Goldie as well as to all your staff and to all who contributed, we say a massive thankyou,” Dr Shapero wrote.
“We promise to ensure that your monies are properly appropriated and to guarantee as much as is humanly possible that each and every dollar reaches a deserving child.“
