What does a grain-buyer's office do once the saleyards close for the day? At number 112 it kept working, just at a slower pace: Walter Prentice bought grain here by daylight and, by 1962, was pulling a card table into the back room by lamplight so buyers and sellers had somewhere to sit down together. The house still runs on that same idea. Supper comes first, a short menu built from whatever the Western Downs has ready that week, and once the plates clear, seven tables open behind the old ticket window for five hundred, euchre, crib and a friendly hand of poker with no buy-in — chips for points only, nothing riding on a single hand. A table for dinner and a chair at the felt are booked separately, one evening, two different bookings.
What Was a Grain Merchant Doing With a Card Table?
What does a grain buyer do once the saleyards fall quiet for the evening? In 1962, Walter Prentice's answer was to push his office desk against the wall and set a card table up in its place, so the buyers and sellers he'd dealt with all day had somewhere to sit down together before heading home.
Did it start as a business, or just a habit that got out of hand? Neither, really — Prentice kept selling grain by day for another decade, and the evening card table simply grew a second table, then a third, until the office had quietly become something else on the side.
Who runs it now? Nobody related to Prentice — the current owners took the lease on in the 1990s, found his ticket window still bolted to the front wall, and decided it was worth keeping rather than pulling out.
So what's changed since 1962? Mostly the menu. The card tables, the ticket window and the habit of treating supper and cards as two separate bookings have stayed exactly as Prentice left them.
1962
Walter Prentice pulls a card table into his grain office for the evening.
Ticket Window
Original to the building, still handing out a paper stub tonight.
The Kitchen
What's Actually Cooking Before the Cards?
What's on the stove tonight depends on what came off the Western Downs that week — grain and cattle country surrounds Dalby, and the kitchen leans on both.
Is the menu the same every night? No, it changes weekly, though a few plates rarely leave the board for long.
What's there to drink? Tea, coffee, lemonade and sparkling water, poured from six until the kitchen closes and on through the evening for anyone at the felt.
Beef and Barley Pie
Slow-cooked Western Downs beef, shortcrust pastry.
Pumpkin Soup
Roasted pumpkin, a swirl of cream, warm damper on the side.
Anzac Biscuits
Baked fresh, served with tea at the end of supper.
One Evening
What Actually Happens Between Six and One?
6:30 pmSupper bookings seated firstDoors open, tea urn on
7:00 pmCard room stays closed until half pastKitchen opens
7:30 pmFive hundred and euchre tables fill firstFirst deal of the night
9:00 pmFor guests booked into cards onlySupper trays reach the felt
1:00 amChips counted back and stacked for tomorrowDoors close
House Ways
What Does the House Actually Ask of Guests?
Look under thirty and the door will ask for ID — the house is strict about eighteen-plus, no talking round it.
Chips stay on the felt; they mark points, carry no cash value, and never leave the building with anyone.
No wagering, no cash prize, nothing about the cards themselves is played online.
Supper and the card room keep separate booking lists at this address, and neither one stands in for the other.
Keep hands quiet once the cards are dealt; the interval is the time for catching up.
A Look Inside
What Does the House Actually Look Like?
Find the House
Where Is Coral Ridges, Exactly?
Address
112 Cunningham Street, Dalby QLD 4405
Ring or Write
+61 7 4662 5318 · host@coralridges.com
Open Nights
Thursday to Monday, doors from 7 pm, cards until 1 am. Tuesday and Wednesday the house rests.
Before You Come
What Do Most First-Timers Ask?
Do I need to book, or can I just turn up?
Walk-ins are fine most nights, though a booking guarantees your table.
Is the ticket window still used for anything?
It hands out a small stub with the house facts printed on it — mostly kept for the look of the thing.
What should I wear?
Nothing formal — tidy casual works for supper and the card room alike.
Can I bring someone who's never played before?
Yes, and a house dealer will run through the rules for their first few hands.
Is there parking near Cunningham Street?
Free street parking runs along Cunningham Street most evenings.
What happens if a game runs past closing?
The last hand is called at midnight; the room clears gradually after that.
Do I have to eat before I can play cards?
No — plenty of guests book straight into the card room without supper.
Behind the Ticket Window
Casino Hall: What Do Seven Tables Actually Look Like?
Seven tables, each under its own low lamp — Thursday might see crib and rummy lead, other nights bridge or canasta take over, and there's always a seat going for a friendly hand of poker, no buy-in required.
Is there a machine anywhere in the building? None — Coral Ridges has no pokies and no poker machines of any kind; every card gets turned by a person, and the chips stay worth exactly nothing outside the room they're dealt in.
Who deals if nobody at the table knows the rules? Whoever's asked to — the house dealer joins on request, usually for a first-timer, while most regulars would rather run their own hand and mark their own score.
Five Hundred
Usually the fullest table by eight o'clock most nights.
Rummy in the Back
A quieter table for two, set apart from the main room.
House Dealer
Available on request for first-timers learning a game.
Coral RidgesNo Stakes, Just Cards
Dalby
Admits1 to 7
Games6
House DealerOn Request
Age18+
Your Ticket In
What the Old Ticket Window Still Hands Out
Walter Prentice sold grain receipts from this window once; these days it hands out a small paper stub instead, printed with the same four facts a first-time guest usually asks for.
Supper and the card room are booked separately, so say which one — or both — and the house will hold the right table on Cunningham Street, adults only, seats for up to seven.
