On this week’s episode of Home and Away in Australia, Mackenzie turns to the dark side to raise some much-needed funds for Salt…
Mackenzie Booth’s (Emily Weir) business has been slowly collapsing in recent months, all of which can be traced back to the night of the gas attack in October.
Mac has been waiting for an insurance settlement to assist recoup the costs of cleaning and decontaminating Salt, as well as all the supplies that had to be destroyed.
Unfortunately, when Mac finally received word from her insurance company two weeks ago, she was told that they would not be paying out.
Mac put on a brave face, but everyone was perplexed by her sudden decisions to destroy Ryder’s (Lukas Radovich) new cocktail menu and prevent brother Dean (Patrick O’Connor) from claiming free drinks.
After collapsing, Mac finally disclosed to Dean that she was bankrupt. It had been terrible enough that she had gone missing for so long as she fought to deal after her miscarriage, but the gas attack at Martha’s benefit was the icing on the cake.
Dean advised that Mac talk to their father, Rick Booth (Mark Lee), but Mac refused to grovel in front of him. Rick then contacted Mac to brag about her loss, adding insult to injury by offering to buy the restaurant from her at a cheap price after Dean made the mistake of calling him himself.
Meanwhile, Ryder had received the letter from the insurance company, and when he and Dean examined the Salt accounts behind Mac’s back, they discovered that the company was running on fumes—the only money going out was the staff salary, which came from the overdraft.
Although Ryder’s job was saved for the time being, although with drastically reduced hours, new bartender Felicity (Jacqui Purvis) was the first to lose her job, on a first-come, first-served basis. Flick, on the other hand, refused to accept Mac’s decision and continued to work despite Mac’s assurances that she would not be paid.
Flick finally realised the reality about what was going on when Mac broke down in the storeroom again, and he took Mac back to the trailer park for a beer.
Flick suggested that they conduct an after-hours casino night at Salt, something they’d done before she started working there, despite the fact that it was prohibited. Mac was adamant that it would have to be a strong no, so she and Ryder began reorganising the rosters and reducing the menu to save money. Dean aided Mac by giving him a big sum of cash, similar to what she had done for him with the board shop, albeit she conceded that it would only keep them afloat for another week.
Mac has been hidden the truth about her financial position from lover Logan all these time (Harley Bonner). Logan told Dean this week that he hasn’t seen Mac in a while because she’s been at work, and he took it as a good sign—business must be thriving!
When debt collectors visit at the restaurant this week, no likely from one of Salt’s many unpaid suppliers, Mac is compelled to reconsider Flick’s advice. Flick had told Mac that her former boss might earn up to $10,000 each night from the illicit casino nights, and Mac had no choice but to give in.
“Financial stress causes people to act entirely out of character, and Mackenzie is no exception,” Emily explained to TV Week. “The poker nights appear to be a quick and easy way for her to relieve her huge weight.”
While Ryder serves up his classiest bartending talents, Flick is able to leverage her connections to invite some of the area’s hotshots to bet away their fortune.
As she greets all the bigwigs, Flick is the hostess with the mostest, while boyfriend Tane (Ethan Browne) can’t help but flutter.
The evening is a big success, much to Mac’s surprise, but guilt surfaces the next day as she realises the magnitude of the danger she’s taken, not to mention the fact that she’s lied to the guy she loves.
Logan’s only knowledge of Mac’s illicit activities was that he was holding a private function—what would happen if he discovers the truth about Mac’s criminal behaviour?
