ILGA has issued fines totalling more than $100k to senior management and the Rose & Crown, after a manager suspended for theft reported misdoings to the NSW liquor regulator.
According to facts in a decision published Friday by the Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority (ILGA), general manager of the Parramatta pub, Samantha Lee Glynn, had been manipulating the EGM payout system by changing the values on leftover credit tickets and creating fake tickets.
It is alleged she stole up to $400,000 from the business.
Senior management became aware in August 2018, and a subsequent audit and investigation resulted in Glynn’s suspension the following October.
Glynn then reported practises at the Hotel to Liquor & Gaming NSW. The regulator’s investigation found a host of breaches and the matter was referred to both ILGA and NSW Police.
The pub was purchased in mid-2014 by Damien Kelly’s Peak Investments. It’s said that in 2017-18 staff allowed poker machine players credit and debit withdrawals from the bar’s EFTPOS machine, amounting to at least $145k.
One manager reportedly loaned a player $8k from the pub’s safe to keep playing, and a security guard loaned $800 from the safe to another player. Patrons were also provided free alcohol and cigarettes.
The investigation also revealed a breach of liquor laws, serving alcohol and opening gaming on the morning of Good Friday (2019), plus gaming operational breaches such as positioning an ATM in the gaming room, and having gambling-related signage and machines visible from outside.
ILGA’s decision brought forth a fine of $107,358 for the business, RC One Pty Ltd.
Glynn was charged by police with theft totalling $15k, and in March (2021) she was sentenced to an 18-month intensive corrections order. ILGA was unable to pursue her further in the findings, as she was deemed a low-level manager.
But senior manager Paul Camkin, former GM of Oscars and Marlow Group, was personally fined $10k and disqualified from being a licensee or hotel manager for 12 months.
Damien Kelly and Jason Marlow, whose group operates the hotel, were deemed close associates and issued a reprimand. The three men were ordered to pay the costs of the investigation.
ILGA chair Phil Crawford said the venue lacked oversight, and thanked Glynn for the tip-off.
“Staff used phantom transactions to mask cash withdrawals for gambling, but even more incredibly, they gave out loans from the safe,” proclaimed Crawford.
“The hotel was essentially facilitating cash advances for gambling via a system of fake transactions, and this is an obvious risk for problem gambling.”
The Rose & Crown was put to market in January, following a partnership dispute and appointment of administrators.
