PUBLICAN JAILED OVER PREMIER HOTEL FRAUD AND ARSON
The failed owner of Albany’s historic Premier Hotel has pleaded guilty and received ten years over a scam to fake a robbery and arson in order to claim insurance. Mid-2016 news emerged that lessee Graeme Roderick Cooper – new operator
MARY CRAWLEY’S TATTERSALLS HOTEL DESTROYED BY FIRE
The life and love of 93-year-old publican Mary Crawley has been lost, with outback cornerstone the Tattersalls Hotel destroyed by fire. The 1884-built Tattersalls sits on a stretch of the Mitchell Highway 136 kilometres north of Bourke, on the NSW/Queensland
BETOOTA HOTEL IS BACK AFTER ROBBO TAKES THE KEYS
After considerable anticipation, the beloved Betoota Hotel – sole structure in the iconic outback town – is set to reopen mid-2018. Betoota is a speck on the map in outback Queensland, a bumpy six hours’ drive east of outback oasis
GAMBLING ACT CHANGES FOR VICTORIAN PUBLICANS
The VCGLR has announced changes to Victorian gaming regulations, which include an increase to the non-cash payout figure for EGM credits. The Gambling Regulation Amendment Act was passed in Victorian parliament 30 November last year. Some changes to the Act
DIXON GROUP REBRANDS AND BUYS UP
Dixon Hospitality Group has hit 2018 running, with a new group name and deals for two new northern venues into the stable. The Victorian-based hotel group fronted by former Spotless director Bruce Dixon has rebranded to Australian Venue Co (AVC),
MAN AWAITS TRIAL OVER ONE-PUNCH DEATH AT THE ENTRANCE
The Entrance business owner George Habkouk is awaiting trial over the death on New Year’s Day of Haydn Butcher outside a central coast hotel. Wyong Local Court has heard preliminary details of the incident in the early hours of New
MUGS WANTED OVER UNPROVOKED BASHING IN ASCOT VALE
Victorian police are hunting for three men involved in a unprovoked and pathetic group bashing of another man within a Melbourne pub. CCTV (below) shows four or five men accosting 55-year-old grandfather Tony McDonald on the evening of Sunday, 13
IRIS’ MASSIVE KINGS CROSS DEVELOPMENT AT THE BOURBON
Sam Arnaout’s expansive Iris Capital has lodged plans for a massive residential and hospitality development in Kings Cross to replace The Bourbon and Empire Hotels and surrounds. Around the group’s 2015 purchase of The Bourbon from Chris Cheung, Arnaout orchestrated
DOLPHIN AND ICEBERGS TEAM LAUNCH BONDI BEACH PUBLIC BAR
The team behind the acclaim of The Dolphin has opened a brand new Bondi Beach Public Bar, offering a sophisticated nod to Australian drinking culture of the 1970s and 80s. The massive Pacific development on Bondi’s Campbell Parade, stretching an
LIQUOR & GAMING ANNOUNCE EXTENDED FESTIVE TRADING FOR HOTELS
Liquor & Gaming NSW has confirmed later trading on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, for both licensed venues and takeaway sales. Due to Christmas and New Year’s Eves falling on a Sunday, special arrangements were decided to give consumers

