newy.com.au – The former manager of Stockton’s Gladstone Hotel has had his approval to manage licensed premises withdrawn after a Liquor & Gaming NSW investigation found staff served a patron 21 alcoholic drinks over about five and a half hours before he collapsed outside the pub.
The NSW Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority found Mark Keegan failed in his responsibility as approved manager to ensure the hotel was properly supervised and managed. Its decision followed an investigation into the incident on 23 March 2024, when Liquor & Gaming NSW said the patron consumed 19 beers and two shots between 12.57pm and 6.27pm.
Liquor & Gaming NSW received a complaint two days after the incident and began investigating on 27 March 2024. The investigation was publicly reported by NBN News in May that year, although the formal disciplinary complaint against Mr Keegan was not lodged until June 2025. ILGA handed down its decision on 20 July 2026, almost two years and four months after the incident.
According to Liquor & Gaming NSW, CCTV showed the patron becoming increasingly unsteady, staggering into another patron, stumbling into furniture and holding onto objects for support. He was later seen knocking into a display sign, falling against the hotel’s front wall and struggling to stand even with assistance before three other patrons helped him into a vehicle.
Liquor & Gaming NSW said CCTV appeared to show one bartender begin pouring another schooner immediately after the patron finished his 18th beer without properly assessing him. Another bartender supplied tequila and Cointreau shots about five minutes apart while he was drinking his 13th beer. The investigation also found members of the patron’s group handed him several schooners, which the regulator said appeared to be disregarded by staff who should have been monitoring his consumption.
In a significant detail contained in the decision, Liquor & Gaming NSW told ILGA the same patron and one of the same bartenders had been involved in an earlier serious intoxication matter at the hotel. ILGA said the bartender was later the subject of separate proceedings in 2025 which resulted in her competency card being suspended for an unspecified period. The public decision does not identify the bartender, state how long the suspension lasted or say whether she was dismissed.
Mr Keegan disputed parts of the regulator’s interpretation of the CCTV. He argued there was insufficient evidence of visible intoxication before a slight stumble at about 4.43pm and said no alcohol was supplied after 5.36pm. He also submitted that he was not at the hotel when the incident occurred, while acknowledging his legal responsibility for the conduct of staff.
Mr Keegan told ILGA that staff had been reminded of their responsible service obligations and given further training after the earlier incident. He said he voluntarily closed the hotel after learning of the March 2024 episode and kept it closed pending its sale, and pointed to what he described as an otherwise strong 45-year compliance history in the hospitality industry.
The decision records that Liquor & Gaming NSW withdrew an earlier complaint and that ILGA advised the regulator in an April 2025 letter there was insufficient evidence to support either original ground. Mr Keegan requested access to the withdrawn complaint and ILGA’s letter, but disclosure was refused. He argued the process was unfair because the regulator had been allowed to address perceived deficiencies in its case while he was denied access to the correspondence.
ILGA ultimately found the grounds of the June 2025 complaint established. It found staff had supplied alcohol to an intoxicated person and permitted intoxication on the premises, with Mr Keegan held responsible as approved manager for the conduct of his employees. The authority also found the conduct was likely to encourage the misuse or abuse of liquor through excessive consumption.
The authority withdrew Mr Keegan’s personal approval to manage licensed premises. It did not cancel or suspend the Gladstone Hotel’s liquor licence, impose a fine or give the withdrawal a fixed duration. Mr Keegan had already ceased being the hotel’s approved manager on 18 August 2024.
Liquor & Gaming NSW Executive Director Regulatory Operations Dimitri Argeres said the incident demonstrated the consequences of failing to comply with responsible service requirements.
“This patron displayed multiple signs of intoxication that should have been identified and acted upon by staff well before the patron reached such a dangerous state,” Mr Argeres said.
“This is particularly concerning given this is the second serious intoxication matter involving the Gladstone Hotel in recent years.
“Venues must have effective systems in place to identify intoxication, intervene early and protect patrons from harm. Where those systems fail, Liquor & Gaming NSW will take action.”
Earlier Incident
The earlier matter involved Mr Keegan’s wife, former licensee Tracy Keegan, and an incident on 6 March 2021. Liquor & Gaming NSW said a patron consumed 22 full-strength schooners and one shot, estimated at about 35 standard drinks, before stumbling, falling and being carried out by other patrons and assisted into a car.
The earlier ILGA decision records that NSW Police investigated, engaged with the patron and reviewed CCTV. Police concluded the patron suffered from a medical condition and did not show signs of intoxication until his collapse, and decided to take no action.
Mrs Keegan argued Liquor & Gaming NSW had disregarded the Police and staff evidence, failed to interview the patron and had not adequately investigated whether his affected behaviour resulted from a medical condition.
Liquor & Gaming NSW disagreed with the Police interpretation of the CCTV. It maintained that the patron’s behaviour and the objectively significant amount of alcohol consumed supported the conclusion that he was intoxicated.
ILGA found the complaint established and concluded Mrs Keegan had failed to put appropriate measures in place to prevent the serious intoxication incident. She was disqualified for two years from holding a liquor licence, managing licensed premises or being a close associate of a licensee.
That disciplinary complaint was lodged in September 2022, about 18 months after the incident. ILGA determined the matter at its board meeting on 20 March 2024 and issued its written decision on 10 May, more than three years after the drinking session.
On the face of the published decision, the two-year disqualification would ordinarily have ended around May 2026, although its precise operation depended on when the decision was formally served and whether there was any appeal, stay or later variation not disclosed publicly.
At the time of the 2021 incident, Mrs Keegan was the individual licensee. The licence was transferred in March 2022 to MKTK Pty Ltd, a company associated with the Keegans, with Mr Keegan becoming approved manager. It was therefore not an unrelated change of operator at that stage.
The Venue
The sale of the Mitchell Street property was announced in August 2024, with the purchaser described publicly as an unnamed Newcastle-based investor. The Keegan family had owned or operated the hotel for about three decades. The liquor licence was transferred from MKTK to TGH Stockton Pty Ltd on 3 March 2025, when TGH Stockton also became the registered business owner and Lookout Gladys Pty Ltd became the registered premises owner.
The current NSW liquor register lists Trevor John Thomson as the hotel’s manager from 4 December 2025. The venue has progressively reopened as The Gladdy, with a café, bar and restaurant promoted as a family and community-focused operation.
Neither TGH Stockton, Lookout Gladys nor the present manager was sanctioned over the former operation’s incidents. TGH Stockton and Lookout Gladys were listed and notified as third parties because of their current interests in the venue. ILGA made no adverse finding or order against them, while the present manager was not named as a party to the disciplinary decision.
The hotel remains subject to CCTV and Plan of Management conditions imposed following separate complaints and investigations involving noise, alleged intoxication and antisocial behaviour. Those conditions remain attached to the liquor licence and continue to bind the current operator.
