# Strip club owner banned from his own venues

> A Sydney nightclub owner cannot overturn a ban preventing him from entering his businesses after facing assault charges.
- Title: Strip club owner banned from his own venues · the Guardian
- Summary: A Sydney nightclub owner cannot overturn a ban preventing him from entering his businesses after facing assault charges. Manthos Papadopoulos, owner of two…
- Keywords: manthos papadopoulos, sydney elements, showgirls, kings cross, assault charges, liquor and gaming authority, nsw tribunal, news, world, Strip, club, owner
- Source: the Guardian — https://theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/oct/19/kings-cross-strip-club-owner-fails-to-overturn-ban-on-entering-his-own-high-risk-venues-ntwnfb
- Published: 2026-10-19T07:24:48+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: manthos papadopoulos, sydney elements, showgirls, kings cross, assault charges, liquor and gaming authority, nsw tribunal, news, world
## Owner banned from his own clubs
Manthos Papadopoulos, owner of Sydney Elements and Showgirls in Kings Cross, has failed to overturn a ban preventing him from entering high-risk venues in the precinct.
## The ban and its scope
The Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority imposed the twelve-month ban in July after a request from New South Wales police. Both venues Papadopoulos owns are classified as high-risk.
## Charges against Papadopoulos
On fifteen March, Papadopoulos was arrested and charged with seven offences including intentionally choking a person without consent after an incident at Sydney Elements.
## Additional assault allegations
Later in March, Papadopoulos faced further charges including using his penis to slap an intoxicated staff member in the face, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm against a man he described as an intruder.
## His defence and claims
During police interview, Papadopoulos did not admit to offences but claimed CCTV footage was AI-generated and a conspiracy. He pleaded not guilty and said he had invested more than seventeen million dollars in Sydney Elements.

> AI-generated and a conspiracy
## Tribunal rejects his appeal
Dr Thalia Gordon found sufficient risk that Papadopoulos could engage in trouble-making behaviour and cause problems for venue licensees. She rejected his claims about financial hardship to his family.

> there is a sufficient risk that he could engage in trouble-making behaviour
## Ban remains in place until July
Papadopoulos remains banned from Kings Cross and Sydney CBD entertainment precincts until next July. His criminal proceedings are listed for a hearing in March next year.
## Key takeaway

Manthos Papadopoulos, owner of two Kings Cross strip clubs, has failed to overturn a twelve-month ban from entering high-risk venues including his own businesses, imposed after police requested it following assault charges.