At the hearing at Eastbourne Magistrates Court on Monday (October 26), Dean Morris pleaded guilty to trespass, damaging plasterboard, stealing cash and possessing a small quantity of cannabis.
The case for the prosecution explained that on September 1 a man was caught on CCTV as he climbed through the attic of the Duke of Devonshire pub in Terminus Road.
When police later caught up with Morris in the Gildredge pub, he had found himself in the loft and was trying to find a way out.
On the same day, the cellarman of Chambers Bar was lying on a bed in the cellar of the Grove Road bar listening to music when, to his surprise, a man he knew as Dean appeared.
The cellarman later realised £200 in coins were missing from the next room. The court heard how Morris had changed a large quantity of coins at the bar for notes, saying he had won the money on the pier.
In his defence, Jay Shah said Morris could not remember what had happened due to drinking alcohol, which may have reacted with medication he was taking for depression.
Morris, of Bourne Street, was granted unconditional bail while reports are carried out.
He is due to be sentenced on November 16.