Rick’s Tally Ho in Cheektowaga, NY, near Buffalo, had its liquor license revoked.  The owner cannot reapply for a new license for a period of two years.  In addition to losing his liquor license, the owner will pay a $10,000 fine.  No criminal activity has been alleged against the owner, Richard Snowden.

The 24KT Gold club on Route 5 in Hamburg had its liquor license canceled.  The owners will pay a $30,000 fine.  The owners, Mark and Christine Whipple,  purchased the club last November.  As a result of losing their liquor license, the club has been closed.  A DJ at the club was arrested on drug charges.  The owners may reopen the club if they get their liquor license back.

There is no detail given regarding the prostitution allegations in any of the news stories.  Whether or not true prostitution was occurring or merely grinding or non-sexual touching is not known at this time.

News stories indicate the prostitution offenses were taking place in private VIP rooms.  I know owners like having private VIP rooms because they make money.  But they are also a liability because even if the clubs have strict rules against prostitution, a few dirty dancers may break the law.  It looks like the owners of these clubs learned the hard way because they have lost their liquor licenses which bring them much of their revenue.  VIP rooms are the bane of the industry.

The Buffalo News 1
The Buffalo News 2

The drunken fool told police he did see some nice strippers.  Good for him.

madison.com
channel3000.com

I find it interesting how many fires there are at strip clubs.  There are a lot of them.

digtriad.com

If the city does not approve the club, Muffett and his attorney plan to take their case to court.  Good luck.

KIMA-TV
Yakima Herald

The owner of the club must turn over his keys and the doors will be padlocked later this afternoon.  The owner plans to appeal.

The underage stripper reportedly earned up to $350 a night.

Detroit News

On March 28th, state district Judge Scott Jenkins ruled that the “pole tax” is an illegal tax on constitutionally protected expression and issued an injunction barring collection. An appeal by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott automatically suspended the injunction, resulting in a demand for payment on April 21st.

Travis County Judge Scott Jenkins ruled the tax unconstitutional and prohibited the state from collecting or imposing the fee. In his ruling, Judge Jenkins wrote that the fee taxes “expression that, while politically unpopular, is nevertheless protected by the First Amendment.”

Texas state Attorney General Greg Abbott plans to appeal the ruling. The backers of the law also plan to rewrite it so they can find a way to circumvent the argument of constitutionality. Democrat State Representative Ellen Cohen of Houston (pictured at right), the original sponsor of the bill, said she will work to find a way to amend the law so it sticks the next time she tries to get it passed.

Strip clubs may be politically unpopular, but judging by the millions of customers who patronize them each year and the thousands of dancers who entertain at them, they appear to us to be very popular. The strip club tax was expected to raise $40 million per year. At $5 a head, that means that eight million visits were expected to strip clubs in Texas each year.

There is absolutely no excuse for this type of thing ever happening. Whoever allowed this preteen to dance nude should go to prison. Unfortunately, this one example casts a pall over the entire industry.

You can read the story here:

Underage Stripper Shocks Dallas

Kansas is the latest state to consider harsh new regulations on strip clubs with the intention of making it more difficult to conduct business.

Current proposals are working their way through legislative committee. In addition to a typical requirement that adult businesses be located at least 1,000 feet from schools, churches, and residences, are conditions that could prohibit nudity and ban the sale of alcohol. Not only could people not drink where nude entertainment is taking place, but strip clubs would be required to close at midnight and all dancers would have to remain six feet away from patrons. So no more lap dances in Kansas if this passes.

Many strip clubs don’t even start getting busy until midnight. A 12 AM closing time would surely hurt the income potential of club owners and dancers, which is the underlying goal of these types of restrictions.

The asking price for the property is $995,000, according to this listing. And the Craigslist entry.

We get visitors every day who are looking to open a strip club. Right now probably isn’t the best time given the weakening economy. Strip clubs are closing all the time, so it isn’t a business that is immune to failure.

The reason for the owner of Casa Diablo selling is not known. However, we have seen an example such as this where an owner opens a strip club then sells it after a short time before.