Flesh Club Shut Down For Eight Months

Flesh Club in San Bernardino, California, will be closed for at least the next eight months as a result of a decision by Superior Court Judge Donald Alvarez.

The strip club was closed for allegedly allowing sex acts to occur in its VIP rooms. The city has been fighting with the club for at least a decade, claiming that it is a house of prostitution. As of November 14th, the club is shut down. The city has won—albeit temporarily—as the club may re-open after its court-ordered closure is done.

During the lengthy trial, dancers and private investigators testified that prostitution was a regular occurrence inside the club.

Judge Alvaraz also fined the owner $25,000.

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Ohio Strip Clubs Fighting In Court

After failing to garner enough signatures to petition a statewide vote on new strip club restrictions, Ohio adult entertainment business owners have now taken their battle court.

The new law that was passed earlier this year and went into effect last month forces strip clubs to close at midnight and enacts harsh new penalties for innocuous contact between patrons and dancers.

A coalition of adult entertainment businesses has asked US District Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. to throw out the new law on the basis that it unconstitutionally restricts free expression and is too vague.

Originally, the coalition of business owners tried to force a statewide vote by collecting enough petition signatures, but fell short by 60,000 despite spending a reported $1.5 million on the campaign.

Opponents of adult entertainment businesses argue that gentlemen’s clubs increase crime, lower property values, degrade women, cause child molestation, and generally contribute to the destruction of society. All that from a naked woman…simply amazing.

We wish Ohio strip club owners and the patrons who enjoy those fine gentlemen’s clubs the best of luck in their battle against this egregious infringement of civil rights.

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Strip Club Employee Set Ablaze Improving

This past Saturday an employee of Good Guys in Washington DC was set on fire by an angry patron who was kicked out of the gentlemen’s club and returned a short while later to exact revenge.

A customer described as a bald Middle Eastern or Hispanic male was made to leave the club for taking pictures of the dancers. He returned 15 minutes later and doused the employee with gasoline and set him on fire inside the club.

The victim, described as a bartender or assistant manager, has second and third degree burns over 80 percent of his body. His condition was upgraded from critical to critical but stable Sunday. Doctors are hopeful he will survive.

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Booby Rock Plans Held Up

A restraining order was recently issued against Booby Rock (Boobie Rock?), a new gentlemen’s club scheduled to open in mid-November in San Antonio, TX, at the request of a nearby business that may delay the planned opening.

EOS Acquisitions filed a lawsuit against Booby Rock claiming that deed restrictions prohibit any business that offers “entertainment appealing to prurient interests” from operating at that location. A hearing is scheduled for October 30th to determine whether a temporary injunction should be issued.

Meanwhile, city Councilwoman Diane Cibrian is continuing her irrational fight against the club by protesting the club’s liquor license application with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. The Commission has received a petition with a whopping 560 signatures from area citizens and business owners opposed to the new club.

The owner of Booby Rock, Glenn Williams, also owns Sugars, another topless bar in San Antonio.

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New Ohio Strip Club Restrictions Take Effect

The drive to gather enough signatures to force a statewide vote to repeal new strip club restrictions in Ohio has failed, falling 60,000 signatures short despite a reported $1.5 million in expenditures by the coalition behind the effort.

The new law enacts severe penalties for touching of nude or semi-nude dancers, prohibits dancers from touching each other, and forces a halt to nude entertainment at midnight, which will severely harm the income generating ability of clubs and dancers.

Strip club owners and owners of other adult oriented establishments have banded together to file a federal lawsuit on constitutionality grounds and another lawsuit was filed challenging Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner’s handling of the referendum petition.

A federal judge denied a request on 10/18/2007 to grant a temporary restraining order to an association of club owners. US District Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. scheduled a hearing on November 16th on the club owners’ request for a preliminary injunction.

As of now, the law has taken effect and clubs are complying. Lap dances will not be what they used to be in Ohio.

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Rick’s Cabaret Announces More Acquisitions

Rick’s Cabaret International, a publicly traded corporation specializing in owning and operating adult entertainment establishments throughout the United States (NASDAQ symbol: RICK), has announced that they have signed a letter of intent to purchase a strip club located somewhere in the Southeast.

The acquisition target’s name and location have not been revealed. Rick’s is keeping it confidential for now. Per the terms of the letter of intent, the unnamed club will be acquired for $25 million and is expected to generate annual revenues of $18 million and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $8 million per year. The deal is contingent on due diligence, financing, and the transfer of pertinent licenses.

In the 12-month period ending June 30th, 2007, Rick’s had revenues of $29 million and EBITDA of $4.4 million. This is a sizeable acquisition that will nearly double Rick’s annual revenue and EBITDA.

Also this week Rick’s announced that it will be buying a 51% ownership stake in The End Zone, Inc., which owns and operates Crazy Horse Too in Philadelphia, PA. After the deal closes the club will be renamed under the Rick’s Cabaret brand. Rick’s plans to add an upscale steakhouse to the club.

Official Press Release

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New LA Club Finds Creative Way Around Restrictions

There may be a new strip club opening soon at 3388 S. Robertson Blvd. in Los Angeles in the Regent Square area. According to one article, the name for the new club is Skin Cabaret.

What makes this story so interesting is the creative way the people behind the club managed to get around local adult entertainment restrictions to get a permit. Los Angeles city law requires that adult oriented businesses be at least 1,000 feet apart from each other and at least 500 feet away from a park, school, church, or residential area. The new club is 993 feet away from a business called Dominion, which has been described as a bondage club. Thus, Skin Cabaret is within 1,000 feet of another adult entertainment business and against city regulations. However, the people behind the club are chopping 7 feet off the building to bring the location within the distance requirement.

It’s a shame that someone who wants to open a strip club has to hire a construction company to demolish 7 feet of the building in order to get around arbitrary restrictions that really serve no public safety purpose. But, let’s give them credit for pulling this off. If there is a will, there is a way.

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Ohio Coalition Fails To Force Statewide Vote

Despite spending $1.5 million dollars in an effort to collect enough signatures to force a statewide vote to repeal punitive new strip club restrictions, an Ohio coalition of adult entertainment businesses has failed.

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner said that the coalition known as the Vote No On Issue 1 Committee was not able to gather enough signatures from at least 44 of the 88 counties in Ohio necessary to get the initiative to repeal new strip club restrictions on the November ballot.

The new restrictions impose heavy penalties on the most innocuous touching and require adult entertainment businesses to close at midnight—which is when many of them start getting busy. These restrictions serve no public safety purpose; they are nothing more than a way to circumvent existing court rulings and punish adult entertainment by making it more difficult to do business.

The only thing that will stop this law from taking effect now is a judge issuing a temporary order while the coalition makes its appeals in the court system.

This is only the beginning. This victory for the bible thumpers will only embolden them to pressure spineless lawmakers into even tighter restrictions or an all-out ban on any nudity whatsoever, which is their true goal. Succeeding at forcing clubs to close at midnight isn’t going to satisfy these peoples’ cravings for power. They are hellbent on robbing citizens of their freedoms by imposing their morality on them via the legislative process and very few lawmakers on either the Democratic or Republican side are stepping up to preserve the freedoms of citizens.

It’s a shame that America is moving backwards because of a small, vocal group of messed up people.

Perhaps the people at Citizens for Community Values, the group that pushed for these new restrictions, should focus their attention on pedophile priests and child abusers in the church instead of on the recreational activities of consenting adults.

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Daytona Beach Cracking Down On Partial Nudity In Strip Clubs

Officials in Daytona Beach, FL, are preparing to crack down on strip clubs just in time for annual Biketoberfest.

Thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts will be pouring into town and if they are pouring beer down their throats, they won’t be able to look at topless or scantily clad women.

City ordinance prohibits nude or scantily clad dancing in any establishment that serves alcohol or is within 500 feet of another establishment that serves alcohol. As part of the upcoming crackdown, police will be combing local strip clubs looking for any dancer who shows too much skin. Even pasties and G-strings are illegal per city ordinance as they are deemed too revealing by city law. The city even went so far as to distribute an image of the minimum amount of attire a dancer may wear, essentially establishing a dress code for dancers (now the government is telling people how they can dress—how’s that for free expression?).

If a dancer violates the ordinance by showing too much skin, she can be arrested. Club managers could be arrested as well.

Though club attorneys are eventually hoping to take this before the US Supreme Court, in the meantime city leaders will do their best to harm the economic viability of businesses that offer adult entertainment and infringe on the rights of consenting citizens for no other reason than their own personal dislike of this type of entertainment which is enjoyed by millions of people every year.

(I have been to several fully-nude strip clubs that serve alcohol over the years in a few different states and never once have I witnessed anybody misbehaving or causing trouble.)

In Europe you can find women topless at any beach or pool in full view of men and little children. In many countries, there are nude beaches or sections of public parks set aside for nude sunbathing and recreation (like Englischer Garten in Munich, Germany, for example). Yet in Daytona Beach, Florida, if a dancer shows too much of her buttock or covers her nipple with a pastie she can be handcuffed and hauled off to jail if alcohol is served within 500 feet. Unbelievable!

Citizens need to start voting with their wallets. Next year people who attend Biketoberfest should take their money and go to a city that is more respecting of peoples’ freedoms.

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Strip Club Tidbits 10/12/2007

Scores Being Sued

A former bartender at Scores in New York City, Siri Diaz, is suing the club claiming employees were forced to work for substandard wages and cheated out of tips and overtime pay. The suit was extended to class status representing 100 current or former Scores employees at several club locations. The claim regarding the tips stems from the club’s in-house currency called Diamond Dollars which are redeemed for 10% less than face value. Under the law, if an employee is paid less than minimum wage it is illegal for the employer to keep any portion of the tips. The claimants are seeking an unspecified amount in back pay and overtime.

Las Vegas, Nevada

The Olympic Garden in Las Vegas could qualify for a taxpayer subsidy for a new neon sign outside the club. The topless club is asking for $50,000 in taxpayer money to help pay for the new $130,000 sign. The city has a program whereby businesses in certain redevelopment areas can qualify for money to spruce up their properties.

Fort Worth, Texas

There may be some new strip clubs coming to the Ft. Worth, TX area. The city council approved plans for a large gentleman’s club and four other sexually oriented businesses recently. A small contingent of irrational residents is opposed as they fear that strip clubs will bring crime to the area. One all-nude BYOB club is proposed for an area near Interstate 820 and Trinity Blvd.

San Antonio, Texas

City Councilwoman Diane Cibrian joined with a group of concerned citizens to protest the opening of a new strip club to be called Booby Rock scheduled to open in mid-November near Huebner Rd. and Interstate 10. The name of the club reportedly is derived from the name of an island in the Virgin Islands. Regardless, it’s a nice way to work a part of the female anatomy into the name.

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