Columnist
Jeff Simpson: Shedding Some Light on Strip Club's
Strip Connections
Nevada's Gaming Control Board
is investigating the activities in Las Vegas
casino resort nightclubs -- including Light
at Bellagio, one of the Strip's top two resorts.
The
board has already met with casino executives
to let them know that there is concern about
activities in the clubs, and the board continues
to look into what is taking place in the pricey
and risque venues.
An
event taking place tonight at Light is an example
of the kind of event that is fueling the scrutiny
of the Control Board, the gaming industry's
cop and tax collector.
Light
this evening is holding the Crazy Horse Too
strip club's 2006 calendar release party, an
event that will be hosted by the women who pose
for the calendar.
Only
two years ago the Control Board roasted license
applicant Tim Poster for his friendship with
Crazy Horse Too owner Rick Rizzolo, telling
the future (and now former) Golden Nugget owner
that Rizzolo was the subject of an FBI investigation
and that the club employs several people with
organized crime connections.
"I'm
very familiar with Mr. Rick Rizzolo," Control
Board member Bobby Siller said at Poster's January
2004 licensing hearing. Siller, a former FBI
special agent in charge of the bureau's Las
Vegas operations, told Poster why he thought
Rizzolo had befriended him: "People such
as you, very successful, very young, are considered
marks. People in organized crime try to set
you up, get some of your funds. And I think
that's what they were trying to do with you."
As
surprising as it might seem that a major Strip
hotel owned by heavyweight MGM Mirage would
allow its top nightclub to stage an event benefiting
Rizzolo's strip club, MGM Mirage spokesman Alan
Feldman said tonight's event makes sense from
a business perspective.
Noting
that the nightclub is operated by the Light
Group, a separate company, but acknowledging
that Light's lease allows Bellagio the right
to nix events it deems unsuitable, Feldman said
the incredibly intense competition in the nightclub
business explains the Light-Crazy Horse Too
relationship.
"The
club business is a competitive environment;
it's very sexy," Feldman said.
Feldman
downplayed the Control Board's past concerns
about Rizzolo and whether they should have made
the Light Group wary of staging an event promoting
the strip club's calendar. He noted that Rizzolo
hasn't been indicted, and said Rizzolo and the
strip club aren't being paid for the calendar
release party or for the calendar girls' appearances.
Feldman
admitted that Rizzolo and his club would benefit
from the event.
"This
is a promotional exchange," Feldman said.
Light gets the benefit of the sexiness of the
Crazy Horse Too brand in promoting its Sunday
night event, and the Crazy Horse gets a promotional
event at Light."
Control
Board Chairman Dennis Neilander said last week
that the board will look into the event, but
declined to comment on whether Nevada casinos
should have business relationships with Rizzolo
and his strip club, promotional or otherwise.
"I'm
not going to get into that until I have a chance
to take a look at it," Neilander said,
although he did note that the board's insistence
that Poster live up to his promise to sever
his friendship with Rizzolo involved a personal
relationship, not business.
Whether
or not the board cracks down on Bellagio and
its Light tenant, one thing is clear: The ultracompetitive
nature of the Strip's nightclub business has
drawn the attention of Nevada gaming regulators.
Casino
nightclubs have been warned to keep illegal
activity out, and gaming bosses know that the
Control Board is watching.
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