Judge halts closure of nude dance club

Bill Gang and Denise Cardinal

Friday, June 12, 1998 | 11:14 a.m.

An all-nude exotic dance establishment that was supposed to be shut down for three weeks by the city of Las Vegas will remain open according to a judge's order.

Chief District Judge Myron Leavitt issued an order on Thursday afternoon that cancelled out a disciplinary hearing that was held a few weeks ago by the Las Vegas City Council. In that hearing, the council voted to shut down Talk of the Town, 1238 S. Las Vegas Blvd., for allowing alcohol to be consumed in the establishment.

Leavitt's order allows the business to operate until a judge is assigned to the case and has a chance to review the dance club's case against the city for suspending its license.

The city of Las Vegas was sued Thursday by Talk of the Town and its owner, Raymond Pistol, for its investigation by the Business Licensing Department for allowing alcoholic beverages to be consumed without a liquor license.

Business licensing officers went undercover in their investigation and brought liquor into the club on several occasions over a period of a few weeks.

Nudity is not permitted under city ordinance in businesses with liquor licenses and alcohol is not allowed to be consumed in businesses without such a license.

The lawsuit, filed by attorney Dominic Gentile, alleges that city officials targeted exotic dance clubs in a scheme that resulted in huge fines and license suspensions that are not permitted under city law.

The legal action also alleges that the Las Vegas city attorney's office coerced a $50,000 fine from Club Erotica for an alcohol infraction by threatening to impose a fine twice that size and suspend its business license for a month.

Little Darlings, a club on Industrial Road near Charleston Boulevard and Interstate 15 that underwent a similar investigation and City Council hearing, was fined and paid $50,000. The club's owners have filed a lawsuit against the city in federal court.

The Little Darlings lawsuit contends that the City Council shouldn't be the entity to rule on the allegations because the city attorney's office which prosecutes the case also is the legal advisor to the council.

In addition, the lawsuit charges, the license suspension is "excessive and in violation of the U.S. and Nevada constitutions" and the maximum monetary fine is $1,000 for each day of a violation.

"The actions have not been utilized against other types of non-privileged businesses (with liquor licenses) in Las Vegas," the lawsuit states. "The city has exercised selective enforcement of its alcohol regulations ... in an attempt to possibly close a class of business involved in protected expression."

The lawsuit is asking the court to declare unconstitutional the city ordinances aimed at regulating nude dance clubs and grant an injunction preventing the city from issuing fines or suspending licenses without a provision for a judicial challenge.

"I'm looking forward to putting forth our case in court," Pistol said referring to Leavitt's order. "Then we can get all the facts out."