Conditions slapped on cabaret after sex/drug parties busted

Adrienne Packer

Friday, Dec. 1, 2000 | 11:01 a.m.

When the topless dancers stopped performing in the wee morning hours, patrons at the Spearmint Rhino Lounge turned to their own source of entertainment: sex and drugs, a Metro Police report says.

Until an October raid put an end to the illicit behavior, after-hours parties in the Las Vegas cabaret were highlighted by rampant drug use and sex, the report says.

On Thursday the Clark County Liquor and Gaming Board formally prohibited the club from hosting the parties -- which started after 3 a.m. and lasted until dawn -- and placed nine other strict conditions on the establishment.

As the club fought to keep its valuable liquor license Thursday, its attorney apologized profusely for the business's employees who, according to police, openly sold the drug Ecstasy to customers.

"We're standing here embarrassed, mortified and humbled," said attorney John Weston, who represented the Highland Drive club. "We pledge to the community at large, this board and anyone else ... that we feel what was reported was disgraceful."

Because the Spearmint Rhino had no previous complaints filed against it the Liquor and Gaming Board, which is made up of the county commissioners, allowed it to keep its license. Any future cases against the club will go directly to the District Attorney's office.

While county officials believe they have taken care of the problems at Spearmint Rhino, they realize their battle against after-hours parties is far from over.

Business License Director Ardel Jorgenson said club parties have thrived since "rave" parties have become trendy. Raves are bashes held in large places like warehouses. Music blares and party-goers enhance the event with Ecstasy.

"It was the melding of rave parties with after-hours parties that caught our attention," said Jorgenson, whose office is working with Metro to crack down on the club events. "After-hours parties are where people seem to congregate after rave parties."

Jorgenson said police accounts of drug use and sex in the Spearmint Rhino could have warranted the revocation of its liquor license, essentially shutting the business down. But, she said, the county believes in giving business owners a second chance.

"Our philosophy is if you're breaking the law, we'll give you one more chance to clean up your act and run the business appropriately," she said. "If they break the law again, we'll lower the boom."

Undercover Metro narcotics investigators who visited the Spearmint Rhino in September and October reported seeing customers buying Ecstasy from employees. The officers also were offered the drug on several occasions.

Further investigations found that the head bartender was once convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to sell methamphetamine. The club's cook is on federal supervision for possession of controlled substances, the search warrant says. The disc jockey had been convicted of second-degree robbery with a firearm and false imprisonment, the report says.

During another visit, officers watched as employees nonchalantly escorted a young woman suffering from a drug overdose from the property, according to the report.

Police also were present when a crowd of men huddled around a couple having sex on the club's stage.

The club was granted a two-year limited license Thursday as long as it hires professional security, maintains an employee log, ensures employees have proper work cards, prohibits drug sales, increases it lighting and changes its hiring practices.

Jorgenson considers the Spearmint Rhino's punishment a warning shot. The county, she warned, is cracking down on establishments who intent on hosting "anything goes" parties.

"I sincerely hope other business and liquor licensees that allow after-hours parties take a close look at what is going on with those parties and provide management and security so they don't find themselves in the same place as the Spearmint Rhino," she said.