LV could get first escort service

Diana Sahagun

Monday, March 5, 2001 | 10:49 a.m.

An escort service that was blocked from Summerlin could be moving into Las Vegas City Councilman Michael McDonald's ward.

If the application is approved during Wednesday's City Council meeting, it would be the only official escort service in the city of Las Vegas and Clark County, according to city and county business licensing records.

Blue Limited applied last month to open in Summerlin, but because of the rules governing the master-planned community, the escort business was not allowed.

City Councilwoman Lynette Boggs McDonald, whose ward includes Summerlin, was shocked when the application was made last month, pointing out that an application of its type had not been proposed in the city for 30 years.

She directed the city attorney's office to draft an ordinance that would keep escort services and outcall entertainment businesses out of residential areas. The new location is in a commercial area.

The council is scheduled to vote on the new ordinance Wednesday.

The application to move the escort service into McDonald's ward at 1725 S. Rainbow Blvd., near Oakey Boulevard, appears on the consent agenda and will not be discussed unless a council member requests the item be pulled from the long number of items that are usually approved in one motion.

City staff is recommending approval of the escort service, with a six-month review. The applicant will also be required to report any arrests or citations to the city's Business Services department within 48 hours.

According to Las Vegas business records, four erotic dance clubs operate within the city limits, but no escort services. No outcall entertainment businesses are in the city limits, according to city records.

The county has no licensed escort bureaus but has at least 50 licensed outcall entertainment businesses, according to county records.

One of Blue Limited's partners is Cynthia Steinman, who used to be an exotic dancer at Crazy Horse Too.

McDonald is close friends with Crazy Horse Too owner Rick Rizzolo. The city's ethics board found last year that the councilman violated ethics laws by working behind the scenes to quash a liquor license application for a potential strip club that could have rivaled Rizzolo's club.

Rick Henry, McDonald's chief ward liaison, said this morning that the councilman is waiting for city staff to determine whether the escort service can be allowed in a commercial area and will decide Wednesday how he will vote on the item.