Nude club revenue to fund research

Mathis Winkler

Thursday, Sept. 6, 2001 | 11:52 a.m.

Stanford University medical professor Simon H. Stertzer has found a new funding source for his research: nude dancers.

He's buying the Palomino Club, Clark County's only all-nude club that serves liquor, and says he plans to use the club's revenue to pay for research at the university and in the private sector.

North Las Vegas City Council members unanimously approved Stertzer's business license application Wednesday.

Stertzer, who does research in cardiovascular medicine and pioneered a procedure to open clogged arteries in 1978, said he has long used revenue from his business investments to pay for scientific work.

He has been involved mostly with companies that produce medical instruments. Stertzer has also invested in a car repair business near Paradise Road and Interstate 215.

All he wants from the club on Las Vegas Boulevard North is money for more research, Stertzer said.

"Whatever will provide cash flow" will do, he said. "The fact is that (the club) is legal. It was a real estate investment."

Still, those monitoring funding for medical research said Stertzer's move was "highly unusual."

"I can't say it's not done, but I don't know of another case," said Tony Mazzaschi, associate vice president for research at the Association of American Medical Colleges. Mazzaschi added that money for medical research hasn't declined much as a result of the economic downturn.

In North Las Vegas, Councilwoman Stephanie Smith said jokingly that Stertzer's interest in owning the club seemed "very logical," since the Palomino's patrons were likely to require cardiovascular care after a visit.

But Smith also made it clear that she wasn't happy about the club's existence in the city and said she resented Stertzer's plans to beef up promotion.

"I realize you're here and you pay taxes," she said. "But I hate to see that North Las Vegas will be marketed in this manner."

Councilman William Robinson grilled the scientist about his other investments and possible mob involvement in the club's operations.

"Do you understand that you're ultimately responsible" for the club as its owner, Robinson asked.

Earlier, Stertzer said that Luis Hidalgo, his longtime friend, will manage the Palomino.

Robinson added that the club's previous owners had run the establishment with an "air of class."