New rules proposed for lap dancing

Adrienne Packer

Thursday, July 11, 2002 | 11:16 a.m.

A Clark County commissioner's proposed law to tighten restrictions on lap dances could strip the allure from the Las Vegas indulgence popular with strip club patrons ranging from businessmen to rowdy bachelors.

Technically, lap dances are illegal under county law, but the law is so vague that it is rarely enforced, Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates said.

Atkinson Gates wants to impose stringent, enforceable guidelines on lap dancing -- an activity in which a topless or nude dancer gyrates and rubs against a paying customer, usually for the length of a song.

"You're not supposed to lap dance," Atkinson Gates said. "Now what we're doing is saying if you lap dance, there are certain things you can do and cannot do."

The proposed law prohibits patrons from using any part of their body to make contact with a dancer's breasts or genitals. It also bans lap dancing in closed, private rooms.

The proposal would also do away with common tipping methods in strip clubs -- stuffing dollar bills in G-strings.

Some critics say a law that limits contact between dancers and customers would effectively end lap dancing in the county and devastate strip clubs financially.

"It would hurt our business tremendously," said an official at Strip Tease Cabaret, who would not give his name. "We pay very high taxes to stay open and we need lap dances to support us."

Lap dances, which generally cost a customer at least $20, are the main source of income for strippers. Strip Tease officials fear dancers would move to strip clubs within the city limits if the proposed county ordinance passed.

But Atkinson Gates and Las Vegas officials said the city is working on an identical ordinance to be introduced in August.

Pete Eliades, owner of the Olympic Garden, said he is not bothered by Atkinson Gates' proposal. Eliades said his clubs are "not houses of prostitution" and that he expects men and women to respect each other during the dances.

"They're not there for the touching," Eliades said. "But sometimes it happens. It's sometimes hard to separate a man and a woman; it's so natural."

Atkinson Gates acknowledged her ordinance contradicts Las Vegas' image as a mecca for strippers and their fans.

A flurry of adult entertainment establishments has proliferated here in recent years, establishing Las Vegas as one of the nation's strip club capitals.

For some, adult entertainment and lap dances provided a sense of normalcy and patriotism during the economic downturn after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman urged "all able-bodied constituents to go out and have a lap dance" to help the sagging economy after Sept. 11.

Eliades claimed he was following President Bush's plea to "move forward" when he bought the Sporting House fitness club in November with designs to convert it into a topless club.

But Atkinson Gates emphasized that adult clubs have privileged licenses and should comply with the law.

"Just because we've been portrayed this way doesn't mean we should adhere to the portrayal," she said.

Atkinson Gates said because the law against lap dances hasn't been enforced, the type of dancing has escalated to the point that dancers and patrons practically engage in sex acts along stages, cocktail tables or in booths. It is so common few club owners are aware it's illegal.

"No one is saying you can't have it; you can have it, but with limits," Atkinson Gates said. "We're not taking the fun out if it, we're trying to do a better job of regulating it."

Clark County Business License Director Ardel Jorgenson agreed that over the years the county's antiquated regulations allowed activities inside gentlemen's clubs to become increasingly risque.

"Twenty years ago most topless dancing took place on a stage and the dancer-patron contact was the tipping," Jorgenson said. "The contact has gone from tipping to full lap-dancing where there is tremendous contact."

The ordinance will be introduced Tuesday and commissioners will vote on the law after a public hearing scheduled for July 31. However if commissioners pass the new law, the issue of enforcing the ordinance could prove difficult. As the law stands, Metro Police typically won't blow the whistle unless the act becomes prostitution.

Metro spokesman Sgt. Chris Darcy said lap dancing in some clubs borders on prostitution because it's a popular one-on-one encounter.

"Prostitution is going to occur when you have sexual gratification for a fee," Darcy said. "Anytime during a lap dance when you have sexual gratification through contact it starts encroaching on prostitution, and we'll make an arrest. We'll address that specific issue."