Proposed law would curtail action in strip clubs

Adrienne Packer

Wednesday, July 17, 2002 | 11:12 a.m.

Her stage costume snug and revealing, Tania shifted in her chair inside a darkened topless club lounge, growing increasingly irritated as she defended her profession.

"I'm not a prostitute, I'm a stripper. I take my top off," said 32-year-old Tania, pulling from her cigarette.

As Tania discussed how a proposed Clark County ordinance could affect her financially, she was quickly joined by three other strippers equally concerned about the government descending on their industry.

"Las Vegas is about being a playland," said Margo, 37, who along with Tania requested her stage name be used. "It's supposed to be Sin City."

But the proposed law introduced at Tuesday's commission meeting dilutes one of Sin City's most popular indulgences. Essentially, it does away with traditional lap dances by prohibiting strippers or patrons from touching genitals.

The ordinance would also prohibit 18-year-olds from dancing in strip clubs that serve alcohol, end the tradition of stuffing dollar bills into G-strings, and close private rooms.

Tania, like many strippers, moved to Las Vegas for the money. She earns $200 to $1,200 for eight hours of private dances and strutting topless down a lighted stage.

But Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates, who sponsored the proposal, offers a different take on lap dancing.

Existing laws banning lap dancing are so vague they can't be enforced, Atkinson Gates said. Consequently lap dancing -- a practice in which a stripper gyrates over a patron's lap, occasionally brushing her breasts across the customer's body -- has escalated to a point that nears prostitution, she said.

Citing a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision that upheld a law requiring a distance of 10 feet between patrons and strippers, Atkinson Gates said she could have made her ordinance more stringent. She said she is satisfied her proposal will at least regulate what occurs in strip clubs.

"I wanted to impose a common sense restriction to help law enforcement govern these adult facilities," she said. "I don't think people would disagree that women groping a male's genitals is appropriate."

The new law would allow "incidental contact" such as if dancers brush their breasts across a patron's body, but does not allow strippers to touch the customer's face.

Dancers in local clubs say their profession's image has been tainted as a result of the proliferation of strip joints in Las Vegas. The demand for strippers is so high, they say, club owners have lowered their standards.

No longer does a stripper have to be young, attractive or fit, they say. Dancers say those who are less attractive stretch the moral boundaries and encroach on prostitution to earn big tips.

Margo has mixed feelings about the touching law. About 50 percent of the men who buy lap dances grope the stripper, the dancers said. Customers might react differently if they're told the law prohibits touching, Margo said.

But Margo said touching is an important part of a lap dance.

"They're looking for something they can't get at home," Margo said. "They're coming to Sin City for God's sake. And you can't touch?"

Brandy Thomas, a 28-year-old stripper who has worked in Texas clubs where no touching was allowed, said initially dancers might lose tips. But as patrons realize the law is countywide -- and soon could be citywide as well -- tipping will return to normal.

"A hover dance is just as good if they use their imagination; you don't have to grind until they're stimulated," Thomas said. "I like to come home at night and feel good that I didn't get groped and practically raped 10 times that day."

Restrictions on VIP rooms might have the greatest impact on dancers. Celebrities or well-known locals are less likely to buy lap dances without the protection of a private room.

Customers typically pay $100 for the room and another $100 for three lap dances. A manager's presence in the room doesn't always keep customers from fondling the stripper and it doesn't stop the dancer from stretching the limits.

"Eight out of 10 girls will give much more in there so they can get the money," Thomas said, motioning toward the VIP rooms.

Perhaps the one element of Atkinson Gates' proposed law that won't cause a clash between the adult club industry and the government is the age limit.

Tania said teenage dancers are lured by the money and believe they can make a living stripping. But once they age and are no longer desirable, the women have no education or experience to fall back on.

"They're thrown into an adult situation and it spoils their innocence at such a young age," Tania said.

Assistant District Attorney Mike Davidson, a chief administrator in the office, said he has handled dozens of cases involving prostitutes over the years. Because most prostitutes started as teenage strippers, he doesn't buy dancers' stories that they're earning money to go to school.

"Initially, it's the lure of the money you can make flashing," he said. "She has a choice of doing that or making $5 an hour at a fast-food joint. Ten years later they're drug-addicted prostitutes. It's too late; they're shells.

"I'm not a puritan. I'm not trying to regulate morality but it's naive to close your eyes to reality."

Dancers say putting restrictions on them will ultimately hurt the city's economy. After all, they each said they're big spenders and in unison claimed to be the "best tippers in town."

Balancing the quality of life in Las Vegas with the city's sinful image is a task Atkinson Gates is trying to tackle. Davidson said he believes the proposed ordinance accomplishes that.

"We have to recognize Las Vegas is what it is, but that doesn't mean we can't maintain a quality of life for families," Davidson said. "Why should the community get sucked into this kind of life?"