Columnist Jeff German: Seminar attendees thrown some curves

Friday, May 23, 2003 | 12:02 p.m.

Jeff German's column appears Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays in the Sun. Reach him at german@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4067.

Speakers were quoting Henry David Thoreau, talking about the national economy and describing a variety of borrowing options at a commercial real estate seminar in Las Vegas this week.

It was typical of many such seminars held here frequently, except for one thing. It took place at Sapphire, the city's newest and largest topless nightclub.

While scantily clad dancers were plying their trade on stage in a nearby 10,000-square-foot showroom, the merits of real estate development were being discussed in a darkened VIP party room decorated with gaudy murals of Marilyn Monroe.

Strip clubs have always been a big after-hours attraction for conventioneers. But Sapphire, in the shadow of the Strip, is taking things to the next level in an attempt to legitimize itself within the community.

"We thought we'd have some fun with it," said Peter Feinstein, a Sapphire managing partner who is well known in commercial real estate circles.

Feinstein acknowledged he was trying to attract business, but he also insisted the seminar, which featured lending experts and commercial developers, was designed to help real estate investors. It coincided with the convention of the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Some of the 60 attendees, all but two of whom were men, said they actually learned something when the speakers weren't being drowned out by the blaring music accompanying the dance routines in the showroom next door.

Keynote speaker Robert Champion, CEO of Champion Development in Los Angeles, which has built more than 400 shopping centers, took the time to write out a 15-minute speech on his specialty in the real estate field.

But he made it clear that he knew where he was as he addressed the seminar-goers, who were sipping cocktails and dining on the usual strip club appetizers of chicken wings and Swedish meatballs.

"Rest assured," Champion said. "I do know my limitations, and I'm going to keep my clothes on."

Then he joked: "I wanted to get familiar with my surroundings, so I came here last night, and the next thing I know I dropped a thousand bucks and made some girl happy."

Attendees who got bored hearing about "low-leverage construction loans" and "prime-based lenders" during the hour-long evening program had the option of watching the closed-circuit televisions above the back bar that zeroed in on the Grade A flesh starring in the main showroom.

The energy level definitely went up a notch when the seminar ended and a half-dozen, half-naked dancers briskly strolled into the room to get up-close and personal with the men in the audience.

Within a half-hour, the majority of the men -- and the entertainers -- had gone over to the showroom next door to carry on the most important business of the evening.

Champion summed things up best after his talk, as he looked around and saw the girls mingling with his audience. "This is Vegas," he said. "This is part of the culture here."

What's next? A pole-dancing fund-raiser for United Way?