LV Council OKs more slots for bar at mall

Dan Kulin

Thursday, Aug. 18, 2005 | 11:13 a.m.

After hearing a dozen residents' concerns about letting a restaurant and bar at the Meadows mall add 10 more slot machines, a split Las Vegas City Council on Wednesday approved the additional machines but only if the business closes for a few hours every weekday morning, and abides by several other special conditions.

Some council members said they were surprised to hear that TomFoolery had been open 24-hours a day since April and echoed the concerns of some residents that additional slot machines would possibly lead to drunks leaving the establishment while children are on their way to school.

Also, some of the residents who spoke during the Wednesday council meeting said they were generally opposed to there being a bar at the mall, a popular hangout for teens that is off U.S. 95 between Decatur and Valley View boulevards.

Some of the residents came to the meeting with signs bearing slogans that included, "Who's for kids and who's kidding? No bars!!" "Not in our Meadows Mall," and "Don't be a hypocrite just say no."

TomFoolery owner Sean Higgins was seeking a tavern license, which would allow him to add 10 slot machines. He currently has five slot machines in the establishment.

Higgins needed the council to grant him special approval to have a tavern license within 1,500 feet of a school. There are three schools within 1,500 feet of the mall -- Western High School, and Ruth Fyfe and E.W. Griffith elementary schools.

Council members Lois Tarkanian, Lawrence Weekly and Steve Ross voted against granting Higgins the tavern license. Mayor Oscar Goodman and Councilmen Larry Brown, Steve Wolfson, and Gary Reese voted to grant the license with a list of special restrictions.

The restrictions included requiring Higgins to live-up to the conditions of holding a supper club license -- such as offering a full food menu and service while open -- plus having TomFoolery closed from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. Monday through Friday. There will also be a council review of the matter after three months.

The closed time is intended to avoid the potential problem of having bar patrons on the road while children are headed to school.

Higgins' attorney said TomFoolery, which has its own outdoor entrance, has been open 24-hours-a-day since April.

Brown, who recommended the reduced hours of operation, said he was concerned about bar patrons who could get to TomFoolery at 3 a.m. and stay until 5 a.m. or 6 a.m.

Tarkanian said the approved agreement was "better than where we started," but she said she is still concerned about there being a bar inside the mall.

Those who testified before the council on Wednesday included a 16-year-old girl who said she frequents the mall and is uncomfortable with there being a bar there.

Her grandmother told the council she expects Higgins will now try to expand the bar, and another woman said the additional slot machines would essentially create a "mini-neighborhood casino" at the mall.

DJ Stutz, president of the Nevada PTA, told the council that she believed TomFoolery's existence will lead to drunks walking through the mall and driving through the parking lot -- posing a danger to the many teens and children who frequent the mall.

Ross noted that the council had received about 200 written protests from those opposed to Higgins' request, and added that TomFoolery has had three violations of its supper club license in recent months.

TomFoolery was cited for not having enough restaurant seating, not having a cook or server on at all times, and not offering a full-service menu at all times, city Business Services Manager Jim DiFiore said.

DiFiore said TomFoolery would have to comply with the special conditions once the council formally approved the additional slot machines. A council vote on the slot machines will probably come during the council's Sept. 7 meeting, he said.

Goodman said the matter was similar to many others "except for the public outcry."

Goodman said he doesn't think his four children, who are now adults, had hung around at the mall, and said parents bear the responsibility of "knowing what their kids are doing."

The mayor also said there were legitimate concerns about public safety related to drunken drivers possibly coming from TomFoolery.

"But with the regulation of the hours it's a nonissue," Goodman said.