Friday, Sept. 30, 2005 | 8:39 a.m.
Jerry Fink's lounge column appears on Fridays. Reach him at [email protected] at (702) 259-4058.
Can a Jaguar change its spots?
Maybe -- at least it can change its owner, and its name.
The former Jaguars strip club, 3355 Procyon St., at Desert Inn Road, was sold by Jack Galardi a few months back to Dennis DeGori.
The club was one of three formerly owned by Galardi's son Michael Galardi that were raided by the FBI in May 2003 as part of an investigation into an alleged bribery scheme involving four former Clark County commissioners.
The younger Galardi has pleaded guilty to the charges against him. He turned the club over to his father, who sold the club to DeGori.
DeGori has more than 25 years in the gentleman's club business, six of them as the general manager of Club Paradise across the street from the Hard Rock Hotel.
He left Paradise in May 2003 and was running Jaguars when he decided to buy it and turn it into Scores, a popular franchise based in New York City.
DeGori now has two Scores franchises, one here and one in Chicago.
Scores corporate spokesman Lonnie Hanover says the company had been exploring the possibility of a Vegas franchise for a long time.
"We had many offers over the last several years, but we waited until we had the best owner-operator situation," Hanover said. "And Dennis DeGori is the No. 1 operator in the business. We're glad we waited -- now we have a really beautiful club."
Beauty is an understatement.
The 25,000-square-foot, two-story building has palatial qualities that are a cut above any other topless joint in town.
There are several private rooms, three stages and a restaurant.
"It's a mansion, a palace," Hanover said. "It's similar to the one in New York, with all these little extras like caviar on the menu, hand-rolled cigars, vintage champagne, a giant walk-in wine cellar, the most comfortable sofas and chairs in town."
It has a great party atmosphere. Among those who attended the grand opening Saturday were rocker David Navarro (Carmen Electra's husband), the Killers (the Vegas-based rock group), Chicago White Sox slugger Frank Thomas, actress Tara Reid and Penn Jillette of Penn and Teller fame.
"You can party like a rock star or a potentate," Hanover said. "And it's a great place for business meetings. There are a myriad of private rooms for smaller parties, bachelor parties, board meetings corporate meetings.
"There is even a Library Room with two fireplaces and book-lined shelves. But so far, no one has read a book yet."
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