Columnist Jeff German: On how the valley strip clubs’ infighting has caused the courts to get involved

Friday, Jan. 6, 2006 | 8:02 a.m.

Jeff German's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday in the Sun. Reach him at german@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4067.

Sometimes I think the valley's lucrative topless nightclubs don't understand how good they've got it.

What began as a battle to stop paying cabbies and limousine drivers kickbacks to lure business to the clubs has turned into a war between the clubs themselves.

In a highly competitive business environment, they've been having trouble staying united in refusing to pay the drivers, causing the courts to take a stab at making the peace.

Right now lawyers and private investigators, who've been hired by the clubs to spy on each other, may be profiting the most in this fight.

After he issued a preliminary injunction from the bench Wednesday banning all of the clubs from taking care of the drivers, District Judge Stewart Bell let it be known that he thought the infighting was ridiculous.

"Isn't there enough money to go around for all of you guys?" Bell said.

The preliminary injunction is the result of a lawsuit that a group of clubs filed against the upscale Scores Las Vegas -- a nationally known adult cabaret that opened its doors in March on the site of the old Jaguars.

The clubs contended the new kid on the block circumvented an agreement that everyone (including Scores) signed on Dec. 5 to stop paying the drivers. But Scores denied the allegations.

So Bell, in an apparent attempt to appease both sides, decided not to single out Scores with the injunction. Instead he slapped it on all of the clubs that signed the anti-kickback agreement.

Attorney Tony Sgro, who represents the other clubs, walked away elated, but the folks at Scores still weren't happy.

Scores lawyer Aaron Lovaas predicted that both sides would be back in Bell's courtroom duking it out again in the near future.

And Dennis DeGori, who manages Scores, said the legal action was initiated by the other clubs in an attempt to put his establishment out of business.

"They've done nothing but attack us," he said, adding that the other clubs were jealous of the quick success Scores was having on the strip club scene.

But Scores, I've learned, also has gone on the offensive in court.

In the middle of the kickback controversy, SHE CAT, a company owned by Scores landlord Jack Galardi, mysteriously served notice that it was terminating the club's lease. Galardi also happens to own Cheetahs, one of the clubs that signed the ban on kickbacks.

Scores, which had been negotiating to buy its posh surroundings from Galardi at the time, was dumbfounded and filed a complaint against SHE CAT in District Court to stop the termination proceedings.

On Dec. 21, after SHE CAT didn't show up for a court hearing, District Judge David Wall issued a preliminary injunction on behalf of Scores, barring the landlord from taking action.

But Wall scheduled another hearing on Jan. 12 to hear SHE CAT's side of the story, which means another courtroom clash lies ahead for the clubs.

In the meantime, however, there seems to be a temporary truce.

The massive International Consumer Electronics Show is in town, and its attendees are notorious for reconvening after hours at the topless clubs.

As of Thursday, the clubs were too busy taking cash out of the pockets of the conventioneers to be fighting each other.

"So far, everybody's happy," said Olympic Garden owner Pete Eliades, who's among the Scores detractors. "Everybody's abiding by the law."

The key words here are "so far."