Liquorless strip club runs dry

Tuesday, July 10, 2007 | 6:57 a.m.

Unable to sell liquor and turn a profit, the Crazy Horse Too closed over the weekend even as efforts moved forward to sell the once-popular strip club.

"Without a liquor license, there was no business. And without business, there was no income that justified staying open," said attorney Steve Stein, who represents Mike Signorelli, the Las Vegas restaurateur leasing the club.

Stein said Monday that he also was told by sources close to the sales talks that Signorelli's $31 million bid to buy the Crazy Horse Too from jailed owner Rick Rizzolo has fallen short.

Federal prosecutors, with the help of Rizzolo's attorney, Mark Hafer, were said to be reviewing a potential sale agreement Monday from another group.

Signorelli's inability to complete a deal has left him with little incentive to appeal the suspension of the club's liquor license, Stein said.

As a result, Stein said , he asked Las Vegas officials to withdraw the appeal from the agenda of Wednesday's City Council meeting.

"It would be an exercise in futility to go forward," Stein said,

Signorelli surrendered his liquor license June 30 after missing a deadline imposed by the City Council to close a sale on the topless club. He kept the club open until business dropped off dramatically last week.

Rizzolo is in federal custody at the Los Angeles Metropolitan Detention Center, serving a 366-day prison term for tax evasion. He intends to use money from the Crazy Horse Too sale to pay $17 million in fines, forfeitures and court settlements, including a $10 million judgment to a Kansas City-area man paralyzed after a 2001 incident at the club.

If Rizzolo cannot find a buyer, prosecutors under Rizzolo's 2006 plea agreement have the right to ask a federal judge to install a third-party manager to run the club and oversee efforts to sell it.

Because of Rizzolo's history of associating with organized crime figures, the government also has the right to disapprove of any Crazy Horse Too buyer who has known organized crime ties. Rizzolo also is not allowed to have any say in the club's operations.