Prive lift a downer

By Xania Woodman

Monday, Aug. 24, 2009 | 10:49 a.m.

At the same time as Privé nightclub was receiving its commissioner-approved 30-day temporary liquor license on Friday, August 21 in preparation to re-open that night, the Clark County Department of Development Services’ Building Division issued the club’s owners a Notice of Violation for having installed a pneumatic vacuum elevator on club premises without getting any of the required permits.

Clark Country public information office Dan Kulin confirms that the structure was not included in Privé’s original building plans, and by the Weekly’s own investigation, neither does it appear in fire department records.

A functional mechanical and decorative notion borrowed from Opium Group’s boutique Miami nightclub Set, the elevator serves as a go-go booth. The sleek, cylindrical tube soars up from the center of the VIP booth that surrounds it from below. According to a number of sources, Privé’s theatrical lift is said to have allegedly been installed in the days right after the club passed fire inspections in late 2007, after contractors refused to install it. The elevator was subsequently never tested or approved by the county or state.

Press photos of Privé have prominently featured the “performer lift” since the club’s very opening. Yet it went unnoticed and unauthorized for two years. Judging by the timing, the violation would appear to have been discovered as a result of the slew of inspections required for Privé to re-open Friday night for celebrity guest DJ Jermaine Dupri's performance.

“The electricity has been cut off to the lift,” says Kulin, which he said fits the definition of an elevator as defined by Nevada Revised Statute (NRS) 455C.060. It cannot be used until it has finally been approved by the Nevada department of business and industry’s division of industrial relations’ mechanical unit and also by the county department of development services’ building division.

The violation was issued in accordance with NRS 455C.110 and NRS 455C.120. Though Friday’s notice of violation does not come with a fine, Kulin adds that the $150 tab for the county’s investigation has been passed on to Privé for reimbursement.

The subject of Privé’s new ownership and management is currently slated for further discussion on September 1, at the next regular meeting of the Clark County Commission. At the last meeting, on Tuesday, August 18, commissioners disagreed with department of business license director Jacqueline Holloway's recommendation to award Privé a 90-day temporary. The commission instead allowed just the one-month license until they could hear from Planet Hollywood and Metro on the subject.

This new violation, when coupled with Planet Hollywood’s pledge to keep Privé in line to the tune of up to $750,000 in fines, could prove to be too much for the already strained relationship between tenant, landlord and the county.

As of Tuesday, Privé has paid back to Planet Hollywood $125,000 of the $500,000 the casino paid in fines for negligence of Privé’s wrongdoing. It is within the casino’s rights under the new lease terms to evict the nightclub if necessary, though commissioners are expected to revisit the conversation started last week on whether or not Planet Hollywood should even be allowed to seek reimbursement from Privé for the fines.

On the other hand, the citation—really nothing more than a light slap on the wrist—could easily become lost amid greater questions like those posed by Commissioner Tom Collins or by Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani, who pressed Privé partner Roman Jones as to whether the club is really under new ownership and management, or, if is all merely “a shell game” for appearances.

Request for comment from Planet Hollywood was not immediately returned. Opium Group has answered, "no comment."