GOSSIP, GOSSIP and MO' GOSSIP! Hey! Heard any juicy LA strip club related gossip? Saw a celebrity at a club? Clubs for sale? Manager fired and sued? E-mail me ASAP before it's not hot anymore. Stop watching those soap operas and talk shows and get your water cooler talk right here. I will attempt to seek a second source on all rumors but if none can be found and the info seems legit, it will appear here anyway. Normally, I will not give out my sources for gossip. However, if you want to be in the spotlight, say so in your email and all dirty credit will be gladly given. But remember why it's called gossip and rumors, and not news and facts. Also remember to check the GOSSIP topic of my bulletin board for more timely (like the same day) stuff.

Gotham City Goes Dry Again
December 14, 1999

For the second time this year, Gotham City has closed their doors last week because of another ABC violation. Unconfirmed reports indicated that they will be closed for at least 30 days. It really looks like the ABC is cracking down on the clubs.

Downtown Becomes Strip Town
December 2, 1999

As reported earlier, Spearmint Rhino is opening a club in downtown Los Angeles on Olympic Blvd. near Alameda. The building has undergone some demolition and the stage is already built on the inside. They are putting palm trees in the parking lot and it's starting to look like a mini-Las Vegas club.

In related news, Deja Vu is rumored to be getting their permits for a strip club near the China town area which would be only about a mile from the Spearmint Rhino club. I guess when they built the Staples Center, they didn't think that strip clubs would start to pop up all over the place.

Golden Eyes To Open in Arcadia
November 29, 1999

It is rumored that a club called "Golden Eyes" will be opening or has opened in Arcadia. It is owned by the owners of Cherries.

Dennis Morgan to Open New Club
November 17, 1999

Denis Morgan (who is currently managing the Beverly Club) announced that he will open Aftershock as a bikini club in March 2000. The rumor is that the club is already undergoing construction and some of the theme rooms are completed. It is rumored that the financial backing is coming from Micheal Peters who also is rumored to be financing part of the Spearmint Rhino empire.

Fantasy Files for Bankruptcy Protection
November 9, 1999

After losing the lawsuit by the dancers at the Fantasy for back wages (employee vs. independent contractor), Tom and Marla Green have filed for Bankruptcy protection, in the California courts. They do have an Appeals Court date this month regarding the case but with money running so low, insiders don't think they have a chance.

Spearmint Rhino Dancers Vote Against Employee Status
October 10, 1999

As many of you are aware, there is a pending litigation by dancers against virtually all the strip clubs in Los Angeles and Orange. In this climate, the Spearmint Rhino at Industry decided to let the dancers vote as to what status they wanted. The dancers voted by ballot and decided not to become employees at the club. It is also noted that there is a plaque in the dressing room stating that the dancers are neither employees or independent contractors, and that they simply rent stage space from the club. I guess that would make the dancers the club's customers.

Some of the dancers complain that although they are not employees, they are required to work a minimum of 3 shifts and if they miss one, they are required to pay a $100 fine.

Anaheim PD Vice Goes High-tech
October 25, 1999

When I visited Imperial Theater, they had a sign that asked that customers leave their cell phones and pagers in their car. At the time, I thought it was kind of strange but according to Orange County club insiders, the Anaheim vice cops used cell phones and pagers equipped with hidden cameras to video tape the lap dances that were used in court against the clubs and dancers that were busted. Since then, many of the Anaheim clubs have decided to ban cell phone usage in their clubs. Of course, now the Anaheim PD will have to figure out a way to hide their cameras in their willies.

Bob's Cleans House
October 17, 1999

According to a source, there was some posts about nasty dances at Bob's Classy Lady on their guestbook on their website and the club has decided to clean house by firing all offending dancers. All cameras are turned back on and any dancer violating the rules will be fired. Many dancers have quit and are technically now fired from the club.

In related Bob's gossip, the club is for sale for $2.9M without property. I assume the Sports Bar (with liquor license) is included in the price.

Gardena to Charge Dancers
October 14, 1999

It is rumored that Gardena has or will soon enact a new law that would require all dancers to register with the city and buy a dancing permit for $230. Beverly Hills already has such a law and so does San Diego and Las Vegas. Is LA next?

Rob Zombie Goes Clubbing
October 13, 1999

According to Hollywood strip club insiders, Rob Zombie is dating a dancer from Cheetah's Night Club and some of his band members hang out at Crazy Girls. Not too surprising since his new CD is titled American Made Music to Strip By.

Porn Stars Sightings
October 1, 1999

By OC_ROB
ASSC and Z Posse Reporter
Bellflower, CA — Popular porn star and xxx Cream Entertainment contract girl Zoe will be working at Fritz, That's It! for approx the next 30 days. The popular "Savannah" look a like just finished two projects for adult director John T. Bone and is earning some extra cash while in between a national feature dance tour.

The platinum blonde told me her unofficial Fritz schedule will be Thurs, Fri, and Sat nights. When asked how she settled on Fritz, her response was the club is known for having many beautiful girls and lots of customers. Zoe dances topless on stage under the name "Stormy" and is available for $10 table dances.

* * *

Adult Movies star Christina Angel is now a house dancer for Ecstasy in Santa Ana. Previously, I had reported that she had been seen at Scamps in Westminster.

Her relationship with Scamps did not last very long, a couple days to be exact. Apparently she was fired for "solicitation". The story goes like this: Earlier this year, Ms. Angel was to be featured along with several other female porn starlets for hire at the Bunny Ranch just outside of Reno, NV. This information was prominently displayed on her website. Ms. Angel was giving out her web address to customers of Scamps. This was viewed by the club as solicitation for prostitution, and the club having finally been granted a liquor license, did not want to take any chances, so she was fired after her second night.

She has been spotted at "E" for about a month now. I went in last weekend and confirmed. She dances only by her first name, Christina, and no mention of her adult video career is made. There is another dancer that already dances by the name of Angel--DO NOT CONFUSE THE TWO!

I would have sampled a dance (even though I think $50 is way too much) but the wait to get into a private room (stall) was over one hour. Yes, the club was really busy. Surprisingly, Ms. Angel was not really hustling for dances like most of the "E" girls do. She was hanging out at the bar by herself for long periods of time when I first arrived around 9pm.

Body Shop Cancels Contest
September 22, 1999

The The Body Shop on Sunset cancelled its Monday night amateur contest after delaying the start 90 minutes. The 11 contestants who had waited for the contest to start were told by the management that not enough audience members had showed up for the club to payout its advertised $1,000 in prizes. The contestants were told they could do lap dances but could not dance on stage. There were some customers and dancer cheerleaders who were disappointed and angry. Several of the contestants were vocal in expressing their opinion that they would not return to this club.

Busts and Dry Periods
September 7, 1999

On August 3, 1999, there was a bust at Cheetah's Night Club in Hollywood. The rumor is, this bust was because of some girl/girl action on stage. If this rumor is true, that would be unusual for a topless club.

In other bust news, Sunset Strip was dry in September due to some ABC violations. During this period, they allowed their dancers to dance nude on stage as well as perform some high mileage lap dances in the VIP room. This was the only time that I have ever seen a nude dancer accept tips on her g-string during her performance in any club in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, the club has regained their liquor license and is now back to plain old topless with alcohol. However, there are some rumors that some of the high mileage VIP action remain.

There is also another rumor that the Beverly Club, which is now managed by Dennis Morgan (from Tropicana and later Fantasy Island), has also been hit with an ABC violation and is dry.

Rhino Charges
August 4, 1999

More gory details on the 5 VIP rooms at the Industry Spearmint Rhino: You must buy a $100 VIP membership card from the manager using a picture ID. You must present your ID along with your card to use the room. The rooms are $200 for ½ hour and you must tip the dancer separately ($300-$500). There are cameras in the rooms but they can be counteracted by turing the lights down or off.

Pleasures Gives Some
July 10, 1999

The rumor around is that although Pleasures is a bikini club, the dancers sometimes go topless, even on the small stage where the customer is closer to the dancer than the required 6 feet. According to numerous sources, this happens often and according to one source, the owner encourages this activity by tipping his favorite dancers to go topless. I don't know the outcome of the fight that the club has had with the restrictive city of Pasadena but it sounds like the owner is rebelling against the establishment. If so, I hope it causes the city to eventually have to change their laws.

Internet Porno Gossip
July 1, 1999

According to Talking Blue TV, porn actresses Randi Rage is reportedly stepping away from the cameras because her new boyfriend did not approve of her budding porn career. To keep one foot in the biz, Rage is currently a house dancer at Star Gardens.

In related gossip, Gene Ross reports that Jenna Jameson has been fired from a well known strip club chain for being late or for no-shows at her performances. The strip club representative was quoted in the article with nothing nice to say about Miss Jameson.

Century Laps Too
June 22, 1999

Once upon a time, Century Lounge tried to do lap dances to stay with the competition but was busted and took it out. But that was then, and this is now and the competition has gotten so fierce, they are doing laps once again. There is now a new enclosed area for private lap dances on a vibrating lounge chair. The price seems to be about $25 per song and tokens are used like the booth dances.

Topless Publicity?
June 16, 1999

There is a rumor that the owner of Pleasures allows their dancers to sometimes go topless at the club. The rumor is that the owner wouldn't mind some publicity for the club. Personally, I don't believe this rumor since the owner has fought the city the try to go topless and they probably would move to try to close the club down for any reason. Also, the ABC will take the liquor license away after 3 strikes. However, the topless part of this rumor seems to have more validity since I've heard it from multiple sources. What's wrong with a little nipple between friends anyway? A little nipple never hurt anybody... has it?

Veil Adds Bed
June 15, 1999

The Seventh Veil has added bed dancing at $150 for 6 songs which takes place in the lap dance area. Don't expect super high mileage bed dances like at Ecstasy, Bob's or Deja Vu. Less recently, they again remodeled the stages and got rid of the four leaf clover stage and returned back to the original long stages of the past.

For Sale and Bought
June 3, 1999

California Girls was recently sold to new owners. For the time being, the club will keep the same format. The rumor is that there are now 3 new owners, one of which is the owner of Foxfire, in Anaheim or Orange.

In related gossip, Star Gardens (recently bought) is again, up for sale. I have visited the new revised club and it has been much improved from the old club. The quality of the dancers have also improved by several factors. Perhaps, this was one of those quick turn around and make money deals.

In more related gossip, Star Strip Too has been sold or is in the process of being sold. The final purchase price is unknown. This club has been on the market for a very long time since business is somewhat slow there.

Club Opening Rumors
June 3, 1999

There are several rumors about strip clubs opening in various areas, including Arcadia near El Monte and the Pasadena area, as well as a rumor that one of the chain clubs is looking at a location near China town.

In related rumors, the Spearmint Rhino chain has advertised in the industry magazines that they are looking for clubs to purchase, anywhere in the United States. They are looking to expand all across the country, similar to the Deja Vu chain.

Busts 'R Us Part Too
May 28, 1999

On May 27, Strippers in North Hollywood was busted in a string of busts of strip clubs lately. 20-25 uniformed and plain clothed undercover vice cops entered the club during this bust.

On May 22, the Spearmint Rhino in Van Nuys had a bust at their VIP invitation only party. The party was to begin at 9pm but by 11pm, there were 30+ police cars outside for a mega-bust. I heard from a reliable source that some people were let into the club as regular customers and paid a cover to enter, who later turned out to be vice cops. Since this VIP party was supposed to be by invitation only and the club was serving free alcohol, the club was then busted. The fact that so many police officers were ready for this bust indicates that it was meticulously planned and executed by the police and was not an accidental bust.

My prediction: More busts to come.

Huntington Beach Nude Club Closer to Opening
May 17, 1999

By oc_rob

According to a report in the Huntington Beach Independent (5/13) a nude "juice bar" is one step closer to reality for Surf City. The owners of a former restaurant located on Beach Blvd have been trying to open as a nude theater for over 1 year now.

According to the article a trial date in August is the final hurdle in the long process of converting the restaurant into a strip club. Even a HB City Councilman concedes that it is almost a "done deal" since the owners have already obtained all the necessary permits.

Deputy City Attorney for HB stated that the City of Huntington Beach has little choice but to grant a permit and wait--and hope--for the owners to violate permit conditions to justify a revocation.

Bust City, Baby
May 13, 1999

There seems to be a string of LAPD, LAPD vice and ABC vice busts going around town. My personal opinion is that this is due to some high level order to "clean up" Los Angeles for the Democratic convention in 2000. The clubs that are being busted are too far apart for it to not be from a high level and not just from each police precinct. Deja Vu (North Hollywood), Showgirls, 4 Play, The Valley Ball and PlayPen,

Why Men's Club Went Savannah
May 5, 1999

According to a very reliable source, the Men's Club in Dallas forced the Men's Club in Los Angeles to change their name. This LA club first opened as Stars Planet, then changed it to Star Planet, then Men's Club, and currently is now called Club Savannah. This case is similar to the Crazy Girls, which first opened as Crazy Horse and had to change it's name when the same named club in Las Vegas complained. However, LA still sports The Gentlemen's Club and Cheetah's Night Club which are both famous clubs in other cities.

Flesh Rises Again
May 1, 1999

Once again, there is rumor that Club Flesh (owned by Tropical Lei) may be resurrected and go into operation. The current flow of gossip is that the club has finally won the appeal and got the green light to open. There is no word from any Tropical Lei representatives on this news.

Rhino Gossip City
April 14, 1999

The Spearmint Rhino in the City of Industry is rumored to be getting ready to add private booths this month. The chat cubicles will be made into a private VIP room with a door and leather couch. Some dancers are concerned about safety and asked that the doors be curtains instead. Use of the rooms would cost the customer $200 for a half hour (to the club) and the customer would have to negotiate a rate with the dancer.

In related gossip, the Rhino has now contracted an outside company to handle the phone sex and chat business. I assume this means that real dancers will no longer be doing the actual chat.

In related Rhino gossip, dancers have been told that the club wants to change the working status of their dancers from Independent Contractor to employee. Although Spearmint Rhino was not included in the original class action lawsuit involving most of the nude clubs in Los Angeles, the same lawyers have filed a separate lawsuit against the Rhino chain. This may be the reason for this change in status for the dancers.

Pelican Gets Feathers Ruffled
April 8, 1999

According to a source, the Pelican Theater in La Habra was busted today by LHPD. At about 3:15pm, the La Habra police came in to the club and started searching for something. Most of the customers and a few of the dancers left the club at this point, while a representative of the club followed the officers with a video camera. Apparently, nothing was found and nobody was arrested.

Star Strip 2 Raided by LAPD Vice
March 31, 1999

In a repeat of last year's bust, LAPD vice again raided Star Strip Too and arrested 2 dancers for lewd conduct. The last time LAPD busted this club, all charges were dropped on both dancers that were arrested as well as the customer that was charged. Upon talking to one of the officers, this reporter was told that they didn't know why they were told to bust the club when they already knew that the D.A. would not file the case.

Star Gardens Raided by ABC Vice
March 30, 1999

The new and improved Star Gardens was busted by about 5 undercover ABC vice at about 11pm tonight and sighted for over serving customers. None of the dancers were cited for any violations. As per normal procedure, uniformed LAPD officers came in after the undercover ABC officers made their observations. Rumor has it that all the customers were told to leave the club and the club had to close their doors for the night.

Stallion Gets Ready to Ride
March 18, 1999

A bikini club near the border of Torrance and Lomita named Stallion Club is in the process of getting ready to open their doors. The club is currently a bar and some construction is being done to convert it to a bikini strip club. If and when it opens, it will be only club in that area since the only nude club in/near Torrance closed their doors many years ago.

Dino's Showbar Goes Dry
March 17, 1999

Dino's Showbar, sister club of Fantasy Island, is dry because of an ABC violation. At the time of this writing, it was not known what the original violation was, but it's likely that it took place a while ago, possibly before being converted to a strip club.

Another HIV Scare
March 15, 1999

A few years ago, I remember the rumors spreading from dancers that Magic was HIV positive. The current rumor is that a popular male exotic dancer is HIV positive and that he has spread it to at least one female dancer. There is no confirmation that the female dancer in question is HIV positive, let alone that she got it from the male dancer but that's what she is claiming. Perhaps, just a good way to keep other girls from getting too close to him.

LA To Restrict Tipping
March 5, 1999

This time, it's not an April Fools joke. Los Angeles is in the process of changing the laws to restrict or stop the policy of allowing dancers to receive their tips directly from the customers. This has already been in effect and upheld in court in Westminster, forcing the customers to tip into a pan near the stage.

Kern County Raid
March 2, 1999

Girls Girls Girls, a bikini restaurant in Kern County, was raided by the local sheriffs office. The department served a search warrant, then arrested all employees and took them to the Lerdo jail, sixty miles away. No charges were filed against the performers, but they were held overnight. The owner of the club was charged with pimping and pandering even though no prostitution charges were filed. This bust along with the death threats from the demonstrators were enough for management to decide to close the club. It is rumored that the owners are going to sue the county.

Buy, Sell, Open, Close!
March 1, 1999

According to an inside source, Spice Lady has been sold to new management. The new management will pretty much keep the same staff but there may be some changes coming. The DJ's that opened the club have moved to other clubs because of the lack of business and other factors.

In related news, Star Gardens may be coming back to life with new owners. However, they may not be able to resurrect the liquor license. If this is the case, they may open it as a nude club. Frankly, that area is already too saturated with clubs and don't really need another one.

The new Southern Comfort has closed and will be re-opening again soon if it has not already been re-opened as of this writing. The grand re-re-opening is slated for sometime in March. I don't know if the owners know much about the strip club business but in any business, it's not a good idea to close and re-open an establishment. It doesn't instill confidence in the employees or customers.

Inland Empire Gossip City
February 2, 1999

Club Flesh (owned by Tropical Lei) in San Bernardino has won round one with the city. The city decided, by a one vote margin to appeal this last court defeat. The word on the street is that even the city attorney thinks that this action will not stop the club from eventually opening. In fact, there is a good chance that the state court will deny the apeal. Some insiders think that the city made a big mistake when they changed their zoning laws without commisioning an impact report. Club Flesh could get the green light to open in as little as two months.

Club 215 (topless) is slated to spend more money on sister club Temptations (nude). I was recently at Club 215 and the rumor is that they will open the downstairs area with pool tables.

In more gossip, Fantasy owners are said to be unhappy with the lease on the Spearmint Rhino building in the city of Highland. This location was suppose to house their new sister club. Because of their recent lawsuit loss to their dancers, the word is they are ready to sell their club and concentrate on their biker bar, Crossroads.

TL/HT Cooldown
January 31, 1999

Dancer from Tropical Lei and it's sister club Hawaii Theatre met for a company meeting where they were told to cool down their dances. The management will now rotate the TL dancers to HT (2 days a month) to try to get more of them to work there. Dancers who are too nasty will get fired. They seem to "clean house" once in a while and this will only last for a few months at the most. They are firing girls who are obviously doing nasty laps. The dancers must now sell 7 drinks per shift.

Hollywood Cabaret Acquires New Manager
January 28, 1999

With all the publicized problems that Hollywood Cabaret was having, rumor has it that a disgruntle manager from Industrial Strip has now moved there. It's too early to tell if this will have any effect on the club or dancers.

Rhino Charges Forward
January 25, 1999

The Spearmint Rhino has opened Mahoney's Pub & Eatery directly in front of the Rhino in the City of Industry. This place features a full kitchen, full bar and billiard tables. The dancers from Rhino get their drinks for $1 so you might catch them hanging out there after their shifts.

In related Rhino gossip, the Rhino chain has started construction on their Highland, Artesia and a second club in the City of Industry and are awaiting final approval to be able to open the Van Nuys club at 15004 Oxnard St.. Although club officials told this reporter that the Van Nuys club would open the week of January 17th, rumors are that the club is now slated to open sometime in February, according to inside sources. The rumor is that this location was first found by the DJ at the Gentlemen's Club who was going to open a club but failed. Also, their Las Vegas club is also trying to get approval to serve alcohol and may be getting their permit by this writing and will also be remodeling in February.

In yet more Rhino gossip, Dyanna Lauren (the XXX rated star) has come aboard to as President of Spearmint Rhino Films, Inc. This division of Rhino will produce their own line of Rhino adult videos which will be on sale at the Rhino clubs.

Club Southern Comfort-able?
January 23, 1998

A new nude club is rumored to be getting ready to open near or in Burbank. The exact location is now known but it may be near Burbank airport in Sun Valley. The club has advertised their pending opening for January 21 in the LA Weekly but an inside source has them opening on January 29. The originally scheduled opening was for January 2, which was postponed. The phone number in the ad requests callers to leave a message if they are looking for employment. This message is adding to the rumor fuel that the club cannot get enough people to work there to open.

An ex-employee of Bare Elegance who was working at The Men's Club is said to be the owner of this new club. It is rumored that he got an investor to front the money to open the club. This would be another in the line of ex-employees of Bare Elegance to open their own club.  It is further rumored that this owner has also bought part or all of the Men's Club. This last rumor is unconfirmed and could be a PR ploy to get dancers from Men's Club to work at the new club.

The club is advertised to be upscale like the clubs in Texas and Atlanta and the rumor is that their lighting system cost them $12k. Since some of the computer controlled lighting can cost $2k+ each, it's not hard to spend $10k+ for lighting these days. I just hope they remember that customers want to see good looking dancers, not expensive lighting systems.

Showgirls in Cathedral City
December 22, 1998

The Pink Lady has moved to Cathedral City and is now called Showgirls. The gossip is that it's the same owner, some of the same dancers but a nicer club.