Top Ten clubs that are no longer with us.

avatar for goldmongerATL
goldmongerATL
The Square Above Charlie Weaver
I saw a review that mentioned a long-closed legendary club and it got me thinking. What are the legendary clubs that are now gone?

My entry is the Gold Club of Atlanta, which was shut down by a federal probe about 13-15 years ago. This place had nothing but 9's and 10's. Extras were super expensive as the VIP area catered to (literally) CEO's, rock stars and sports icons. I knew a dancer (in her real life) that worked there. She would tell me that Jagger stopped by again, Nick Nolte got drunk, grabbed a girl and was thrown out, I partied with so-and-so from the Braves last night, the CEO of VeryBigCorporation was her regular, etc.

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avatar for shadowcat
shadowcat
9 years ago
Memphis Danny's & Platinum Plus. Got my first lap dance at Danny's and my first ITC BJ at PP.
avatar for motorhead
motorhead
9 years ago
The Tanga Lounge in Tampa

It pre-dated the more famous Mons Venus. You got lap dances on these hard Orange chairs. The girls there were generally a notch below the MV but the most beautiful stripper I've seen in my life worked there.

It's been torn down now to expand the road.
avatar for goldmongerATL
goldmongerATL
9 years ago
The Tanga! I went there once or twice. Great club. Didn't it burn down or something?
avatar for motorhead
motorhead
9 years ago
Yes. I think it did burn down. And I believe the road was widened and took out the land where it was
avatar for rickdugan
rickdugan
9 years ago
The original Scores. That place was something else.

Cityscapes in Long Island City. Not the tiny version there now, but the original one. I took my first OTC girl out of there.

I'll add others as I think of them.
avatar for Subraman
Subraman
9 years ago
On the west coast, and certainly in San Francisco, the legendary Market Street Cinema. I was never a fan of the beyond-dive atmosphere, but the place was basically an out-and-out brothel with just a little pretense of being a strip club for many years. All kinds of incredibly wacky characters, from a stripper who was known for peeing in the little waste basket after FS, to "tong man", the guy who went around and picked up all the used condoms (and presumably dumped the pee-filled baskets that one stripper peed into). And with Mitchell Brothers girls charging $400+ for FS, you could get it for $100 at MSC. The place was the wild west
avatar for DoctorPhil
DoctorPhil
9 years ago
@Subraman

did they serve gravy? if they did then that should have been the model for all strip clubs in America. WE need to make this happen
avatar for minnow
minnow
9 years ago
@goldmonger, motorhead: As I best recall, Tanga had a fire sometime in 1999. It didn't burn down to the ground, but it was closed for several months. I think sometime after 2003 is when they widened Rt60/ Courtney Campbell Causeway. Another casualty was a pretty good Mexican restaurant near the club.
avatar for Subraman
Subraman
9 years ago
"Bowl o' gravy folks."

"You're wasting your life"

"Bowl o' gravy!"
avatar for SuperDude
SuperDude
9 years ago
The all nude Jasons in Windsor, Ontario, Canada had all 9s and 10s on both shifts. Detroiters referred to it as the Windsor Ballet. Became a male strip club, now closed. We miss it, still.
avatar for Joe from NJ
Joe from NJ
9 years ago
Crazy Horse II in Las Vegas
avatar for ATACdawg
ATACdawg
9 years ago
Let's get this Chardonnay and gravy party started!
avatar for Subraman
Subraman
9 years ago
Joe from NJ, I thought I was the only guy in the world who was a fan of Crazy Horse II. I dug that place, though it's been 15 years since I've been there last
avatar for chandler
chandler
9 years ago
Chez Paree in San Francisco -- HQ of ASSC, the first great internet strip club board
Wood-Six Theatre in Highland Park, Michigan -- Midwest's answer to Market Street Cinema
Fantasia in Richmond Hill, north of Toronto -- anything goes club the 90s, when $20/CDN was about $13/USD
Melody Theatre in NYC and its successor, the Harmony -- supposed birthplace of lap dancing
avatar for Subraman
Subraman
9 years ago
chandler: Forgot about Chez Paree and ASSC! I hung out with those guys towards the end, and hung out with ALS/victor for years afterwards
avatar for Papi_Chulo
Papi_Chulo
9 years ago
Fantasy Ranch in Arlington, TX – was a a bit smaller more laid-back version of Baby Dolls Dallas – club was cozy; dancers friendly and attractive; and good mileage.

Club was shut down around 2009 when Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was opening up his new billion-dollar Cowboys stadium in Arlington, TX - subsequently almost every SC in the city (~13) was forced to shut down – I guess Jerry did not want seedy SCs competing w/ his family friendly form of entertainment.
avatar for RTP
RTP
9 years ago
I used to stop in Les Girls near the Miami Airport. Full service was always offered for reasonable rates with a wide variety of Latino Women. It was not only closed, but bulldozed about 5 or 6 years ago.
avatar for magicrat
magicrat
9 years ago
I went to the Gold Club in Atlanta once not long before it closed. Amazing looking women in that place for sure. Wall to wall customers and wall to wall hot women! No club I have ever visited compared to the vibe there.
avatar for san_jose_guy
san_jose_guy
9 years ago
Sunnyvale Hip Hugger, my first club. Always drew the smartest girls because as it was set up, it was mostly a talking job.

I got along with so many girls over the years there that I could not even begin to count them. But as in times past I would make lists of their names, it influenced me in deciding that I could not stay married to someone who was never going to change.

SJG
https://sites.google.com/site/sjgportal/

Dizzy Gillespie
www.youtube.com/watch?v=be2QGrdD2Ow
avatar for jackslash
jackslash
9 years ago
Like SuperDude, I miss Jason's in Windsor, Canada. Back in the 80's, I could drive from my office in downtown Detroit thru the tunnel under the Detroit River to Jason's in Windsor in 10 minutes.

Jason's had the most beautiful dancers I have ever seen all in one place. Many were French Canadians with sexy accents. They danced fully nude, but there was no touching and no extras. OTC must have been available, but I was too young and naive to even ask.
avatar for Papi_Chulo
Papi_Chulo
9 years ago
“... I went to the Gold Club in Atlanta once not long before it closed. Amazing looking women in that place for sure. Wall to wall customers and wall to wall hot women! No club I have ever visited compared to the vibe there. ...”

I was not a TUSCLer back then so not too familiar w/ that club but I do recall hearing about the club and its trouble w/ LE and pro-athletes being involved.

Below is an article that sorta depicts what may have being going on w/ the Gold Club ATL:


ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Atlanta's Gold Club is one of the city's most prominent strip clubs, bringing in millions of dollars a year and attracting athletes, celebrities and other wealthy patrons.

Federal prosecutors allege that the club is also a front for prostitution, credit card fraud, money laundering and other crimes. In a sweeping racketeering indictment that reads like a crime novel, authorities allege that club owner Steve Kaplan and his associates had ties to the Gambino crime family.

Kaplan, along with a former dancer at the club and five others, is on trial at the federal courthouse in Atlanta.

Former club manager Thomas "Ziggy" Sicignano, one of the prosecution's star witnesses, testified that he arranged for dancers to have sex with a number of high-profile athletes, including former New York Knicks' basketball player John Starks.

The case has focused on allegations that Kaplan and trusted employees paid club dancers to have sex with athletes and other celebrities to raise the club's profile.

Prosecutors have said Terrell Davis of the NFL's Denver Broncos, Jamal Anderson of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons and Patrick Ewing of the NBA's New York Knicks will testify. In addition, at least two other basketball stars, Dikembe Mutombo of the Philadelphia 76ers and former NBA player Dennis Rodman, have been subpoenaed.

An attorney for Starks told CNN that Starks, if called to testify, would confirm he had sex with Gold Club strippers "a long time ago" before he "re-dedicated his life to Christ."
Sicignano cut a plea deal with prosecutors, admitting to a felony charge of failing to turn over information to the government about a crime in exchange for his testimony.
He testified Kaplan arranged for dancers to have sex with the players in private rooms at club, in the players' hotel rooms and even sent dancers to the Knicks' 1997 training camp in South Carolina to meet with players.

Toronto Raptors star Antonio Davis was also named in the testimony. He called the allegations against him "malicious lies" and has filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against Sicignano.
The defense argues that Sicignano was responsible for any prostitution that may have gone on in the club.

Steve Sadow, Kaplan's attorney, told jurors in his opening statement that the case was built on "lies and prejudice" from witnesses "bought and paid for" by the government. He called Kaplan a "legitimate, hard-working businessman."

The Gold Club charges were brought under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, the government's principal weapon against organized crime.
A property seizure law, RICO was designed to attack Mafia-style organized crime, but its application has been broad. Prosecutors have used it to target a wide range of businesses, from adult video and book store owners to politicians and union leaders.

Prosecutors allege that Kaplan and his associates were involved in a wide-ranging criminal enterprise involving:

* Credit card fraud, for allegedly overcharging customers and adding huge, unauthorized, tips to their credit card bills. One customer allegedly was charged $24,000 in one visit.
* Failing to report earnings used to pay the Gambino crime family for protection.
* Bribing police.
* Bribing two Delta Airlines employees to get illegal discounts on airfare.
* Obstruction of justice.
* Extortion.

In addition to Kaplan, the defendants are:
* Michael "Mikey Scars" DiLeonardo, accused of extortion, money laundering and obstruction of justice. He is identified in the indictment as a captain in the Gambino crime family, though he has never been convicted of a crime.
* Norbert Calder, the club's general manager, accused of allowing prostitution and illegal drug use at the club.
* Roy Cicola, a club assistant manager, accused of allowing prostitution at the club.
* Reginald Burney, a former Atlanta police officer, accused of tipping off club management about pending city inspections.
* Larry Gleit, an accountant accused of credit card fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice.
* Jacklyn Bush, stage name "Diva," accused of prostitution.

All of the defendants have denied the charges and Kaplan is paying for their defense. Kaplan's attorneys have said that he knew nothing about sales of sex or drugs at the club.

http://edition.cnn.com/2001/LAW/06/15/go…
avatar for Clackport
Clackport
9 years ago
Cabaret I in Portland. For Portland being a low mileage city, this club had decent looking girls with good mileage.
avatar for shadowcat
shadowcat
9 years ago
I've been in Atlanta since 1987 and never even thought about going to the Gold Club. Back then we were happy with getting a tit rubbed against our nose during a table dance.
avatar for TheeOSU
TheeOSU
9 years ago
Just my opinion, Pinky's Famous Saloon in Cleveland. Full nude, 3 dancers rotating around the stage at the same time. A friend refered to it as a pussy assembly line and I had to agree!
All the dancers I ever saw there were young thin or fit, no old fatties and no ghetto hoes like the ones that populate area clubs now.
Private dances in private cubicles elevated along the wall or a self service DIY peep show type experience with glass separating you and the girl. The DIY experience was sort of like a pre internet camshow thing and wasn't my thing but it was an option that shows how far having fun has been snuffed in Ohio clubs!
avatar for ebobrian
ebobrian
9 years ago
There were a number of interesting ones on the Illinois side of the river just outside St. Louis: The Red Garter up in Brooklyn, IL......was eventually raided and closed. Also Main Street, Cheeks, and Exposed were all owned by the same guy until the feds got him for money laundering and other crimes. Main Street and Cheeks both have re-open but probably a decade after being shut down (and a different owner).
avatar for chandler
chandler
9 years ago
The Red Garter actually burned down in 1996, I think. I had been there just a few months earlier and saw a blow job out on the floor for the first time. Not anything discreet, just full on head bobbing action right at the stage. Didn't care/dare to partake myself. Next time back in 1997 it was charred rubble.
avatar for minnow
minnow
9 years ago
I'll thow in my vote for Crazy Horse II - Las Vegas. I'm surprised lowpaw hasn't chimed in yet for the closing of 2 LAX landmarks- Wild Goose and Century Nudes.
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