Lumped together, problems associated with nightclubs seem pretty ugly

Serious disciplinary action is being contemplated by the Gaming Control Board because of problems at Las Vegas nightclubs, problems some gaming licensees are ignoring, board member Randall Sayre said Friday.

"There are ongoing investigations in progress and this will not be the last time the public hears of this issue or the last time gaming licensees hear of it," Sayre said. The inquiries are a cooperative effort involving other law enforcement agencies, including Las Vegas police.

The focus is on six to nine properties, he said, declining to name them. "The main point is that just because you lease stuff out, doesn't mean you don't have to take responsibility," he said. Many resorts simply lease space to nightclubs and do do not manage them.

A stern letter was posted on the Gaming Control Board Web site on April 9, a follow- up to a previous warning several years ago. Called an industry letter, the subject is "nightclubs, ultra lounges, European pools and similar venues."

The issues listed aren't new, but somehow reading all the problems lumped together makes it sound pretty ugly: excessive inebriation; drug distribution and abuse; violence; overt sexual acts in public areas; acts deemed lewd, indecent or obscene; presence of minors; mishandling of incapacitated individuals ("dumping"); date rape; extortion/misquoting of service charges; restricted access by law enforcement; lack of coordination with licensee security; and prostitution.

Sayre suggested to the licensed casino owners they need to re-examine their nightclub operations and he even made seven specific suggestions to the gaming licensee:

• Visit/shop locations as typical customers.

• Interview employees.

• Review Web sites associated with operations on your properties and use the Web sites to purchase front-of-line admission and table service to see if they are legitimate.

• Compare tickets sold through external Web sites with internal records.

• Evaluate door, cash bank check in/check out, tip pooling and distribution procedures.

• Interview management as to their policies and procedures regarding their handling of incapacitated customers, minors, illegal drugs, prostitution, club access for law enforcement and coordination with casino security.

• From payroll records, compare tips reported to existing compliance agreements.

It would have to be pretty bad before someone could lose a gaming license, but stiff fines aren't out of the question.

Obviously, the first warning letter issued by the Control Board in February 2006 didn't catch the gamers' attention and little has changed. That letter was mired in controversy because one of its concerns was the type of entertainment offered, and the ACLU argued that was a First Amendment issue.

On Feb. 1, a gangsta rapper killed Sgt. Henry Prendes and on Feb. 7 the Control Board letter said gaming licensee will be accountable for "incidents occurring as a result of entertainment the licensee knew or should have known would likely cause such incidents."

This second letter says nothing about entertainment.

These problems are certainly not new. It was 2000 when 21-year-old Danielle Heird died of an overdose of the recreational drug Ecstasy after partying at C2K, a nightclub in The Venetian. When she got sick, her friends took her to one of their homes and left her. She died.

Her family sued, saying The Venetian and the nightclub's owner should have helped her when she became ill and should have done more to curb drug use. The lawsuit ended with a confidential settlement in 2003.

Review-Journal columnist Doug Elfman wrote about how this past Sunday at 6 p.m. at a pool promotion at the Hard Rock, he saw a girl in a bikini, drunk, being taken out in a wheelchair. Then he saw another girl in a bikini crying.

Remembering Danielle Heird, I wondered if the girl so drunk she couldn't walk ended up home safely. And whether the other girl's tears were caused by something more serious than hurt feelings.

Damaging the reputation of Nevada and its gaming industry sounds victimless. It's not. Date rape is not a victimless crime. Trick rolls by prostitutes are not victimless crimes. Ripping off customers and tourists and dumping drunks in parking lots or cabs to get them off the property is not victimless.

Holding gaming licensees accountable is the right thing to do.

Jane Ann Morrison's column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0275. She also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/morrison/.