Lap dance costs strip club a pretty penny

The El Paso County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday ordered a seven-day suspension of the liquor license of a nightclub in El Paso County after three undercover detectives witnessed a patron groping a lap dancer.

It’s the second liquor-related violation in 18 months for PT’s Showclub and follows a similar undercover operation that occurred at a “Girls Gone Wild” event at a city nightclub last May. PT’s, which is located at 5975 Terminal Ave. in El Paso County just east of Colorado Springs and was formerly known as Appaloosa’s, is owned by VCG Holding Corp., a company traded on the Nasdaq that owns adult nightclubs around the country, including five in Denver. Under state law, it’s illegal for any person to touch, caress, or fondle the breasts, buttocks, anus or genitals of another person on a premise licensed to sell liquor. It’s also illegal for any employee to engage in or simulate sex acts.

On June 26 three detectives from the Colorado Springs Metro Vice, Narcotics and Intelligence Division went to PT’s, a cavernous building with a sunken floor, raised stages and small private rooms known as “Executive Lounges.” After taking their seats, the detectives noticed a 30-year-old dancer named ‘Crystal,’ who was wearing a g-string, sitting on the lap of a man in one of the “Executive Lounges.”

“My initial impression,” wrote one of the detectives, Chris Ganstine, “was that they were having sex, as you could clearly see Crystal in a rocking motion with her groin on the male.”  When Crystal poured a bottle of what appeared to be hot oil down the front of her body, the man began fondling her breasts and buttocks. When the dance was over, the patron stood up, hugged her and exited the club.

The detective followed him outside, but the man fled in a vehicle with Florida license plates. The police officer returned inside and approached Crystal. “I haven’t seen a dance like that ever,” the detective told her. Crystal told the police officer she could perform a similar dance on him for $150. Instead, the club’s manager was issued a ticket.

Troy Lowrie, the company’s chief executive officer, and his attorney, Dan Carr, assured county officials they took the incident seriously, pointing out that Crystal had been fired. “This girl knew what was legal and what was not legal,” Lowrie said. 

The club owners wanted the liquor license suspension broken into two segments around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, but the commissioners voted for a single, seven-day suspension that will run from Nov. 22 until Nov. 29.  The financial impact will be substantial, Lowrie said, estimating the club could lose up to $50,000.

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