Scores (strip club)
Scores is a strip club in Manhattan, New York City, and is one of several Gentlemen's club which changed the face of adult entertainment in that city during the early 1990s and has gained wider notoriety and popularity mostly due to frequent mention by Howard Stern.
Competition, history, publicity
Scores opened on October 31, 1991, and until December 1997 was run mainly by Michael D. Blutrich. In 1996, Blutrich, after being implicated in an unrelated $400 million fraud case in Florida, began to cooperate secretly with Federal authorities concerning alleged Gambino crime family extortions from the club's officials and from its employees. Blutrich pleaded guilty to fraud charges in Florida and to making illegal payments to the Gambino family in New York. He subsequently became involved in the frauds that led to the collapse of the National Heritage Life Insurance Company.
In 1998, Scores filed for bankruptcy protection, citing $1.7 million in debts. Earlier that year, after reputed Gambino family mobsters were indicted on charges related to Scores, a new management team was installed. The club's new administrators attributed the losses to debts incurred by previous managers who were dominated by organized crime, and to extensive renovation costs to comply with the city's new zoning regulations.
In February 2006 a Manhattan grand jury returned tax evasion indictments against Scores manager Harvey Osher, chief executive officer Richard Goldring, and a bookkeeper. Manhattan's District Attorney said that an investigation into customers' complaints of overcharging revealed a scheme by Scores managers involving shell companies, the pressuring of some strippers into giving kickbacks, and the falsification of income tax returns. Goldring pleaded guilty, and Osher also admitted to his role in the scheme. At least three patrons sued Scores, saying their credit cards were overcharged by tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars. One patron sued the club after he got a $28,000 bill, and another disputed $129,000 in charges.
Similar clubs that opened during this period include Flashdancers and Goldfinger's. Scores followed suit, opening as a venue run by businessmen from Denver and Texas. Later, it was taken over by New Yorkers and became at one point embroiled in controversy over alleged Mafia connections. Scores has attracted a lot of publicity due to comping a lot of free visits to Howard Stern, who often mentions the club on his radio show, along with attracting a fair amount of celebrity guests. The somewhat lesser-known but earlier established Flashdancers actually holds claim though of being NYC's first "table dancer" club, begun in 1991 with the consulting help of Centerfold Stars (BookCenterfolds talent agency). These clubs, along with Tens (formerly Stringfellows) are considered to be "gentrifying" clubs; displacing the old B-girl hustle bar in Manhattan with lavish adult nightclubs.
On August 16, 2007, Sirius radio broadcast of The Howard Stern Show, spokesman Lonnie Hanover called in to reveal that has resigned from his publicity and promotions position at Scores after 15 years. Hanover stated that he didn't agree with some "recent changes" and has decided to "face some new challenges and maybe do it somewhere else," and added, "I'm still in love with big boobs, real or fake." [1]
On August 19, 2007, it was widely reported in Australia that current federal Australian Labor Party opposition leader Kevin Rudd had visited Scores in September 2003 with New York Post editor Col Allan and Labor backbencher Warren Snowdon. At the time Rudd was the Opposition foreign affairs spokesman and does not have a "completely clear recollection" of the visit, stating he had "drunk a fair bit".
High rollers
"American Express says in papers filed in state court that Savvis Inc. chief executive officer Robert A. McCormick was in the club Scores in October 2003 with at least three other men. After McCormick got the $241,000 corporate credit card bill, Savvis called American Express and complained that some of the charges were fraudulent, the lawsuit says. The communications company said its' chief disputed all but about $20,000, according to the lawsuit. [...] The lawsuit filed Wednesday against McCormick and Savvis is at least the third in the past two years involving contested credit card charges at Scores. One patron sued the club after he got a $28,000 bill and another disputed $129,000 in charges. After a lawsuit last year, Scores spokesman Lonnie Hanover said that high rollers visiting Scores' super-elite Presidents' Club spend thousands of dollars on single bottles of champagne and tip strippers as much as $10,000 for lap dances and for spending time with them. The district attorney's office has said it is investigating alleged overcharging at Scores. Hanover said that each time a patron spends $10,000, Scores calls the customer's credit card company to get the charges approved. Scores even fingerprints the customer and require him to get on the telephone with a credit card representative, he said." [2]
Popular culture
- On an episode of Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update, anchor Tina Fey, upon reporting that former writer and cast member Al Franken was considering a run for the U.S. Senate from his home state of Minnesota, stated that if he were to win the seat, "he would be the "first SNL alum to hold the office since last year when Tracy Morgan declared himself to be the 'Mayor of Scores'."
- In the movie Rounders, which is set in New York City, Scores is briefly mentioned.
- In the movie I Think I Love My Wife, Steve Buscemi's character briefly mentions Scores.
External Links
- Official Website
- Official Las Vegas Scores Website
- Official Scores Live Webcam Chat
- Australian Labour Party Leader Oogles at Women
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