Palomino Club (Las Vegas)
Encyclopedia
The Palomino Club is a landmark North Las Vegas
strip club
with a series of infamous owners, ranging from accused and convicted murderers to a prominent cardiologist. Since 2006 the club has been owned by Adam Gentile.
In 2000, a high-profile murder trial involved the Palomino Club owner's son, Jack Perry, who had shot and killed one of the employees he thought was trying to buy the club. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 14 years to life in prison.
In November 2001, the Palomino, along with two other nearby topless clubs, was bought by Dr. Simon Stertzer, a Stanford University
interventional cardiologist who performed one of the first coronary angioplasties
in the United States. Dr. Stertzer said he bought the club through a holding company, as an investment to fund his research: "Whatever will provide cash flow will do... It was a real estate investment.". (Two years earlier Stertzer, who was a founder and major shareholder of stent manufacturer Arterial Vascular Engineering, sold that company to Medtronic
for $3.7 billion.) Stertzer hired a "longtime friend", Luis Hidalgo, to manage the club. Hidalgo previously had run an auto body shop in San Bruno, California and met Stertzer who had brought his Mercedes in for repair. After immediate uproar by the medical and academic communities, and articles in newspapers all over the United States, Dr. Stertzer decided it was better to sell the club.
In 2002, the owner of the "Olympic Garden" club sued the owners of the Palomino, claiming they conspired with cabdrivers to divert customers. It was evidently a common practice for some clubs, such as Palomino and Cheetah's
, to offer $5-$25 per customer to cab drivers, to encourage the drivers to bring customers to their club instead of someone else's. This put "non-kickback" clubs such as the Olympic Garden at a disadvantage. The case was eventually dropped. (Jordan, 2004)
Luis Hidalgo, Jr., took over the club in 2003. One of the changes that he instituted was to start an all-male nude act, known as the "Palomino Stallions", in order to try and attract female customers.
In 2005, Luis Hidalgo Jr., his son, Luis Hidalgo III. and his son's girlfriend, Anabel Espindola, were charged as co-conspirators in a contract murder case, with the accusation that they had hired someone to kill a former employee, who was found shot to death on a road near Lake Mead in May 2005. Their case was later shown on the TV show First 48 on March 31, 2011 as a "Lost Episode".
In 2006, Hidalgo sold the club to his lawyer's firm, in order to cover legal fees. The mortgage on the property at the time was worth $13 million. Two years later new owner, Adam Gentile, let cameras into the club to film King Of Clubs, a new reality series slated to premiere in Fall 2009 on Playboy TV
.
North Las Vegas, Nevada
North Las Vegas is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, located in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The city was incorporated on May 16, 1946.-Geography:...
strip club
Strip club
A strip club is an adult entertainment venue in which striptease or other erotic or exotic dance is regularly performed. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or bar style, but can also adopt a theatre or cabaret-style....
with a series of infamous owners, ranging from accused and convicted murderers to a prominent cardiologist. Since 2006 the club has been owned by Adam Gentile.
History
It was built in North Las Vegas in 1969 by the Paul Perry family. One of the notable differences between the Palomino and other Las Vegas strip clubs, is that it is allowed to have both a liquor license, and totally nude dancers. Other clubs with liquor licenses are restricted to topless dancers. This difference, according to 2003-2006 owner Luis Hidalgo Jr., is because the club was grandfathered until approximately 2025 with the different rules.In 2000, a high-profile murder trial involved the Palomino Club owner's son, Jack Perry, who had shot and killed one of the employees he thought was trying to buy the club. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 14 years to life in prison.
In November 2001, the Palomino, along with two other nearby topless clubs, was bought by Dr. Simon Stertzer, a Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
interventional cardiologist who performed one of the first coronary angioplasties
Percutaneous coronary intervention
Percutaneous coronary intervention , commonly known as coronary angioplasty or simply angioplasty, is one therapeutic procedure used to treat the stenotic coronary arteries of the heart found in coronary heart disease. These stenotic segments are due to the build up of cholesterol-laden plaques...
in the United States. Dr. Stertzer said he bought the club through a holding company, as an investment to fund his research: "Whatever will provide cash flow will do... It was a real estate investment.". (Two years earlier Stertzer, who was a founder and major shareholder of stent manufacturer Arterial Vascular Engineering, sold that company to Medtronic
Medtronic
Medtronic, Inc. , based in suburban Minneapolis, Minnesota, is the world's largest medical technology company and is a Fortune 500 company.- History :...
for $3.7 billion.) Stertzer hired a "longtime friend", Luis Hidalgo, to manage the club. Hidalgo previously had run an auto body shop in San Bruno, California and met Stertzer who had brought his Mercedes in for repair. After immediate uproar by the medical and academic communities, and articles in newspapers all over the United States, Dr. Stertzer decided it was better to sell the club.
In 2002, the owner of the "Olympic Garden" club sued the owners of the Palomino, claiming they conspired with cabdrivers to divert customers. It was evidently a common practice for some clubs, such as Palomino and Cheetah's
Cheetah's
Cheetah's Topless Club is a "gentleman's club" or topless bar located in San Diego, and Las Vegas, best known for being featured in the 1995 movie Showgirls, and also for having been owned by Mike Galardi, a nightclub owner who was investigated by the FBI with a controversial invocation of the...
, to offer $5-$25 per customer to cab drivers, to encourage the drivers to bring customers to their club instead of someone else's. This put "non-kickback" clubs such as the Olympic Garden at a disadvantage. The case was eventually dropped. (Jordan, 2004)
Luis Hidalgo, Jr., took over the club in 2003. One of the changes that he instituted was to start an all-male nude act, known as the "Palomino Stallions", in order to try and attract female customers.
In 2005, Luis Hidalgo Jr., his son, Luis Hidalgo III. and his son's girlfriend, Anabel Espindola, were charged as co-conspirators in a contract murder case, with the accusation that they had hired someone to kill a former employee, who was found shot to death on a road near Lake Mead in May 2005. Their case was later shown on the TV show First 48 on March 31, 2011 as a "Lost Episode".
In 2006, Hidalgo sold the club to his lawyer's firm, in order to cover legal fees. The mortgage on the property at the time was worth $13 million. Two years later new owner, Adam Gentile, let cameras into the club to film King Of Clubs, a new reality series slated to premiere in Fall 2009 on Playboy TV
Playboy TV
Playboy TV is a premium monthly subscription television channel. Since its launch in 1982 in partnership with Cablevision which eventually sold their share back to Playboy, Playboy TV has become a leading entertainment channel for adult entertainment...
.