Mr. Glitterati

The Velvet Lion

By now, you know what to expect from a gentleman’s club: dimly lit corners, a champagne room or two and lots and lots of skin. In other words, it’s ripe for a sea change. All we need is a visionary bold enough to take on the industry from the ground up. And we may have found the first candidate…

Welcome to the Velvet Lion, a revolutionary new take on the gentleman’s club.

Helmed by Tony Verdugo—the man behind legendary Vegas late-night spot Drai’s—the Lion is taking a page (and a few hosts and promoters) from the nightlife industry. The result is something like Body English, just with the emphasis on “body”…and much more akin to the treatment you’re used to at clubs. We’re told this means no inflated door prices and a general ethos of “quality over quantity,” which we guess means they’ve loosened the usual restrictions on cup size.

Throw in a few plush couches, bottle service that doesn’t break the bank and the most body paint this side of Cirque du Soleil, and you’ve got a potentially revolutionary spot. Of course, Verdugo is the ambitious type, so he’s thinking even bigger: The Lion’s stated goal is to put the first topless club in a casino in the next three years.

But they’ll have to reinvent the strip before they reinvent the Strip.

Velvet Lion
3750 S. Valley View Blvd
(between Twain and Viking)
West of Strip
Las Vegas, NV 89103
888-702-3336
official website

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When last there was a gentlemen’s club in Vegas called Crazy Horse—the famed Crazy Horse Too—things got crazy. A little too crazy.

After a dazzling legal battle involving racketeering, extortion and tax evasion (things that any respectable gentleman’s club should be involved with), the beloved destination was finally shut down by the Feds. Not since Roy’s tiger mauled him has a loss stung this deeply.

But as you well know, you can’t keep a good horse down…

Welcome to Crazy Horse III, the latest incarnation of Sin City’s wildest den of dance, now soft-open to the public a mere minutes from the Strip within the mazelike grandeur of the 40,000-square-foot complex called the Playground.

Before we get into the details, you should just know that if you ever had the urge to dine on spicy tuna rolls while smoking a hookah and watching Angel do the helicopter, this is the place for you. Make your way through the aforementioned Playground, where (rumor has it) the house band will be comprised of grizzled veterans from Anthrax and Alice in Chains, and where the bar offers a picture-window view of what’s happening inside CHIII.

Move past the crowd to settle into the stadium-style seats, where you can behold the goings-on much the same way ancient Romans viewed a gladiator fight. (Only we’re pretty sure they didn’t have sushi.) And, of course, should you wish to get a little closer to the action, a VIP room—complete with bottle service and, for reasons unknown, a pole—is awaiting.

We have no idea what happens after that.