GOSSIP, GOSSIP and MO' GOSSIP! Hey! Heard any juicy LA strip club related gossip? Saw a celebrity at a club? Clubs for sale? Manager fired and sued? E-mail me ASAP before it's not hot anymore. Stop watching those soap operas and talk shows and get your water cooler talk right here. I will attempt to seek a second source on all rumors but if none can be found and the info seems legit, it will appear here anyway. Normally, I will not give out my sources for gossip. However, if you want to be in the spotlight, say so in your email and all dirty credit will be gladly given. But remember why it's called gossip and rumors, and not news and facts. Also remember to check the GOSSIP topic of my bulletin board for more timely (like the same day) stuff.

Gentlemen's Club Sold
December 23, 2001

The Gentlemen's Club has been reportedly sold to a East Coast strip club owner for approximately $1M. The rumor is that the new owner is changing the entire non-dancer staff and bringing in a new crew. There's also a rumor that this move was at least party due to the Independent Contractor law suit which the club reportedly settled out of court. It's not clear to me if this is good news or bad. It's certainly bad news for the people working there but perhaps this is what the club needs to be competitive again.

Century Goes High-Tech
December 16, 2001

Century Lounge has always tried new ways to keep track of private dances. In the late 80's and 90's, they used a token system which the dancer would purchase from the house and use to light up the booth where she would perform the private dances. This meant that they didn't need a floater keeping track of each and every dance. Apparently, they have now instituted a similar system using a card which keeps track of the dancers' use of the booths. This allows the dancer to not have to carry around a finite number of tokens which she may run out of at an inopportune time. This would also decrease or eliminate the annoying floater walking by or spying on the dancers after each song and will probably allow for higher mileage.

Platinum Expansion Plans
December 15, 2001

As reported in this section previously, Platinum has been planning to expand the club by acquiring the print shop area next door. There is also some rumors that they may convert the indoor parking area into a VIP lap dance area. It's interesting to note that this club is looking more and more like a Rhino. If they ever decided to sell their club to the Rhino chain, they probably wouldn't have to change much except for the sign outside.

TJs Moving?
December 14, 2001

There is a rumor that the owner of Imperial Theater and TJ's has hired an architect for a project. There has been a long time rumor that the lease for the TJ's location will expire at the end of this year and this may indicate that they are going to move the club to a new location. Another possibility is that they will concentrate on Imperial and make improvements to that club. It's also possible that this hiring has nothing to do with the clubs. If anybody knows more about this, be sure to email me with the juicy gossip.

Drew Carey Sighting
October 21, 2001

Actor and comedian Drew Carey visited the Spearmint Rhino in the City of Industry several times this month. According to Drew, he is fighting with his girlfriend, which is why he was prompted to visit the club. That sounds like a great line to give to a dancer. It sounds better than, "I like strippers!". I don't know what his girlfriend looks like but hopefully she doesn't look anything like Mimi from his show. As far as dancers are concerned, he seems to favor blonds. I guess they do have more fun.

Tropicana Not So Tropical
October 7, 2001

The Tropicana in Hollywood has seen better days, especially back in the 80's. Now, it's just a shell of it's former club self, with no alcohol and hardly any customers. The rumor is that they not only have lost their liquor license but now have lost their entertainment license, which would mean that they no longer can have wrestling, mud, oil or any other substance. If that's not the last gasp straw that will break this club's back, I don't know what would be. Without a liquor licence, you can't turn this place back into a regular dance club, so it will probably become a swap meet. At least they have a large parking lot.

Tommy Lee Gossip
September 4, 2001

Rocker Tommy Lee was spotted at the Spearmint Rhino in Upland this week. Apparently, he was on the DL and being low keyed but the DJ announced that he was at the club. Perhaps that was too much attention for the rocker, or he just didn't like the club because he left after only half an hour. The source says that the worse part was that many of the customers also left with him. Rock-out!

In related gossip, Michael Davis, publisher of Bold Magazine says that in 1991, he and Tommy Lee was sitting at the stage at the Bare Elegance but he was asked to leave the club because he was wearing a tank top. Those were the good 'ole days.

Woods Trial Wrap Up
September 8, 2001

In case you didn't hear in the regular media, Michael Woods (co-owner of Bare Elegance, Jet Strip and Valley Ball) was found guilty on first degree murder charges, including murder for financial gain, which will probably get him life without the possibility of parole. His attorney has already announced that they will appeal the case.

But more interesting than the outcome of the trial, was the trail itself, which took place in the Orange County Superior Court, Dept. C-30, 8th floor, Santa Ana Civic Center. In an unusual move, the defense allowed, not only Woods' daughters to testify, Woods himself testified. This is a very risky move on the part of the defense, especially now that they are appealing the case. Woods' testimony is now locked in and they will have difficulty changing it if they manage to get a re-trial. If new evidence comes out that contradicts Woods old testimony, this could really cause problems for the defense.

Besides Amos (Woods' partner with the clubs who testified against Woods), other club employees also testified, including Steven Bach, Frank Sabastien, Javier Herrera (X-man), Jane Turner, and Elizabeth Sahls. Big Mac's (the victim) son, Michael McKenna also testified for the prosecution.

The judge did not allow Court TV to broadcast the trial but did allow them to video the first day and the last day, including the closing arguments and jury instructions from the judge. Now that the verdict is in, Court TV will be allowed to air their show about this case.

Other things that came out during the trial was that Amos did cut a deal with the D.A. with a plea agreement to 20 years for conspiracy, attempted murder and special circumstances, and will be eligible for parole in 10 years. Also, McKenna's son did find $116,000 at the ranch after his father's murder. McKenna and Woods controlled as many as 9 clubs at the time of the murder. Also, as was suspected for years, the D.A.'s office is aware of zbone.me and does monitor this site on a regular basis.

Hannah Goes Crazy
September 5, 2001

Daryl Hannah has made a documentary about Crazy Girls and the people who work there, including Gino the manager. The title of this documentary is "Strip Notes" and Tommy Lee did a lot of the music for it. The genesis of Daryl's documentary comes from the research she did while filming the soon to be released, "Dancing At The Blue Iguana" (In theaters October 19, 2001). It is likely that the documentary will be shown on Showtime about the same time as the release of the movie.

4 Play Wants to Play More
August 30, 2001

Sources tell zbone.me that 4 Play will be taking over The Gig in West Los Angeles and turning it into a bikini club. If this rumor is true, this new club will be very close in distance to Fantasy Island, which is also a bikini club.

Fantasy Sold To Baby Dolls
August 24, 2001

The owner of Fantasy Theater, Marla Green, has sold the club to the owner of Baby Dolls in Pomona. It is rumored that Baby Dolls owner, Steve, did not buy the entire corporation but just just the Fantasy club portion. In related rumors, Baby Dolls sister club, Club 215 will be getting a facelift with a VIP area downstairs. They have already moved the staircase and the girls dressing room upstairs behind the bar. This has given them more room downstairs.

Platinum Starts to Shine
July 11, 2001

The rumor is that the new owner of Platinum used to work for John Gray at a club called Peppermint Elephant before they opened the Spearmint Rhino chain. I've never heard of this club but perhaps it was not a strip club. This club is expanding and is taking over the print shop next door which will add another 3000 square feet, making the club about 5000 square feet. It is also rumored that this owner will be expanding to other clubs, including one in Las Vegas. Platinum is rumored to have higher mileage dances and will have features performing there.

Celebrity Laps
June 21, 2001

One or around the second week of June, Magic Johnson was at the Spearmint Rhino (Downtown) getting some nude lap dances from, not one, but two dancers simultaneously. He was apparently there with a friend who was also getting nude lap dances. Perhaps they were coming from the Staple center after a game.

What's Old Is New Again
June 16, 2001

Two independent sources have confirmed the rumor that Nude Showgirls will reopen on June 22, 2001, with a new name of "Players". Apparently, the owners of PlayPen will be running the show there.

In related gossip, Wy-S-Guy reports that he is re-opening Showgirls in Reseda on the same day. For the address of this club, see "New Sightings For 1999".

In even more related gossip, there has been an infusion of money by new investors into Bob's Classy Lady and the new management will be renaming the club as "Oz". Along with some renovations, the new management is rumored to be bringing in dancers from New York.

In yet more old-is-new news, I keep hearing that Sunset Strip is going to re-open. Spearmint Rhino denies any connection to that club, although they claim they looked into buying it. If this club does re-open, it can't get much worse than it was, so it can only get better.

Daryl Hannah Returns To CG
June 10, 2001

HOLLYWOOD -- Eccentric actress Daryl Hannah was recently spotted slipping dollar bills into stripper's g-strings at rocker Tommy Lee's party at the Crazy Girls club in Hollywood.

Harrison Ford's House Is Party Central For Strippers
June 6, 2001

Star Magazine
HOLLYWOOD -- Longtime exotic dancer Trinity, 29, who has taken it off in a string of Tinseltown girlie bars over the years, has been a frequent visitor to Harrison Ford's west L.A. mansion over the past months.

Night after night, Trinity and a dozen of her colleagues were allowed to romp through Ford's house, drink Ford's liquor, watch Ford's television from his bed and even snoop in Ford's underwear drawers. They even overnighted in the 6,600-square-foot home, which is perched on a hill overlooking some of the country's ritziest neighborhoods.

We've heard reports that sexy Ford likes strippers as much as Jack Nicholson likes the Lakers, but in this case, the What Lies Beneath star had nothing to do with it. Neither Ford nor his family were anywhere near the Brentwood home when a half-dozen nude gals gave his Jacuzzi a try a couple of weeks ago. The Fords were at their ranch in Jackson, Wyo., where they spend most of their time.

But when the big cat's away, the mice play. And in this case, Trinity tells me she and her colleagues were frequently ushered in the house in the middle of the night by the home's caretaker. She claims he often rounded up dancers when the clubs closed, about 2 a.m., and took them to Ford's house for after-hours partying.

"The only thing he told us was: 'You girls can do whatever you want, just don't answer the phone in case it's a call from Mr. Ford,'" Trinity said. "It was like going to giant slumber parties. The Jacuzzi was always full. But it's a little small. We could only fit a few of us at a time." The sauna, she said, was also popular with the crashers.

"Sometimes, we would just sit around Harrison's bar in the family room and drink his liquor while shooting the breeze. The caretaker just liked to have a bunch of strippers around. One time, some of us went to Harrison's bedroom. We looked through his drawers and figured out he wears boxers, the sexy devil. We'd sit on his bed for hours, eating and drinking and watching television. Some of us even slept entire nights in Harrison's bed."

The $1.7 million house, said Trinity, isn't overly furnished and is relatively low-key for the home of such a major celeb. "There are very few pictures of him," Trinity said. "I was kind of disappointed in that. The only ones I saw were in the den. There's one of Harrison in his Indiana Jones outfit. There are others of his wife and his kids when they were younger."

A source at Ford's house who asked to remain anonymous confirmed Trinity's story -- and the fact that her caretaker pal was eventually busted.

"It's all been taken care of," the source said. "He was let go on May 26 and no longer works for Mr. Ford."

As for Ford, his people are mum, except for one lawyer who said: "Harrison was nowhere near these parties and uses that house very rarely."

Labor Code Busts
April 27, 2001

According to one source, the labor board has busted Blue Zebra and Deja Vu for not complying with the new California labor code pertaining to dancer tips. According to this source, all that is required is for one dancer to complain to the labor board and they will come to the club and close them down for a day until the new procedures are put in place. Lap tickets anyone?

Spearmint Rhino Goes Blue
April 10, 2001

According to a Spearmint Rhino spokesman, other than the new Blue Zebra (which was Industrial Strip), 4 more Blue Zebras are in the works (including Lacy Street). The rumor is that some (or all) of the new clubs will be old clubs that will be renamed. However, this rumor has not been confirmed or denied by the Rhino.

Independent Contractor Class Action Suit May Settle
April 1, 2001

Several sources have told zbone.me that Spearmint Rhino, Deja Vu, The Body Shop and The Gentlemen's Club have or are close to settling the class action lawsuit. The settlement amounts were not disclosed and the representative from Spearmint Rhino did not confirm or deny this rumor. If this rumor is true, this may indicate that the other clubs probably will also settle out of court.