No Booze at Crazy Horse Too
The city council is not known for its harsh treatment of strip club owners. But yesterday the council came down hard on Rick Rizzolo and his Crazy Horse Too strip club. Months ago, as covered on the Buffet, Rizzolo and 16 of his employees and associates signed a mass plea deal with the Federal Government; various folks who work at Crazy Horse Too admitted to all sorts of fun things: tax fraud, trying to extort money from customers, racketeering, etc. Rizzolo agreed to sell the club within a year. There was supposed to be a big penalty paid out of that including $10 million to a tourist, Kirk Henry, who claims he was paralyzed after being beaten by club bouncers over a bar tab dispute.
Everything seemed worked out, and Rizzolo was to be sentenced October 23. But a funny thing happened on the way to the plea deal. Apparently, nobody took into account the placid city council (which over the years has been packed with people who have benefited from Rizzolo's very generous political contributions and has never seemed particularly interested in the very public problems surrounding the Crazy Horse Too). But yesterday the city council leapt into the fray by fining Crazy Horse Too $2.2 million and revoking the club's liquor license. Apparently, the city council was shocked to discover all sorts of things that they were probably too busy with city business to read in the paper.
For example, take our mayor, Oscar Goodman. According to the Review-Journal: "After years of insisting the matter posed no conflict of interest for him, Mayor Oscar Goodman recused himself from voting on it. He said he only recently became aware that one of the Crazy Horse Too employees was represented by his longtime law partner David Chesnoff." Yeah, right.
But sadly caught in the middle by the city council's action is the family of quadriplegic Kirk Henry who was counting on the $10 million from the sale of Crazy Horse Too. Obviously, a topless bar without a liquor license will get a much lower sale price. Henry's wife could barely contain her fury at the city council's late arriving concern about shenanigans at Crazy Horse Too. According to the Review-Journal, Amy Henry exploded at the council: "Only now, after we've gone through five years of hell, do you decide to investigate?" Her concern is understandable. But Rizzolo has made plenty in this community and while it may be harder now for him to cough up that $10 million my guess is that it still won't be impossible. Especially if that is what it takes to keep his plea deal from falling apart. But, as for the status quo, belated or not, the council members were right to do something about Crazy Horse Too. After all, isn't it still being run by the identical people who--to use even this one example — apparently created an environment where a customer claims he was turned into a quadriplegic over a bar tab?
It's too bad so much corruption or a better word greed makes good people no worth the air they breath. City council people, are not in that position just to make the cmmunity a better place to live. Only a fool would believe something like that. If they did not have a personal gain to garner would they waste their time. Hell no they would'nt. You ought to investigate all those council people and with very little effort soemthing criminal or note worthy will surface to make their position questionable. Throw them all in the can.
Posted by: Robert | September 07, 2006 at 02:49 PM
Rizzolo and Galardi have been paying the politicians of Clark County and Las Vegas for years. They have received numerous breaks and have just taken more. These guys are criminals, yet wont spend a day in jail. What can we do when our politicians votes are for sale- to the price of 10 grand... I dont know about you but my principles are worth much more. Strip clubs cause more problems than they're worth... Just bring back legal brothels in Clark County.
Posted by: Brian Falagrady | September 07, 2006 at 04:47 PM
ALL OF YOU ARE QUICK TO POINT OUT WHAT A "BAD" PLACE THE HORSE IS AND HOW THEY ARE ALL SUCH "CRIMINALS" BUT IF ANY OF YOU HYPOCRITES HAVE EVER MET RICK OR ANY OF THE OTHER "SUPPOSED" CROOKED EMPLOYEES OF THE CRAZY HORSE TOO,YOU WOULD ALL THINK THIS WHOLE THING IS RIDICULOUS....HE IS A "VERY" GENEROUS PERSON AND BY NO MEANS A "CRIMINAL"...SO GO PICK ON SOMEONE ELSE!
Posted by: R. MICHAELS | September 11, 2006 at 12:47 AM
Dear R. Michaels: Thanks for reading Movable Buffet. By all accounts Rick Rizzolo was a generous person in Las Vegas. This was especially true if you were running for office and needed a donation. His parties and lifestyle have always been popular with the beautiful and the powerful of Las Vegas. I personally know a person he gave $1,000 to just for standing next to him while looking pretty. But none of that changes what is alleged to have happened to Kirk Henry at The Crazy Horse Too. Then there is the issue of 16 current and former employees of the club (including Rizzolo) making plea deals with the Feds on account of their behavior. Can I ask you why you think that whatever was going on in Mr. Rizzolo's establishment was fine and dandy? Is possibly beating a tourist to paralysis, financial shenanigans and all of the other complaints against Crazy Horse Too employees and Rizzolo, if true, really something only hypocrites would concern themselves with? Yrs., Richard Abowitz
Posted by: Richard Abowitz | September 11, 2006 at 06:55 AM
Only a complete MORON (R. Michaels) would consider Rick "The Teflon Pimp" Rizzolo a "nice" guy. And yes, I HAVE met him. He trapped myself and a friend on the roof of a building that was leased by "Buffalo" Jim Barrier. Rizzolo had cameras surveilling Buffalo's business. I went on the roof to photograph them. It became necessary for me to call the police to have the ladders restored.
Just because someone makes contributions to various charities does make him a “nice guy.” Generally they do this to salve a guilty conscience. Rizzolo does not HAVE a conscience!
Buffalo Jim Barrier who owns the auto repair shop next door to Rizzolo has had to suffer years of damaged vehicles, used condoms and needles, dead bodies, comatose drunken customers, lying on his doorstep. Not to mention the number of times he has had to call the police or an ambulance to the premises. This has not been very conducive to his bottom-line profit, or, to the increase in business a normal enterprise would have had.
No, Mr. Michaels, you are definitely not the sharpest pencil in the drawer when it comes to defending the Crazy Horse Too. I would suggest that you go to the Crazy Horse (If and when it re-opens) and argue with a bouncer when some airheaded “dancer” claims you didn’t pay for a lap dance. Just give the guy an argument that you won’t pay and then experience the hospitality of the establishment as have hundreds of patrons in the past. You will have the living CRAP beat out of you. And, in your case, that will probably take a bit of time. Don’t fret, Buffalo Jim will call an ambulance for you.
To satiate your love for the joint, they beat up a WOMAN just 3 weeks ago. And yes, I have photographs.
Yes, there are a few “nice” people working there…Damned few. There are a LOT of STUPID people working there. Must be relatives of yours….
Mike
Posted by: Mike Christ | September 17, 2006 at 11:42 AM
While all this attacking is going on concerning the establishment and it's owner, people seem to forget the type of patronage in existence that allows these thing to happen. There are many tourists that travel to Las Vegas to "have a good time" and end up at the Horse where they drop a ton of money. If there is a finger to be pointed it should be directed at the sad state of our society. Mr. Rizzolo is a buisness man. He noticed a way to make money and took it. The money comes from hedonistic male consumers. Mr. Rizzolo is as much a criminal as casino owners.
My heart goes out to his family for their sufferings.
I am also concerned for the majority employees and dancers, most of all are just working to get by, pay the bills and support their children just like everyone else. They are now out of a job.
Do not judge unless you yourself are ready to be judged.
Posted by: D. Schultz | September 18, 2006 at 01:35 PM
D. Schultz must lead an extremely sheltered existence. To compare Rick Rizzolo to a "Businessman" is to compare the Dali Lama to Osama Bin Laden. there are probably twenty or more Topless or Strip Clubs in Las Vegas. Virtually NONE of them have any problems with murder, extortion, drugs, prostitution, or beatings. Apparently they make plenty of money without the methods the Crazy Horse practices. I WILL agree with Mr. Schultz about the "sad state of our society." It is indeed sad that the carnage at the "Horse" has been allowed to continue for so many YEARS. "Mr. Rizzolo saw a way to make money and he took it?" Forget hedonistic customers. He BEAT it out of many of them, and, if that wasn't good enough, he just overcharged their plastic knowing full well that they wouldn't complain because the little lady at home might get wind of a little "hedonism" whilst hubby was attending the "Whatzit 6006" convention.
Yeah, the Casino Bosses do that crap all the time. Remind me to call the Gaming Commission and Control Board to take the matter up at their next meeting.
Oh, and "My heart goes out to his family." Well, you'd be wasting a perfectly good heart. His family has more money than the Sultan of Brunei. Rizzolo could pay off every IRS debt, fine, assessment, bill, and lawsuit he has without lifting a finger. He has MILLIONS hidden. He was and probably still IS a WHALE at the local Strip Casinos. Poor Ricky a finger salute from me goes out to you.
The dancers have known for MONTHS that the S--T was gonna hit the fan. And, believe me, unless they look like a "portrait of Dorian Gray" they will have no problem getting work in one of the decent clubs in town. I suppose you are unaware that Rizzolo is holding most of their "work cards" in a file they have no access to? No? Then you just don't know too much about "Teflon Pimp" Frederick Rizzolo. He has a few "favorite" girls, and the rest are as disposable as Massengill....Well, 'er, ah, disposable douche. My heart goes out to the decent ones who never screwed a customer out of money for non existent "services." Otherwise, I have absolutely NO sympathy. ESPECIALLY for "Pillar of the Community" Rizzolo. It will be a wonderful day when he takes his ride to "Club Fed" towards the end of September. It is only too bad that his sentence won't be long enough, and he won't be incarcerated in a "real" prison. It's unfortunate that he will probably be able to improve his handicap. Your tax dollars at work. Sad indeed.
Oh, and I'm ALWAYS ready to be judged. I live in a glass house.....
Mike
Posted by: Mike | September 18, 2006 at 03:25 PM
...And I thought Massacusetts' politics with the Teddy Kennedy School of Driving and The Big Dig whose ceiling bolts fall out and kill people (what do you expect for 14 Billion)...are screwed up! Vegas runs a very close second, indeed. The Massachusetts motto "Where it all Began"...certainly true for 911 and the Salem Witch Trials!!
By the way America...watch out for the fallacy that is Mitt Romney in 08!!
Posted by: Chuck | September 19, 2006 at 08:02 AM
WELL YOU GUYS ALL HAVE SUCH A RUTHLESS AND UNEDUCATED OPINION OF A PERSON THAT WOULDN'T EVEN KNOW YOUR NAME IF YOU APPROACHED HIM IN THE STREET....HMMMMMMMM, MAYBE THAT IS THE "REAL" PROBELM HERE PEOPLE....JEALOUSY IS A SICKNESS, SO MY HEART GOES OUT TO ALOT OF YOU..."GET WELL SOON"....AS FOR THE BULLSHIT ABOUT HIM HOLDING SHERIFF CARDS, FALSE...HAVING FAVORITE GIRLS, DO YOU HAVE A SELECTED FEW PEOPLE IN "YOUR" WORK ENVIRONMENT "YOU" FAVOR???? OF COURSE NOT, CUZ THAT WOULD MAKE YOU ALL HYPOCRITES....GET OVER IT, HE IS A GOOD PERSON, HE DOES NOT "BEAT" WOMEN....HE HELPS PROVIDE AN ENVIRONMENT FOR WOMEN TO PROVIDE A BETTER LIFE FOR THEIR FAMILIES....AND YES YOUR RIGHT PEOPLE IN GLASS HOUSES SHOULDN'T THROW STONES...BUT IF YOUR SMART YOU SHOULDN'T THROW ROCKS AT GLASS ANYWAY, NEVER CAN TELL WHERE IT WILL SHATTER, XOXXO
Posted by: R. MICHAELS | October 05, 2006 at 02:32 AM
I used to have all these negative, scary sort of thoughts about the people that run the Crazy Horse. Been there many times. Have gotten to know a few dancers who work there regularly and a few who drop by from time to time. They all tell me good things about the club and the management. I'm not trying to excuse any illegal things they may have done. But I can tell you that they take care of their employees in some surprisingly generous ways.
Posted by: M. Anderson | October 09, 2006 at 12:13 AM
I konw Kirk Henry and his family personally. his daughter happens to be my best friend. i konw what they have gone through. if anyone side with the Crazy Horse people. then wow. He has gone through so much. Kirk would not lie about something this serious. trust me on this one.
Posted by: Natalie | February 14, 2007 at 04:25 PM
While I certainly commiserate with Mr. Henry and his family, to put the blame entirely on Mr. Rizzolo and his employees would, in my opinion be irresponsible.
I happened to frequent Crazy Horse Too in those days and every now and again a customer, while enjoying the physical "affection" of a young, beautiful Girl in the VIP room, for hours and hours in, decided NOT compensate the ladies for their time, even after being apprised of the cost involved PRIOR to entering the aforementioned area. While I have personally witnessed the employees of this establishment always deal in calm and professional manner when it came to resolving a financial dispute with a patron, I am NOT naive enough to believe that some situations may have gotten "out of hand"!
We are all aware of how much money the Stripclub business generates for ALL owners/operators across the state involved, (just like the gaming business), the numbers are by all measures, to say the least "staggering", to jeopardize this GOLDMINE by inflicting "intentional" and "unprovoked" harm to any ONE patron would not only be "bad business", but would draw undo publicity to Mr. Rizzulo (something he certainly would "shun" IF he was laundering money as implied in this publication ).
WHY, when you are making sooo much easy money ?
So, I certainly have my suspicions about the allegations.
In regards to the unfortunate and sad physical plight Mr. Henry is forced to endur, WHY, let me ask you, would ANYONE risk possible severe physical repercussions, possible tremendous personal injury to oneself, simply to avoid a "supposed" excessive charge on one's credit card (something easily disputed at a later date) ?
So incredibly unnecessary !
While the fact remains that Mr. Henry is paralyzed from the chest down and some employees of CHII "may" be the cause of this sad, sad outcome, (though certainly never proven), to point the finger at Mr. Rizzolo as the SOLE culprit in this unfortunate incident is extremely...unfair.
Mr. Henry, while certainly by NO means deserved of such terrible injuries, must take some responsibility in his plight. A sad sad, outcome which could have been so easily avoided, on his part.
I have no affiliation with the club nor Mr. Rizzulo and certainly have absolutely NO knowledge of his "other" business practices...nor do I care to know. I wanted to simply present the case from someone's perspective who is familiar with what transpires on any given night at a strip club. (at least on the surface). I see how diligently the Girls work, how eager they are to please the customer and they deserve the compensation (no one forces a man to enter the establishment). Every VIP customer is made fully aware of the cost involved in buying a dancer's time PRIOR to entry to the VIP room - there should be NO misunderstanding ! Yet on this this fateful night - there was !
I am certainly hopeful that Mr. Henry can/will regain his facilities someday soon !
Posted by: Rico Hanes | August 12, 2007 at 05:19 PM
this is to all the bleeding hearts who in one way or other are making the employees of the crazy horse into ruthless and heartless thugs and criminals. i was a regular patron at the horse during its last years, not only that but i had friends who worked there including my girlfriend,so trust me when i say i know what used to go on in there. you can call dancers bimbos or hookers or whatever else you want but they do work as hard or harder than most people in vegas,the crap the have to endure because some fat guys wife wont give him sex or wont let him talk to her in a degrading manner is overwhelming, no one at the horse got their ass beat unless they pushed their luck past the limit, i personally witnessed girls getting ripped off by customers out of thousands of dollars and walked away without a scratch, i've seen girls being assaulted by customers both physically and mentally and nothing happened to them. why don't you ask what mr.henry did that made the bouncer try to contain him in such a way that made him suffer the damages that was caused to him. it is every bouncers job to protect not only the employees of a club but also the other patrons, some people go out to bars for a few cocktails and fun but some go looking for trouble especially after a few drinks thats why all clubs have bouncers get it? as mr.hanes mentioned all customers know ahead of time what the charges are, weather it's for a table dance or the vip room, but of course after a few drinks and seeing a beautiful girl they tend to ignore that fact until it's time to pay. and by the way i was also a customer of the late mr.barriers too, but after i found out how he was ripping me off that stopped real quick and i'm not the only person who had that experience with him, but i guess that's ok because he didn't have bimbo hookers dancing at his establishment. by the way can anyone tell me during the course that the horse was open how many people walked in and out of there? and can you tell me how many such incidents had occurred? in my life time i have visited many strip clubs and have witnessed many people getting their butts kicked by the bouncers and trust me they all asked for it, either by insulting the employees or other patrons. i feel sorry for mr.henry and don't wish that on anyone, but i would like to know more about his background and where he'd been and what he'd done in the past. was this the first time something of this nature had happened to him or where there other incidents of such in the past? there are so many other illegal activities and dangerous people in las vegas that going to strip clubs is like going to a park! but mr.miller and mr.barrier made it their crusade to bring down the infamous rick rizzolo and his posse, bravo now maybe you can start on the rhino and scores and all the other clubs who conduct their business the exact same way as the horse used to or better yet move to san francisco and leave vegas for real men who like to enjoy a drink and a lap dance.
Posted by: bobby g. | April 08, 2008 at 11:49 PM
For Bobby G (April 8, 2008)...if you want more info on this story, columnist John L. Smith of the Las Vegas Review-Journal covered virtually every aspect of the case since it happened in Sept. 2001. His articles revived the history of a few other unlucky patrons from the past, but mostly concentrated on how the Feds used the "Henry" case as a way to converge on the club and the owner and targeted him for organized crime activity and tax evasion. It was apparent Smith was not a fan of Rizzollo, probably rightfully so, since Smith refered to many "follow-the-money" bits on Las Vegas political corruption that involved Rizzollo. But for the most part, the facts seemed solid, and Rizzollo has served at least some time and restitution. As for the Henry case, no criminal charges were brought forward by the DA. Henry's lawyers knew there was no money in convictions of bouncers so they rode the coat tails of the Feds and went after the Club's/Insurance money instead of doing the right thing. Rizzollo couldn't very well fight off a civil action during this ordeal and, although through several years of postering, settled with the Henry's for $10MM which he will probably never pay all of it. You won't find any information on Kirk Henry himself. I know him and I don't beleive he was ever involved in anything like this before. He's just simply a lush. The press and law depicted Henry as a "victim", as he very well may have been. Unfortunately, no one knows- there were no witnesses and Henry was so drunk that it took him several days to "remember" his story.
And Natalie (February 2007).... Grown-ups DO lie- maybe not to little girls- but Kirk was faced with either assuming the responsibility of his own actions of stumbling out of a strip club at 6AM; or, collecting 10MM dollars......the possiblity that the truth may not have been disclosed is very real.
Posted by: mike | April 19, 2008 at 02:05 PM