Scores (strip club)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Scores is a strip club in Manhattan, New York City, and is one of several gentlemen's clubs 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.
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[edit] Competition, history, publicity
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 the August 16, 2007 Sirius radio broadcast of The Howard Stern Show, spokesman Lonnie Hanover called in to reveal that he had resigned his publicity and promotions position at Scores after 15 years. Hanover stated that he did not 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 the February 6, 2008 broadcast of the Stern show, Lonnie Hanover reported that he would be moving to Ricks Cabaret in New York.
On August 19, 2007, it was widely reported that the current Prime Minister of Australia, 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 did not have a "completely clear recollection" of the visit, stating he had "drunk a fair bit". The revalation did not have an adverse effect on his standing in the opinion polls but he distanced himself from the event none-the-less.[2]
[edit] 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 requires him to get on the telephone with a credit card representative, he said."[3]
[edit] Popular culture
- On an episode of Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update, anchor Tina Fey, upon reporting that former writer and castmember 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 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.
[edit] Alleged tax evasion
In February 2006 a Manhattan grand jury returned tax evasion indictments against two Scores executives 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.
