Lauderhill and the strip club Vegas Cabaret are back in court after a decade-long battle. Lauderhill wants the club to submit to stricter regulations. Vegas Cabaret says that these infringe on their First Amendment rights. No late nights, no drinking and hands off the dancers. These are just a few of the rules Lauderhill has issued to the sole strip club in the city — Vegas Cabaret. The dispute between the city and the club will come to a head Friday, when a Broward judge will hear arguments about the city trying to force Vegas Cabaret to shut its doors.
The local haunt, which opened in , was vigorously protested by the city commission. In , a decade after the original lawsuit, the city commission changed an ordinance that governed how adult entertainment venues are run. The change allowed them another chance to regulate Vegas Cabaret.
The ordinance bans Vegas Cabaret from serving alcohol, staying open past 2 a. Dancers must stay on the main stage at least 6 feet away from patrons. In court documents, the club argues that dances are a form of personal expression akin to free speech. Lauderhill has hired an outside lawyer, Scott D. Bergthold, to plead its case. Oakland Park has a nearly identically worded ordinance. He also pointed out that Vegas Cabaret has had violent incidents within the past few years.
In , a patron drowned in the canal behind the club after he fought with the bartender and was chased out by bouncers. In April of this year, a man stabbed a security guard. Bergthold has submitted studies to the court that connects these kinds of violent incidents with the consumption of alcohol. By Laurel Weibezahn. More in Local News.
