Is Club Platinum still open today?
Status: >> OPEN <<
(keep reading to learn what happened)
Season: 6 | View All Season 6 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: April 22, 2018
The Bar's Original Name Was: Club Platinum
Club Platinum Address: 311 E Flamingo Rd Las Vegas, NV 89109
Episode Recap
Club Platinum was a Las Vegas, Nevada bar that was featured on Season 6 of Bar Rescue.
Though the Club Platinum Bar Rescue episode aired in April 2018, the actual filming and visit from Jon Taffer took place well before that at the beginning of 2017.
It was Season 6 Episode 7 and the episode name was “Pole Without a Purpose”.
In this fun-filled (wink) episode, Jon Taffer and his crew head to Club Platinum.
Club Platinum is a “gentleman’s club” in Las Vegas, NV (c’mon, you know what I mean when I say gentleman, and there ain’t no gentleman there0.
It’s located on Flamingo Rd, just about about a mile away from the main Las Vegas strip and famous hotels such as Caesars Palace and the Flamingo.
Rita Capovilla is the Club Platinum owner who you meet on the episode.
In 1972, Rita’s husband Mike opened the bar as a jazz club.
Rita then took it over from him.
After the jazz fad ended, the couple had to change it into a gentleman’s club.
Again, if you watched the episode, you know what that is a euphemism for haha.
They never confided in their friends about the theme of their bar.
After Mike died in 1994, Rita had to raise their three children while running the bar.
In addition to her biological children, Rita also acts like a mother to the dancers there, which obviously complicates the business part of things.
The business at Club Platinum was initially successful.
However, it’s now losing money (which you can probably guess by the fact that it’s showing up on Bar Rescue).
It’s one of only two businesses in Las Vegas to be licensed for both toplessand gaming.
Given that, it has all the ingredients to be successful.
However, the bar has a lot of problems, which leads to one of my favorite Jon Taffer quotes – “This is not a topless bar, it’s a hopeless bar”.
Once a former manager had been caught stealing from Club Platinum.
Lynn is Rita’s friend who is supposed to supervise the bar, but she doesn’t take it seriously because she still performs on stage.
Even though Rita’s daughter has experience in the hospitality industry, she refuses to hire her.
Things are so bad that the bar is currently losing $2,200 per month.
The Club Platinum Las Vegas location is on Flamingo Rd, so the rent definitely isn’t cheap.
When you add on all of the other issues, it’s easy to see whythe Club Platinum Bar Rescue episode exists.
Expert mixologist Lisamarie Joyce joins Jon Taffer to help rescue the bar.
The bar is falling apart, outdated, and the employees are not happy, so they have their work cut out for them.
Jon and Lisamarie see Rita dancing while working the bar in the hidden camera footage, and Lynn is topless dancing.
David and Michelle are the bartenders, and Church is the DJ.
The dancers have to hold onto their purses as they work.
Renae Lemmens is sent in as a spy.
Renae is an adult entertainment expert with a lot of experience in the Las Vegas area.
To create a realistic experience, Jon Taffer also sends in a lot of guys as part of the recon.
Immediately Renee notices the walls are covered in body fluid…gross.
The men order shots while Lynn hits on them.
The bar itself is filthy and unorganized.
The girls aren’t dancing but instead are playing on their phones.
Rita and Michelle begin fighting, and Jon Taffer comes in to stop it.
Michelle walks out and quits.
Jon asks Rita why she is fighting with Michelle when the other dancers also aren’t working.
He is then informed that the dancers are independent contractors who Rita has no control over.
They’re just a bunch of entrepreneurs hanging out in the club haha.
Renee tells Rita the dancers must work even to have a contract.
Alissa, Rita’s daughter, meets with Jon Taffer the next day.
She admits to Jon Taffer that her mother doesn’t want her in the adult entertainment business.
The staff tells Lynn they do not take her seriously as a manager because she dresses like a stripper.
Now, let’s skip to the training and improvement…
Gillian Schmitz, a dance expert, gives the dancers tips and hints.
You can see some of this happening in the video below:
While the dancers are leveling up their skills, Lisamarie trains the bartenders in the basics of making a female-centric drink.
Alissa is going to manage the stress test.
At the bar, customers are left waiting for more than ten minutes.
Lynn is serving but is making a lot of mistakes and annoying customers.
No one tips the dancers, which leaves them unmotivated.
Also, the lighting isn’t good for entertainment.
You don’t want a gentleman’s club to be too bright, but you do want to be able to see.
The next day the staff is trained even more by Lisamarie.
She shows them how to make a seductress co*cktail made with vodka.
Gillian offers the dancers a choreographed dance piece.
Rita also gives her okay for Alissa to enter the family business.
On top of that, Jon Taffer and his crew also renovated the place.
However, because of its long history, Jon Taffer decided to keep the original Club Platinum name rather than changing the name like he does on a lot of rescues.
The bar’s interior is now warmer and brighter.
There are three new POS machines and a new entertainment system.
The customers enjoy the new drinks and the dances.
At the relaunch, the bartenders do great.
Alissa manages the bar well during the relaunch.
Things seem to be looking up for Club Platinum…
So was the Bar Rescue Club Platinum episode a long-term success?
Keep reading to learn what happened next and if this Las Vegas club is still open in 2024.
Club Platinum Update - What Happened Next?
Now that we’ve recapped the Club Platinum Bar Rescue visit, let’s talk about what happened to the bar after Jon Taffer and his crew left Las Vegas, NV.
Things started off well for the bar after Taffer’s visit.
At the normal six-week check-in with the Bar Rescue producers, we learn that sales at the bar are up a whopping 30%, which is definitely going to help stop the bar from losing $22,000 per month like it was.
Rita did fire some of the bad dancers, but she’s hired new ones to replace them.
Alissa is also still managing the bar and seems to be doing a good job.
Because of that, Rita is able to relax more and not have to work as much.
Is Club Platinum from Bar Rescue still open?
As of 2024, Club Platinum is open and still entertaining customers in Las Vegas, NV, which means that it’s already survived for around five years after the visit from Jon Taffer.
The club is not very active on social media, but I confirmed that it is still open.
Here’s what the Club Platinum Las Vegas location looks like in the most recent picture from Google Maps street view (May 2022):
However, Club Platinum was listed for sale in late 2022, so it’s possible that it might close if the new buyer wants to use a different brand.
As of February 2024, it seems like it might no longer be for sale, though.
First off, you can see one for sale post on Loopnet here.
I also found a more detailed for sale post on RealNex, which includes an asking price.
How much will it cost you to buy Club Platinum?
Somewhere around $5million – so it aint’ gonna be cheap.
It seems like a lot of the value is in the licenses, as Club Platinum has the trifecta of adult, gaming, and liquor licenses in one package.
Here’s the full property description from the Club Platinum for sale post on RealNex:
EXTREMELY RARE!
Iconic adult cabaret, in the heart of the Las Vegas Gaming Overlay District.
Irreplaceable Real Estate – 3 blocks from Las Vegas Strip, less than 1 mile from International Airport and surrounded by multiple convention centers.
Formula One racing headquarters being developed less than a mile away.
PROPERTY FACTS
Irreplaceable History – tremendous community brand recognition with historical performance.
Rare and Irreplaceable Licenses – entitled with a trifecta of adult, liquor & gaming licenses.
Here’s a picture of the for sale post – I’m blurring the pictures to avoid copyright issues.
If anything changes or if the Club Platinum sale goes through, I’ll update this post.
As of March 2023, the Club Platinum for sale post was marked as “In Escrow”, so it seemed like there might be a new Club Platinum owner soon.
However, when I’m checking again in June 2023, the listing is marked as “Active” again.
Based on that, it seems like the deal might have fallen through and the Las Vegas Club Platinum location remains up for sale.
When I checked again in February 2024, the listing page is no longer active and I don’t see any other sites advertising it.
Given that, I’m wondering if maybe Rita stopped trying to sell the club.
Next, let’s take a look at some Club Platinum reviews…
Club Platinum Las Vegas reviews after Jon Taffer
While it’s a bit harder to find reviews for a gentleman’s club than your average bar, the recent reviews that I can find seem to generally be pretty positive.
Club Platinum has a 5 star rating on its 17 Facebook reviews and a 3.5 star rating on its 45 Yelp reviews.
Obviously, the Yelp is a little more mixed.
Here are some of the good and bad reviews that were written after the Club Platinum Bar Rescue visit.
Five star Yelp review from 2022:
Stop scrolling and get here now.
Chill vibe, friendly staff, great drinks…
I can’t say enough.
Simone was absolutely amazing and took care of us, go see her!
Got a dance from her my first one ever and she was so amazing and took great care will come back to chill hang and have a good time
Four star Yelp review from 2019:
Ok, for what this club is – it should get a better overall rating.
This is not a “big fancy giant [gentleman’s] club” like you see in the movies.
This is a divey casual bar, a very small stage, and only a few women in the place.
Drinks were fair – not cheap, not outrageous. (EXCEPT THE $4 BOTTLE OF WATER! COME ON!)
The cover charge is exactly the right amount (You can’t beat this!)
The ladies were friendly and very casual.
I met a woman named Jennifer and we had some chit-chat at the bar.
Obviously she is there to work – and so I always try to be conscious of time and make sure that I’m not distracting from other customers.
I got a few dances from her, we continued to talk.
I’d date her if I was local (and if she’d have me lol!).
One star Yelp review from 2022:
This is the worst club in vegas.
Hands down.
45 year old waitresses who also dance.
Owner is losing money daily.
This is bad No. Awful
Two star Yelp review from 2021:
Sketch….
Recently in town for the Stones show with the boys…
One of the guys got an itch to get to a club ( a little more than the rest of us)…
Setting: .Sunday night…The bar was set low…We ventured in. ( No cover/ 2 drink min.)
Pretty empty ( again, Sun. Night)….
Let’s just say, after the dancer with the knee brace came on stage,, I faked an urgent phone call and did the Exit; stage- right thing…and none too soon.
Final thoughts on Club Platinum
Overall, Club Platinum seems to be doing fine but not amazingly.
However, Club Platinum is listed for sale as of late 2022, so it’s possible that it could be purchased and rebranded into something else.
But as of February 2024, it seems like the club is no longer listed for sale.
For now, it’s still open and doing business as you saw it on the Bar Rescue episode.
If you find yourself in Las Vegas and you want to check it out, please let me know how it went in the comments.
If you want to see another “gentleman’s club” Bar Rescue episode, check out our Chix on Dix / Power Strip update.
And if you want to see some other nearby Bar Rescue Las Vegas episodes, you can check out my updates for Paradise Cantina on Paradise Rd, Gipsy / SBLV Ultra Lounge on Paradise Rd, and Sand Dollar / Bar 702 on Mountain Rd.
Or, you can browse my full roundup of all the Las Vegas Bar Rescue episodes. It covers all 25+ Nevada visits, along with the status of each bar.
Finally, if you want to share your thoughts on the episode, you can do so using the comments section below.
Thanks for reading!
More Information
https://www.yelp.com/biz/club-platinum-las-vegas
https://www.facebook.com/clubplatinumlasvegasnv/
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Last updated: 2024-02-04 05:48
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