Strip club CEO is all business

Troy Lowrie is nothing like Tony Soprano

By Chris Walsh, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Friday, April 18, 2008

Photo by Javier Manzano

Lowrie, right, discusses security at La Boheme with Rusty Bullard, manager of the downtown Denver club, as they review video of dancers and customers.

Photo by Javier Manzano

Lowrie, chief executive and family man, plays with Piccalo in his palatial home in Golden as his cat, Nayla, sits by. "I’m not interested in being the next Hugh Hefner. . . . I don’t care if people ever know what I look like."

Photo by Javier Manzano

Lowrie checks the quality of the entertainment at his Penthouse club recently.

Photo by Javier Manzano

Troy Lowrie, chairman and CEO of VCG Holding Corp., doesn't act the part of an adult-entertainment honcho -- at least most of the time.

Photo by Javier Manzano

Dollar bills cover the dance floor at the Penthouse. VCG Holding owns 19 adult nightclubs in nine states, including five in the Denver area and one in Colorado Springs.

Troy Lowrie navigates his silver S550 Mercedes Benz to the front of the Penthouse Club in Glendale, coasting to a stop in the valet lane just a few feet from the door.

"Hi, Mr. Lowrie," an approaching attendant says. "Nice to see youtonight."

Lowrie hands over his keys, steps out of the car and tightens the knot of his lemon-colored tie before walking inside, where two attractive hostesses — eyes widening in recognition — rush to shake his hand.

He moves into the main room without paying the cover charge, as usual, and takes a seat. Seconds later, a waitress wearing a revealing black dress timidly approaches and asks if he'd like a drink.

"I recognize you from the picture in the back," she gushes, as several bare-breasted women strut on stages in the background. "It's great to meet you."

Lowrie, it's clear, has access to a host of perks that come with being the chief executive officer of a publicly traded company that operates the Penthouse Club and 18 other strip joints stretching from Colorado to Maine.

But the 42-year-old, who heads Lakewood-based VCG Holding Corp., doesn't fit the part of the gaudily dressed, hard-partying, womanizing adult-entertainment honcho popularized in the movies. Well, except maybe for the Welcome to the Jungle Guns N' Roses ring tone on his phone and the latest issue of Penthouse magazine in his desk drawer.

Surprisingly, Lowrie is just like any other chief executive officer. And that's what is turning heads on Wall Street.

"The way he carries himself, it's obvious that he's the CEO of a publicly traded company, and that's how he wants to be perceived," said Eric Wold, an analyst with Merriman Curhan Ford & Co., who covers VCG Holding. "If he was just a guy who ran some strip clubs, VCG Holding would be a tough sell. But he's a businessman and executive first."

Under Lowrie's guidance, VCG has seen its stock rise fourfold in the past two years on a surge in revenue and profits tied to an aggressive acquisition spree.

It's all part of Lowrie's grand plan to turn what was once his father's business into an empire of strip clubs across the country. Along the way, Lowrie is helping to legitimize a risqué industry that typically draws more smirks than dollars from the investment community.

But he still has work to do to gain acceptance from the average investor, let alone from some community members and nonprofit organizations.

And Lowrie faces what is arguably his first real test as CEO of a publicly traded company. A series of missteps has sent VCG's stock plummeting in recent weeks, erasing tens of millions of dollars in market capitalization, putting shareholders on edge and raising concerns about its acquisition strategy going forward.

It's all about the girls

When visiting the Diamond Cabaret, La Boheme or any of VCG's other clubs, Lowrie focuses his attention on two things above all others.

"I look immediately at the quality and quantity of the girls" on stage, he said.

Not surprising, as that's what most patrons home in on as well, among other things. But Lowrie isn't deciding which girl to slip dollar bills to — he's looking at the club as a business, through the eyes of a CEO.

The ultimate success of an individual club, after all, is tied to the women on stage. Dancers work as independent contractors and take home all the tips they earn, which can hit $500 or more for an eight-hour shift.

But they also often must pay the clubs a fee — as much as $100 on a busy weekend night — to use the stages. More important for VCG, the dancers bring in the customers, who then spend an average of $40 to $60 per visit, depending on the club.

Nearly 90 percent of VCG's revenue comes from liquor sales, cover charges, food and ATM fees.

"I like to say that VCG stands for 'Very Cute Girls,'" Lowrie jokes. "We easily have the cutest ones around, which is very important, obviously, to getting customers in the door."

The acronym VCG is actually a holdover from a previous iteration of the business, dating to when it was a shell company owned by an oil-and-gas firm called Vanden Capital Group. Lowrie bought the company, which didn't have any operating businesses at the time, in the late 1990s as a vehicle to take his collection of strip joints and related businesses public.

He decided to keep the VCG name to make it a bit more palatable to investors.

"It sounds much more innocuous," Lowrie said, "than something with the words 'adult nightclub' in it."

Or Very Cute Girls, for that matter.

Strip club consolidator

Lowrie is now on a mission.

He wants to consolidate the top players in the widely fragmented strip- club industry under the VCG umbrella.

He isn't interested in starting clubs from the ground up. That requires navigating through a number of regulatory and licensing hurdles that can bog down the business and eat up resources.

Lowrie would rather pursue popular, profitable clubs that dominate their local markets and need few improvements.

He has some competition. A publicly traded Texas-based company called Rick's Cabaret International is pursuing a similar strategy. It owns a similar number of strip clubs and several other adult businesses.

Lowrie, however, isn't too worried — almost all the estimated 3,500 strip clubs in the U.S. are independently owned. The way he sees it, there are enough opportunities to go around.

Eventually, VCG could move into other areas, linking up with other adult entertainment companies or casinos, or even branding its strip clubs like restaurant chains.

The company's acquisition strategy pushed VCG to record revenue and income last year. Lowrie expects to pick up the pace this year by nearly doubling sales, mainly through the addition of five new clubs, including one VCG is buying in the South for $22 million.

It's a plan that Wall Street backed enthusiastically last year.

The company's stock hit an all-time high of $15 in the fall, and VCG's market capitalization edged within striking distance of adult entertainment giant Playboy Enterprises. VCG also recently moved over from the American Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq, giving it a higher profile and further legitimizing the business.

Lowrie has a lot at stake in the success of the company. He owns about 33 percent of the company's its outstanding shares — currently worth $22 million — making him the largest shareholder by far, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The next largest holder is Clarus Capital Group with 1.4 million.

Part of Lowrie's job, it seems, is defying the negative stereotypes and connotations tied to the business.

Aside from moral concerns, many people still view strip clubs as seedy, back-door establishments that are havens for prostitution, drugs and other illegal activities. Some nonprofit groups have rejected donations from Lowrie and VCG Holding because of the business they're in. Lowrie also has clashed with some city and community officials over the years as he's tried to expand his businesses.

And the industry as a whole lacks many financial controls, which scares away investors.

But being one of just a handful of publicly traded adult entertainment companies helps ease some of those concerns. Public companies must meet higher standards than private businesses when it comes to financial accounting, and they have instant credibility.

Like any other business

Although some strip clubs certainly have earned a seedy reputation, VCG's establishments have a decidedly mainstream, professional feel, at least as mainstream as one can get in this business. Most of them have flat-screen TVs showing sports or music videos. Some resemble hip dance clubs. Others look more like regular bars. Several have cigar humidors and wine lockers.

Lowrie also has gone out of his way to operate the clubs like any other business, instituting strict policies and working with area police to help root out problems that plague other strip clubs.

That's not to say VCG's clubs are completely squeaky clean.

Occasionally, clients and dancers get out of control. One night, a guy even "tried to bite an entertainer's butt," Lowrie said. The company gets rid of those troublesome elements as soon as it knows about them, Lowrie said, and even pays for random drug checks.

There also was a controversial investigation in 2005 by Minneapolis police — spurred by Lowrie's attempts to get a liquor license in the city. Investigators who visited VCG's Denver clubs undercover said they observed a pattern of illegal activity, including sex acts on stage and drug propositions.

Lowrie disputed the findings and questioned the motives of the investigation, particularly when damaging information came out about the credibility of one of the investigators. Lowrie ultimately withdrew VCG's application, waited a year and then filed again.

This time, he was successful.

"We felt like one investigator was out to get us. And a denial of the license could prevent us from getting one in other states," Lowrie said. "So, we reapplied later under a new investigator, and we got the license."

VCG's local clubs, though, have been relatively free from controversy in recent years and are in good standing with the Denver office that issues adult-entertainment licenses.

"Troy and the management at the Penthouse Club are the kind of people that want the police to stop there on Friday and Saturday nights," said Larry Harte, the mayor of Glendale, where VCG's Penthouse Club is located. "We don't have many problems there. This is an upstanding business in the community."

No flashy jewelry

Some people also cast a skeptical eye on Lowrie.

Those who haven't met him seem to expect a Tony Soprano-like character you wouldn't want to turn your back on.

"I assumed he'd be wearing gold chains with an open shirt and a hairy chest," said an executive of an investment company that ranks as one of VCG Holding's top five institutional investors.

The person asked not to be identified, citing a company policy that bars workers from talking to the media.

"But when you talk to him and meet his management team, you see that these guys are educated people. This is a business, not a play toy, for him."

Indeed, Lowrie holds a master's degree in finance from the University of Denver and a bachelor's in business from Fort Lewis College in Durango.

He wears suits and ties when meeting with investors and clients, not button-down silk shirts and gold necklaces.

He's been married for 14 years and drives his two children to school several times a week.

He smokes "maybe one cigar" a year and usually orders a Diet Coke — rather than, say, a whiskey on the rocks — when visiting clubs to meet with management, grab lunch or check on operations.

He donates thousands of dollars to charities and hobnobs with politicians and fellow businessmen alike.

Lowrie admits it wasn't always this way. He had fun working his way up in the strip club world, but he "got it out of my system" a long time ago.

"I'm not interested in being the next Hugh Hefner," Lowrie said, referring to the legendary founder of Playboy magazine. "I want to be known as the guy who built the largest gentlemen's club operator in the country. I'm happy doing that behind the scenes. I don't care if people ever know what I look like."

Take a stroll through Lowrie's 17,000-square-foot, Tuscan-inspired mansion in the foothills of Golden and it becomes abundantly clear that family is just as important.

Photos litter the hallways, rooms and offices. His son, Houston, 12, in football gear. His daughter, Gabrielle, 11, posing underwater. The family wearing leis in Hawaii and gathered together with notables such as Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper.

Then there are the two huge portraits, printed to resemble oil paintings, that flank the main hallway. One is of Lowrie's wife, Pamela, holding her infant son; the other shows Lowrie — sans shirt — holding his baby daughter.

"He has two lovely children and a lovely wife, he is a good person with a kind heart, he's very generous, and he's a family man," said Denver developer Jim Sullivan, who ran a short-lived steakhouse at the Diamond Cabaret and has worked with Lowrie on several other projects. "On top of that, I've been really impressed with how he has operated his company. He's a good man and a good businessman."

In his blood

Lowrie is a rarity in the world of strip clubs: He has both a formal business education and a wealth of experience in the industry.

Most of the strip clubs in the U.S. are mom-and-pop establishments run by independent owners who have been involved in the industry for years. While they have the experience, they typically don't have business backgrounds.

"This an industry that is pretty much exclusively locally owned, one that is completely fragmented and segmented, one that isn't run by Wall Street types," said Dan Ahrens, portfolio manager of the Ladenburg Thalmann Gaming and Casino Fund and author of a book about investing in "vice" companies. "It's the equivalent of local bar owners, but this happens to be local adult entertainment."

Lowrie brings more than just an advanced business degree — he also knows how to run strip clubs from the ground up.

The business, after all, runs in his blood.

His father, Harold, was behind some of the first strips clubs in the Denver area. One of them — Shotgun Willie's — still exists, although it's under different ownership.

"My father had his first club when I was 5 years old," Lowrie said. "So, I like to joke that I've been in the business since I was 5."

Lowrie didn't actually get involved with the clubs until high school, and even then it was just mowing lawns and pulling weeds at some of his father's establishments in the summer.

Working his way into the family business, let alone taking it over one day, was the furthest thing from his mind.

"My dad always said, 'We are building an empire, and you're going to have it one day,'" Lowrie said. "I was like, 'Yeah, right. I'm going to be a stock broker.'"

While earning his master's degree at DU, Lowrie counted money at night for his dad's clubs to make a little extra income. That's when it hit him.

"My dad was making so much money that there were no payroll budgets, no budgeting, no normal things like an analysis of cost of goods," Lowrie said. "I figured I could come out with my education at DU and apply some normal business practices to a business that never had it."

After college, Lowrie worked as a doorman at Shotgun Willie's for six months and then as a bartender there for another six months. He soon moved into a management position, and years later began working side by side with his father, overseeing several strip clubs and a company that managed others.

In 1994, Harold Lowrie died at 58 of lung disease, leaving seven strip clubs worth an estimated $17 million in the hands of his 27-year-old son.

Lessons learned

Lowrie owes a lot of his success to his father, but it wasn't always easy being the son of a strip club owner.

Although Harold Lowrie tried to shelter his son and daughter from the business, it still snaked its way into their lives.

Harold Lowrie made plenty of headlines, often for the wrong reasons.

In 1980, he was severely beaten by an unidentified man and had to be airlifted to a hospital.

In 1981, he was the target of a large- scale undercover investigation into prostitution and tax fraud at four of his clubs.

A decade later, he was at the center of a similar investigation, and police raided his corporate offices.

"I learned a lot of things from my dad about how to run a business," Lowrie said. "But I also learned a lot about what not to do."

He almost never got the chance, though.

As a 15-year-old, Lowrie witnessed a particularly harrowing episode of domestic violence when his mother nearly killed his father in a shooting spurred by a marriage spiraling toward divorce.

It devastated the family, and Troy Lowrie didn't speak to his mother — who pleaded guilty and was given probation — for nearly 20 years before reconnecting with her recently.

"She accidentally put .38 shells in a .44 Magnum, so it was a softer bullet," Lowrie said. "If she had used the right shells it would have killed him."

Plunging stock

Lowrie is now faced with some serious challenges of his own, although they're completely different than the ones his father faced.

After a big run-up last year, VCG's stock price began to slide in January, when a $13 million deal to buy three clubs in the South fell through. VCG backed out of the deal because the company eventually thought it could get a better return with other clubs, but investors didn't respond well.

The company's shares really fell off the edge several weeks ago when the company missed the deadline for filing its 2007 financial results with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Lowrie tried to reassure investors, saying VCG was simply working to clear up accounting issues and would file the documents within a few days. But then he announced that the company's chief financial officer had left, sending the stock down 25 percent and erasing tens of millions in market capitalization.

To put it all in perspective, at one point in February, VCG was just $60 million shy of Playboy Enterprises' market cap. Now, the gap is closer to $200 million.

The company's stock continues to slide amid uncertainty over VCG's situation, even though the company this week filed its earnings report. And one of its only analysts, Wold of Merriman Curhan Ford, downgraded the company's stock Tuesday.

"The recent issues surrounding the delay of (its financial) results, the departure of the CFO, the expected reduction in guidance and significant decline in the stock price may not only continue to be a red flag to us and investors, but also slow acquisition opportunities," Wold wrote in a research note to clients.

Lowrie says the stock likely was overvalued at one point, which could account for some of its recent fall.

But he blames most of the company's recent problems on its rapid growth and its former CFO.

"We went from eight locations to 19 locations in the last 20 months, so we probably outgrew our infrastructure temporarily," Lowrie said.

At the same time, "The CFO's primary job is filing timely financial reports, and he had missed the third quarter and then the fourth quarter. We are still learning how to be public."

Some observers, though, say recovering from the mishaps could be a tough task, at least in the short term.

"The missed deadline, the CFO leaving with no announcement on why he left, these are usually pretty good indicators that something's up," said Stephen Martin, a professor in the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver. "Everything could be fine, but there are some big-time warning signs. That's why Wall Street hit the stock so hard."

Martin said a main reason many investors avoid the adult entertainment industry is because of the lack of financial controls associated with it. Although businesses in many industries have encountered similar setbacks in recent years, it could be more difficult for a business like VCG to recover.

Lowrie admits the challenge now is to soothe nervous investors, rebuild credibility and steer the company back on track. But he's as optimistic as ever about VCG's future.

"Thirty days ago, our market cap was approaching Playboy; now we're well below it," Lowrie said. "We've faced challenges, and I have no doubt we'll come back up again."

• April 18, 2008

  7:07 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  jconder45 writes:

  I have to wonder at the motivation behind this puff-piece.

• April 18, 2008

  9:24 p.m.

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  bushmaster writes:

  who cares...nice pic. look where his hands are...lol

• April 19, 2008

  3:56 a.m.

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  happymike44 writes:

  Wow how do I get a job at that place.He looks like he has died and gone to heaven.Well looks like business is good.He looks like a real hands type of guy.

• April 19, 2008

  5:49 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  fatdog writes:

  Dancers "...often must pay the clubs a fee — as much as $100 on a busy weekend night — to use the stages." Amazing. Makes this guy about as close to being a pimp as one might care to get. At least this one pays his taxes. fatdog

• April 19, 2008

  7:18 a.m.

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  nah writes:

  I've always wondered how many free lap dances RM News staff got from the free publicity they gave the Diamond Caberet across the street from their office. Now you're mainstream-ing another venue that traffics women. I challange you to do a follow-up article where you take your daughters and nieces to the clubs and share your conversations with them to your readers, on how this is a viable, respected and fullfilling career choice for them!

• April 19, 2008

  7:49 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  Froward69 writes:

  Turtle necks and abstention programs for all! The ladies would not be there if they did not want to. Insofar as "Human Trafficking" that industry would dry up if their werent so many repressive, religously inspired blue laws on the books.
  Frankly my niece is a "Dancer" paying her way through college. The only thing I fear for her is some repressed social misfit following her home. Essentially she goes to and pays for college with a part time Job. you cannot do that Waiting tables, or tending bar.

  Good for Mr. Lowrie For staying in business with so many bible thumper's out to ruin him.

• April 19, 2008

  10:17 a.m.

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  Les6155 writes:

  Nah is correct. Lowrie is a pimp trafficking in women.

  Here's an idea that counters the typical, misogyny-justifying cliche "it puts her through college."

  Let's start a college scholarship fund for rent-a-rape industry survivors that gets its money from the restitution prosecuted johns and pimps will be forced to pay. Also, make the clubs exploiting women pay a special tax that goes straight into the fund. Or to a battered women's shelter, or to a rape crisis hotline, or to a non-profit that helps women escape the industry.

  The rape and battery of women begins in the degradation that is prositution, strip clubs, and porn. Dehumanize women by reducing them to body parts to be screwed and what you will get is violated, beaten, and murdered women. In a word: Gynocide.

• April 19, 2008

  11:24 a.m.

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  LOUIE writes:

  There was once a girl, a daughter of a king, she danced so beautiful it cost a guy named John the Baptist his head. Troy is not as colorful as Bobby Rifkin, but his business model is equally as successful. The arguement of explotation of women will always haunt the trade. I personally know many of these girls; many of them are extremely intelligent as well as beautiful. Believe me, you don't disrespect any of these girls in Troy's clubs. You want to get banged up, hurt one of the girls. It's not about prostition, it's not about rape, it's not about porn, it's about presenting the beautiful sensuality of a woman in the classiest enviroment achieveable. It's an art, not just any woman can dance, it take a lot of talent. Today, unlike King Herod's daughter's historical and unequalled dance of beauty, we give them cash instead of the prominent heads of various christians. Give these girls a lot of credit, they work hard for every dollar they make. This form of art is as beautiful as any oil on canvas; there will always be some who see it as explotation. I guess to these critics, Ruebens was a exploiter of beautifully large women...and this leads me to my only complaint against Troy Lowrie, where are the big, beautiful, voluptious girls? I know I am not the only one who loves the beautiful alure of a voluptious woman.

• April 19, 2008

  11:48 a.m.

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  Froward69 writes:

  Les6155, Has never been to, nor understands a state like Nevada. nope NO genocide there. Regulated prostitution. a place where each sex respects and honors each other. neither partner Places unattainable demands upon the other. as BOTH sexes can alleviate or deviate from the relationship at any time LEGALLY.

  If one can loose a relationship in such a way so easily, one tends to respect, honor and cherish the one they are in.

• April 19, 2008

  11:58 a.m.

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  ATLBorn79 writes:

  The strip clubs in this city are terrible anyway (and the girls aren't that hot, either); go to ATL, Houston, Dallas, or Vegas if you want to see REAL world-class clubs with gorgeous women...

• April 19, 2008

  1:55 p.m.

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  more_cowbell writes:

  It doesn't take a business genius to run a strip club--guys will always go there for obvious reasons and gals are always interested in making big fast money. Troy is simply profiting from an ideal "supply and demand" business which would perpetuate itself even without him.

• April 19, 2008

  2:57 p.m.

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  me2 writes:

  There are lots of ways to make money off the men who need vicarious sex without having actual sex: strippers, photographs, phone sex, dominatrix and don`t forget cheer leaders and gymnastics for the more cultured men.

• April 19, 2008

  4:10 p.m.

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  nah writes:

  If you read my post not a f-ing bible verse or turtle neck mentioned. Just a question about how many free lap dances for all the free publicity and a challenge to take female children they love for career day. The old saw "she's paying for college" has been trotted out before. It's not about morality, it's about the stats. More are harmed than benefited when you put a pencil to it.

  And I would think all the intellectual, free-thinkers would be a tiny bit curious about the free publicity angle... opps... that's me. But then again, I had a little help via talking w/ some dancers who worked a DC. Was just trying to plant a little seed w/the readers of this article, that some evidently didn't pick-up on, to busy reacting to morals when none were mentioned?

• April 19, 2008

  7:25 p.m.

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  Vector049 writes:

  Ahhh, and what ring in Dante's abyss will this freebooter occupy?

• April 19, 2008

  10:21 p.m.

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  stripstockfan writes:

  The stock is an absolute steal here. If you haven't been following it, the shorters have pounded it into the ground so they can make a ton of cash during this period of non-liquidity for small caps. The company just posted it's best year ever at 38 cents a share. They generate $500,000 a month in cash flow and are about to close
  on a mega deal that could add dramatically to cash flow and earnings.
  Investors at this price are getting a deal.

• April 20, 2008

  11:26 a.m.

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  KaySieverding writes:

  what happened to the concept of morally responsible investing? Strip clubs, in my opinion, hurt both men and women and in my opinion, promote prostitution. Look at Judge Nottingham--first he visited strip clubs on multiple occasions according to AP, then he graduated to prostitution. Just because this guy wears expensive suits and seems knowledgeable about finance doesn't make him a person who should be admired and sent money to invest. 20/20 did a recent 2 hours special on prostitution and the consensus was that it hurts women. Isn't it accepted knowledge that prostitution hurts neighborhoods? I had a friend in Boulder who rented an office in an industrial park where she sold circuit board layout design. She had to vacate the office because of harassment from customers of a lap dancing business that opened in the space next door. That lap dancing business relied on the customers drawn to a nearby strip club that people claimed was victimless. My friend would be working on the circuit board design and strangers would be tapping on her window asking if she wanted to sell sex.

• April 20, 2008

  3:09 p.m.

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  LOUIE writes:

  Many moons ago, no pun intended, a sharp little jewish kid named Mani and I worked together for an orthodox jewish businessman/ inventor/ stock broker. Time went by we went our seperate ways, but the "Iceman" and I remained steadfast pals. Some years later, down on my chips, Mani hooked me up with his mentor, and a man he eulogized upon his death, Bobby Rifkin. Rifkin and others built and owned the Diamond. Mani got me a job on the door. That club was state of the art for it's time. The management allowed no drugs, no prostitution, or any illegal activity, period. It was packed every night. The glass enclosed shower was a riot. It had such a high criteria established for the type of girls hired, that most dancers in the trade couldn't meet this criteria. The girls fortunate enough to work there made big money. After shifts part of my job was to see the girls safely out. If you approached one of these girls outside the club, we intervened. If a dealer sold drugs anywhere near the place, the cops would be there. If sold to an employee they were fired on the spot. It was the classiest nightclub in Denver. No hookers outside, no hookers inside. They actually improved the neighborhood because of the secure nature and the upperclass clientele that the Diamond attracted. Those girls were clean, bright, intelligent girls, whose daily money capabilities far exceeded most people. Yes, some clubs are pits, and often times are allowed only in areas that already have major criminal problems. Even in those bad neighborhoods, if you're a lady being accosted by some lowlife on the street, I don't care if you're 18 or 80, run into a stripclub. They have security like you wouldn't believe, and you will be assisted. Forget the gas station, grocery store, the rent-a-cop, etc., run to the stripclub, it's the safest business in the entire neighborhood. So this statement that somehow the stripclub is resposible for the sex trade in the neighborhood, it's not. It was already there and thats the only place where the town father's and the people will allow them to exist. Owners like Lowrie don't allow any criminal activity to destroy thier bottom line. When owner like Lowrie take over a club, major changes are in store to upgrade the establishment. It is the safest business you will find in these "bad neighborhoods" where they are allowed. Someday, I'll tell you about jewish kid making me drive a Z-28 at a bill ten (110 MPH)across Denver in rush hour, to meet with his rabbi for a divorce. Sidewalks are exit ramps! Those rabbi's are a tough lot! Lastly, Denver doesn't have a "bad neighborhood", ever been to southside Chicago, Detroit, or Miami, I'll show you lightweights a "bad neighborhood".

• April 20, 2008

  4:08 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  willsmith8379 writes:

  This post is for all of those out here who wish to "advance" their theory of what these establishments promote.
  I will listen to your argument when you produce some sort of Research and statistics on the connection between adult entertainment and domestic violence, assaults, divorce etc. Show me some evidence of a connection.
  I could say that NFL football is also responsible for Domestic violence, or divorce, but you would laugh at me without evidence.

  So put up, or shut up!

• April 20, 2008

  4:12 p.m.

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  KaySieverding writes:

  If stripping for a living is so great, don't you think 2020 would have found some examples?

  These "bad neighborhoods" are what minus the stripping and prostitution? Run down homes, potential fix up, potential businesses, potential 'victory gardens'?

  One of my friends lived in NYC and he said when the legalized gambling establishments opened it adversely affected his neighborhood. The same thing is true for sex trade establishments.

  Judge Nottingham said he was so drunk at the Golden Cabaret he couldn't remember what happened. He's probably not the only really really drunk customer that they have. These places are open long hours too. So when the kids come home from school in the neighborhood the drunks will be leaving the strip club, when the nurse comes home on the bus, the drunks leaving the strip club will be there, etc.

  What about the customers ? If the strip club and porno cites and brothels weren't there, maybe Eliot Spitzer and Judge Nottingham would be spending more time in productive activities--taking care of their families, studying, or fishing.

  These places will reach out to your daughters' and neices' boyfriends and husbands, get them to spend their $$ on strippers and prostitutes instead of business and home, friends and family.

  Bad for everyone except the "businessman". Why doesn't Troy Lowrie find a better more useful business to invest in if he's such a skilled person?

• April 20, 2008

  4:13 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  KaySieverding writes:

  p.s.

  I'm rusty on securities law, but I don't think that stock push comment is legal.

• April 20, 2008

  7:42 p.m.

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  LOUIE writes:

  Curently, I know a girl who works in one of Troy's clubs, her husband Tom is a good friend. They have been married many years and have children. She makes great money, much more than her husband a professional white collar businessman. They attend a large church here in the metro area, and they contribute, now get this 10% of thier earnings to this church. This family more than likely, as I never asked Tom, probably don't mention this to thier fellow parishners that his wife is employed in the trade. I too have done a lot of things in my many years, I too go to mass once every week. A lot of good people come from different backgrounds, and unless they tell you, you'd never know. If this were a conversation on an adult theatre, I would agree with you, two different animals. Some of us don't care if you know our background, we've come to far by the grace of God to be ashamed. Others fear your retribution so they let you believe what ever you desire. I will tell you this, when I had nothing, the girls always had the compassion to help me, whether money or just a simple conversation. The good people didn't have time or want to be associated with "trash". The girls you call "whores" had a hell of a lot more compassion. You never know who steps you'll find yourself on when you're down. The church and these girls have more in common than you know. King David slaughtered an entire city, and instructed his soldiers to spare a whore, that helped his army gain the advantage. If you're ever hungry, find a church that feeds the poor, or ask a stripper, they'll both feed you. The good people, never can tell can you? Funny when I look at the educated in our society, they are so brilliant they have reasoned there is no God. I haven't met many a prostitute or stripper, when I asked who didn't believe in God. She may not live the same life as the pillars of the church or the community may desire or want, but she has more heart and soul to be true to herself. Go spend a year on the streets, and you will see who is and is not compassionate to help you. The church and the girls of night are a sure bet. Judge Nottingham is rightfully in trouble, he is a judge who must decide many issues as they pertain to the business. He should be above reproach and remain unbias. Thus he should have known better. The rest of us are not serving in the capacity of a Federal Judge. When he took the job there was a set of rules governing his conduct which he agreed to. Judge Nottingham violated his agreement with the judiciary, and the people is was sworn to serve. He made the choice to be a Federal Judge, he agreed to follow the code of ethics and honor the code of those who serve in that capacity. Prostitution is still illegal, the judge should have known better, but even he's human.

• April 20, 2008

  7:51 p.m.

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  LOUIE writes:

  I shouldn't have used the word whore, she plys her wares for free. I apologize. Prostitutes is the correct word. My sincerest apology.

• April 20, 2008

  10:14 p.m.

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  cableboy764 writes:

  I've known Troy for close to 20 years, even worked for him for a bit behind the bar and at the door. I knew his father as well. Troy has taken a local niche and built it into a very profitable national company. I think you've done a darn fine job Troy with what you started with. Lots of good memories from the club. Hey, tell Dave out in Cali that Mark said hello and is wondering how he is. Give Pam my love as well.

• April 21, 2008

  11:46 a.m.

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  KaySieverding writes:

  Sorry to be skeptical but I question your assertion that there is a " girl who works in one of Troy's clubs, her husband Tom is a good friend. They have been married many years and have children. She makes great money, much more than her husband a professional white collar businessman. They attend a large church here in the metro area, and they contribute, now get this 10% of thier earnings to this church".

  In the various articles and reports over the years that I read or saw I never remember seeing a description of such a women that was verified. It sounds like the myth of the happy slave.

  When I was 13 I went to babysit. When I got there the 6 year old girl was glued to her step father's playboy. It was embarrassing for me and I don't think it was good for the girl.

  There is supposedly a statistical relationship between envisioning success and being successful. Do you want your daughters, nieces, and neighbors to envision success in a productive profession or as a wife and mother, or do you want them to envision sex with strangers or showing their genitals to strangers?

  Troy's company may or may not be profitable (for potential investors as opposed to Troy and his buds) but that does not mean that any money should be invested for such an irresponsible service as prostitution and lap dances. They hurt society, just like an opium den, in my opinion.

  I am not saying that previous customers should be bothered for attending if they did not have a job like Judge Nottingham that made them vulnerable to blackmail, but why don't the potential customers make a list of other forms of potential entertainment that would be better for themselves and for their communities. For instance, country dancing which is fun for everyone, good exercise, and inexpensive.

• April 21, 2008

  11:58 a.m.

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  RaiderNation82 writes:

  I am going to go open a country dancing bar and market to the bachelor party crowd. I think you are on to something KaySieverding it sounds lucrative. I bet there are tons of people willing to forego the nudy bar to cut some rug to the sounds of someone singing about losing their dog or wife, or their beaten up old pick up truck.

• April 21, 2008

  3:39 p.m.

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  KaySieverding writes:

  Sex is not inexpensive when it is paid for and according to the 20/20 study, paid sex i.e. prostitution is not "fun for everyone".

  Just because sex for sale or pimping is "lucrative" does not mean it is a business to be encouraged. Contract killings are probably "lucrative" also. It is also possible to operate a profitable disposal company taking hazardous waste and dumping it in parks.

• April 21, 2008

  6:46 p.m.

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  LOUIE writes:

  Kay, if you're skeptical, think of the questions I had! No, it's true. She no longer dances, but still tends bar for Troy. I can't put up a full name on the internet, Tom would kill me. Her earning are astronomical, and he admits she brings in more than he does. You know there is another great guy who owns several Romantics adult arcades in different states, named Eddie. That man put up a boatload of cash for underpriveledged children and several church run charities. The I.R.S. gave him some time, and several ministers as well as others came forward and claimed Eddie. They said that they knew where Eddie's fortune came from, and although they didn't approve of his businesses, they took his bad money and turned it into good money. Someday I'll tell you about "Eddie's Kids". There are many of us who come from different worlds, but we give back. I never dreamed as a convict sitting in prison that I would be sitting with the people I do today. If our money's dirty to you, be sure you put it to good use when we donate. As for country dancing, it's not me; Kay, I like to fish. Every weekend, several of us old cons get together and go fishing all night long till the sun comes up. You want skeptical, you should here these fisherman stretch a yarn! I am in my fifties now, pumping iron and fishing are my sports. I grew up in a very violent, criminal world, today I just want to be on good terms when I leave. So, one day a week goes to God, the rest I enjoy. If I can keep a kid from the path I walked as a young man, then I have given something back to society. Not everybody grows up Ivy League.

• April 21, 2008

  6:50 p.m.

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  Vector049 writes:

  "When profit bucks up against morality, profit will always win." Late Barbara Jordan (D-Tex)

  The guy's got a business angle and it works. God bless America!

• May 14, 2008

  12:36 p.m.

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  bigguy writes:

  If Troy is such a great guy to work for, then why is company “Very Cute Girl” being sued in Minneapolis, in class action lawsuit involving: Doormen, Directors, DJs, Entertainers, i.e. Dancers, Waitress and Bartenders for VCG's failure to pay the minimum wage, for unjust enrichment, and for demanding that dancers kickback a portion of their tips for "the right to work" in one of his club. Hopefully, and eventually all of his employees, in both, fact and law, at all of his P.T.s owned clubs (what does PTs stand for Troy? Um, I wonder) will start their own legal actions in Colorado and Illinois, as thier brave sisters and brothers have done in Minnesota. Since, Troy claims to be a law abiding businessman, why then does he trifle at the most basic of employment law, paying the minimum wage, social security taxes, and workers compensation insurance. Troy, what is “maintenance?” This is just another kickback scheme whereby hourly workers are required to tip back to the company the cost of their employment with Very Cute Girl. No wonder why he is such a “success” he is robbing his employees blind.