In Atlanta, city councilman Kwanza Hall introduced legislation to extend the city’s last call from 2:30 a.m. to 4 a.m. It would be an abrupt turn for the city that pushed last call up to 2:30 a.m. in 2003 after several violent incidents and complaints from area residents. However, bar owners and late night fiends shouldn’t get too excited just yet: committee chairman Howard Shook held his thumbs down as the proposal was presented and later told the Atlanta Journal Constitution, "This will be dead on arrival." A financial summary looking into potentially lost revenue for the city will be presented by the end of January.
Our condolences go out to the family of Sam Conti, the San Francisco club owner who died of a heart attack on Nov. 9 at the age of 65. For more than 30 years, Conti owned or managed a long list of nightclubs that San Francisco Chronicle reporter John King notes “ranged from pornographic to posh.” While he came under fire in 1977 for his “encounter parlors” and had some misses, he also had some great hits including a Fremont, Calif., nightclub that was able to stay open past 2 a.m. after Conti paid $20 to become ordained by the Universal Life Church so his club could stay open under the guise of a religious organization, and his plush Coconut Grove supper club. "He liked to wear big gold medallions and things, but in my relation with him he was a pussycat," former state Sen. John Burton told King. "He loved the myth. ... He's one of the vanishing breed of North Beach characters."
What has been a challenging year for the Opium Group’s Las Vegas outpost, Prive Nightclub at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, got a bit tougher last week when Prive Las Vegas and The Living Room filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The filing reports assets of less than $50,000 and debts of $1-10 million to as many as 99 creditors. Opium’s principal partner Roman Jones told the Las Vegas Review Journal that the club will remain open during reorganization, and the Associated Press reports the judge ruling in the proceedings approved a motion to keep paying wages and benefits to employees.
A nightclub in Melbourne, Australia, has banned men in “metrosexual” attire from entering the venue. The new dress code bans anything from Ed Hardy or Tapout and other MMA-affiliated clothing lines as well as low-cut V-neck t-shirts, skinny jeans, pointed white shoes and polo shirts with popped collars. Lastly, men with “blond tips or dyed rats’ tails” also will not be allowed inside.
Beyonce Knowles hired London’s Kanaloa Club to host a party for her and her crew after completing the UK-portion of her I Am … Sasha Fierce tour. But the songstress had some bizarre requests. According to a report from the UK’s Daily Star, alongside “huge treasure chest cocktails,” the club placed a large industrial fan “just inches from her face” on the table to keep her hair blowing everywhere throughout the night. This followed an earlier report from the Daily Star that Knowles rented a hotel room just for her luggage. Sometimes you just can’t make this stuff up …