Vegas club co-owner alleges discrimination

LAS VEGAS, Oct. 12 (UPI) -- The managing partner of a Las Vegas nightclub has accused his neighbors of targeting his business due to its predominantly black hip-hop clientele.

Poetry nightclub managing partner Mike Goodwin alleges officials with Caesars Palace casino and the Forum Shops purposefully designed an inconvenient entry route for Poetry attendees due to their race, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Sunday.

"There is a belief in Corporate America that too many black people on your property harms business," Goodwin said. "It seems to be the way they are acting."

The upscale nightclub resides above Wolfgang Puck's Chinois restaurant and can be reached from the casino through the Forum Shops. But Goodwin says Caesars and mall owners Simon Property Group Inc. have banned Poetry attendees from that route.

Goodwin is suing the two Las Vegas business groups in order to allow his clientele to use the club's main door rather than a side entrance.

The Review-Journal said a federal judge is expected to rule on the suit by Goodwin and partners in Puck's eatery sometime this month.