Plan for strip club in Central City meets resistance

A lone pedestrian walks past store windows along Eureka Street in Central City, Colorado, on Tuesday, June 16, 2020. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

CENTRAL CITY, Colorado (KDVR) – In the gambling town of Central City, Colorado, the controversy over a planned steakhouse and cabaret continues.

The mayor of Central City wants to introduce nude entertainment to revitalize the place, but some residents say that’s not the solution. The proposal would change the city’s code and allow the opening of a strip club.

Central City is known as the “richest square mile in the world,” and Eric Langan hopes it will continue to rain dollars. The CEO of RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc. has a vision to bring Rick’s Cabaret to a corner building on Main Street.

FOX31 got a tour of the building, which is still under construction. Langan said he purchased the property in December 2022.

“I don’t think the city is the problem,” he said. “The problem is a few residents.”

Langan describes it as an upscale eatery and steakhouse that would attract sophisticated gamblers from nearby Black Hawk. Langan said that could mean topless dancers in bikini bottoms or latex body paint. As it stands now, the establishment would have no slot machines or gaming tables.

Some city residents are against the opening and expressed their opinion during a city council meeting on Monday.

“The residents of this city don’t want it to be a strip club,” said resident Zane Plsek, wearing a Central City baseball cap.

He expressed concern that city revenues could be wiped out by increased demand for police patrols and enforcement.

Central City Mayor Jeremy Fey said there is an opportunity to turn the conflict into a compromise.

“Let’s sit down at the table and get the right measures in place in Central City as quickly as possible,” Fey said.

Langan hopes to open Rick’s Cabaret in mid-September.