AMEX, don't leave the strip club without it

[TonyM]

FORT WALTON BEACH - A father wants investigators to pursue fraud and larceny charges against a Panhandle strip club after his son ran up a $53,000 bill in a single night while celebrating his college graduation.

Joe Salter, 52, of Mary Esther, told investigators Club 10 employees took advantage of his 24-year-old son, Tommy. The younger Salter was at the club Aug. 18 to celebrate his graduation from Georgia Tech.

According to a report from the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office, Salter told employees he could only spend $600. But Club 10 owner Tim Beal said Salter bought at least 19 bottles of champagne - priced from $150 to $2,000.

Beal said Salter signed a receipt for each champagne purchase and even scrawled his initials next to itemized charges. But the elder Salter said only the signature on the first receipt matches his son's.

The sheriff's report alleges larceny and credit card fraud.

Beal said Salter appeared to know what he was doing throughout the night. "This fellow was lucid," Beal said. "He was actually dancing with the manager, Chris, right before he left."

Beal said he talked to American Express after Salter filed a complaint with the company, seeking to have part of the charge withdrawn. The company decided in Club 10's favor, he said.

Daddy, the stripper took all of my money, :lol:

[netwrangler]

This sounds like the first chapter of a Carl Hiaasen or Elmore Leonard novel.

If it's Hiaasen, a hero emerges eventually.
If it's Leonard, there's a great story, but maybe no hero.

BTW: I was recently reminded that Eliza Doolittle, in Pygmalion, was given the line "Not bloody likely!" This caused quite a stir in 1914. Hadn't really wanted to revive that issue. [8)]

[TonyM]

Sounds like a Leonard to me, a good story teller could do a stand-up routine talking about that $53k night in detail and enthrall audiences into covering the tab and then some. Something along the lines of that John Leguizamo HBO show a few years back.

Now, I'll have to admit that I had to research the bloody Pygmalion reference, interesting origin of the phrase that was very popular when I lived in the U.K. The play seems to have been somewhat of an inspiration for "Educating Rita"

[netwrangler]

Actually, I hardly think Shaw originated the phrase in the play. My understanding is that "not bloody likely" was common cockney slang at the time. The 'stir' was that a cockney vulgarism was spoken on stage in the London theatre — and by a woman at that.

In the '50's the priest in the movie On The Waterfront caused a similar stir with the line, "Hang loose." My goodness how times have changed.

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Pygmalion was, of course, the basis for the musical [and subsequent film] My Fair Lady.