Clicquot Club

This article is about the Atlantic City nightclub. For the soda company, see Clicquot Club Company.

Clicquot Club was a nightclub at 15 North Illinois Avenue^[a] in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in the heart of the city. Billed as the club that "never closed",^[2] it became notorious as an illegal gambling spot in the city.^[3]

Clicquot Club

Clicquot Club Location in Atlantic City
Address	15 North Illinois Avenue Atlantic City, New Jersey United States
Coordinates	39°21′38″N 74°25′56″W
Type	Nightclub

History

Operating during the Prohibition era in the 1920s, the club provided both illegal liquor and illegal gambling.^[3] The bar and cabaret were considered "feeder rooms" to bring people to the profit-making roulette wheels, craps tables, and card games in the backrooms.^[4] A news item in December 1931 reported a raid on the club in which Federal agents removed $20,000 worth of lavish Japanese and Chinese furnishings from the 20-room mansion and "poured several thousand dollars worth of alleged whiskies and champagnes down a drain".^[5]

The bar and cabaret also developed a reputation for lawlessness, as the Clicquot became known as one of the "bust-out joints" for Philadelphia convention-goers eager to "release their inhibitions as they experienced everything and anything available".^[6][7] Until 1951, when the Kefauver Committee mounted an "anti-hostess campaign", the Clicquot used its waitresses to push drinks on guests and even offer to sit and drink with them, in violation of New Jersey's alcoholic beverage control laws.^[8]

The cabaret underwent a series of management changes in the 1940s. In March 1942 Max Cohen assumed management of the cabaret.^[9] In February 1943 Cleo Valenteene, a former burlesque and nightclub dancer, became manager,^[10] followed by performer Nan DeMar in July 1943.^[11] In December 1950 Michael J. Keeley became the owner-operator.^[12][13]

Shows

The Clicquot Club has been called "the leading white nightclub" in Atlantic City.^[14][15] In 1945 popular black bandleader Mandy Ross was booked into an engagement at the club, and a white vocalist refused to perform with the band.^[15] In 1946, Eleanor Sherry and Her Swinghearts performed at the club.^[16] The cabaret often booked revues, including the 1946 Nan DeMar revue^[17] and a 30-performer revue in 1948.^[18] Eddie Kaplan was responsible for booking acts to perform at the club in the late 1940s.^[18][19][20] In 1947 drink prices started at 90 cents at the Clicquot Club, Paddock International, and Club Harlem.^[21]

Notes

1. Illinois Avenue no longer exists. It was renamed Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard in 1988.^[1]