DON TROXEL DEALS well with rejection. Troxel, owner of Dayton-based Celebrity Show and Dance Club—Ohio's largest bar, which happens to also be a drag cabaret—has been trying to bring a similar venue to Las Vegas for months. For reasons he believes are based on the fact that he's gay and his business would attract gay and cross-dressing customers, Troxel was rejected by the Fremont Street Experience and Neonopolis, which turned him down after he'd invested $200,000 in the location. Still, the businessman stayed focused on Downtown, and his perseverance paid off. Wednesday night, he signed the papers to bring the Celebrity Las Vegas Cabaret to what used to be the Trolley Stop Casino. The 10,000-square-foot location will host nightly drag-centered variety shows, plus a full-service bar, restaurant and dance club. Troxel hopes to open the cabaret in November. Here's what he had to say about his bar and about Las Vegas, a city that, sadly, has proved itself less progressive than Dayton, Ohio.
I hear that you're coming to town?
Yeah, I'm hoping.
What does that mean?
I mean it's planned, but you never know. I've had so many problems, you never know."
Do you foresee more problems?
Oh, no. I hope not. Couldn't handle another one.
Tell me about the Celebrity Las Vegas Cabaret.
It's going to be 10,000 square feet or more. It's going to have a high-energy dance floor in between the shows. It's going to have a lounge that will be open all day and all evening, with a gift shop or souvenir shop. An open-door patio out front.
Will it cater more to locals or tourists?
I hope it caters to both.
And this has been successful in Dayton?
Oh yeah. Fourteen years.
Does it cross gay-straight boundaries?
Anybody, everybody. I have as many gays and as many straights, as many blacks, as many whites, as many male, as many female. It's anybody and everybody.
Have you encountered any discrimination in Dayton from the city or anyone else?
Not at all.
So does this mean that Dayton's more progressive than Las Vegas?
[Laughs.] Well it kinda seems that way, doesn't it?
You know by now that there's a kind of schizophrenia in Las Vegas, between our projected image and our conservative reality. Is Las Vegas ready for a Downtown drag club?
Oh, yes. More than ever. They're getting more progressive, and they're getting more cutting-edge Downtown. That's the only way to survive is to stay with the times.
Do you think this will help revitalize Downtown?
Well I think it's revitalizing quite a bit, even without this. Yes, I hope it brings more nightclubs down there. It's going to take more than one high-energy nightclub Downtown. It's going to take a couple to feed off one another.
Tell me about the layout where you are in Dayton. Has it drawn other clubs to that area?
Oh, yeah. I've had three other businesses follow my clientele and my club since I opened here.
What are those businesses?
A gift shop, a restaurant, another nightclub.
Were the issues with Neonopolis resolved?
Not yet.
So they still owe you money?
That's still pending.
Would you say you're holding a grudge against them?
Against the officials at Neonopolis, not against the city or the city officials. They had nothing to do with that. … Oscar Goodman has been great, I can't say enough about him. That city should be proud of that man. He needs all the good press he can get right now.I know it [laughs]. I was reading that this week. He wasn't too happy of a camper, was he?
I don't think so. Not very happy with the press right now.
No, he's not, so you need to be nice to him.
Right, right.