ATLANTIC CITY — from www.pressofatlanticcity.com – The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement made it clear Friday that pasties and G-strings are suitable attire for certain workers in the resort in a decision that also granted a liquor license to a $3 million club scheduled to open this summer at Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort.

Scores Atlantic City will be the brand’s sixth location nationwide. Although each club open now is independently owned and operated, the forthcoming Atlantic City location will be run by Roger Gans, who owns Scores New York and the rights to the name.

In New York, dancers can go topless in places where alcohol is served. That’s not the case in New Jersey. The DGE opinion does not alter or grant an exception to those laws, but clarifies existing guidelines because regulators had never before considered granting a liquor license to a strip club in a casino.

“Scores came into New Jersey well aware of what the law permitted and just wanted confirmation from regulatory authorities that their understanding of the law was correct,” said Scot Silver, the club’s attorney. “There was never an application to come in with topless. Nobody ever asked them to change the law.”

Dancers will not be allowed to expose any parts of their bodies that would be covered by a bikini — just like any other New Jersey business that serves alcohol — and will be instructed to refrain from actions that mimic sexual activity because state law bans such entertainment from casinos.

Performers will take the stage in an “evening gown” and strip down from there to a thong and pasties, but stop there, according to documents provided to The Press of Atlantic City.

Lap dances are not allowed, but entertainers can dance “close” to patrons who request it, so long as they don’t touch them, the documents state.

“This was a novel case. The commission had never been asked to approve this specific kind of establishment in the past,” Casino Control Commission spokesman Daniel Heneghan said.

The company filed its request at the end of August 2010 with the commission. State laws effective Feb. 1 transferred many commission duties to the DGE, which acting Director David Rebuck said Friday delayed his decision.

He said he also wanted more information from Scores Atlantic City, which does business as Starlight Entertainment LLC. A five-page document filed Oct. 21 with the DGE details the company’s ownership and certifies that its liquor licenses are in good standing.

Since then, Scores has finalized its deal with Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. CEO Robert Griffin called the club a “great addition” in an emailed statement Friday. Slated for a former deli on the Taj Mahal’s second floor, the 9,800-square-foot club is expected to employ 80 to 100 full-time hosts, bartenders and service staff, plus 150 to 200 dancers and DJs.

Silver, who represents other adult entertainment venues, said he is unsure why another operator never previously sought to open what the DGE called a “Las Vegas-style revue” in a local casino.

“Scores … see(s) the city moving ahead and growing,” Silver said. “And they’re very excited to be a part of that.”

But in Vegas, strip clubs normally do not operate within casinos, in part to cater to people who are in town for business, said David Schwartz, who runs the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

“The gaming industry seems like it’s OK with dealing two vices at once, but not with taking on three,” Schwartz said. “They’re fine with gambling, they’re fine with alcohol, but don’t want to get involved in sex, whether that’s prostitution or stripping. Historically, there’s a connection between strip clubs and narcotics … so you could see where they might be a little bit skittish.”

Still, dancers are already scantily clad at casino clubs in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, said Coby Frier, who owns all-nude club AC Dolls at Pacific and Texas avenues.

And he thinks Scores’ arrival will boost his business.

“Just the Scores name alone will bring people to Atlantic City,” he said.

It does, however, depart from the family-oriented attractions some stakeholders think the resort should be developing as it expands nongaming options to draw more tourists to make up for those lost in recent years to other gambling markets. Others think that’s unrealistic given the proximity of places such as Ocean City, a dry town with three amusement piers along its 2.5-mile Boardwalk. Las Vegas has also been recognized as generally unable to establish itself as a family destination.

But Scores will not offer lap dances — a key detail, said Dennis Gomes, co-owner and CEO of Resorts Casino Hotel.

The club’s application indicates it intends to charge a steep cover, enforce a dress code and otherwise market itself as an upscale gentleman’s club akin to Diving Horse, where dancers are not topless either.

“I’m not crazy about mixing family with casinos, and I’m not crazy about lap-dancing at casinos,” Gomes said. “If it’s just some kind of a burlesque place, I think it could fit.”