Surgeon Uses Strip Club to Bankroll His Research

A highly respected cardiovascular surgeon from Stanford University has purchased a strip joint in North Las Vegas to finance his medical research.

“Morally, I think it’s a little odd to sell flesh on one end so you can repair it on another,” said Stephanie Smith, a member of the City Council that approved the necessary licensing for Dr. Simon Stretzer.

“But that’s part of the joy of living in Nevada,” Smith added. “We’re a little different.”

Smith said Thursday that Stretzer appeared before the North Las Vegas City Council on Sept. 5 to apply for a license to own and operate the Palomino Club, reportedly the last establishment in the area to offer both totally nude entertainment and alcoholic beverages.

“He said it was to finance his research,” Smith said. “To him, it’s purely a lucrative investment. At least I assume it’s lucrative. People going in there will get heart problems from the shock, and that will build up his other clientele.”

Smith said she was one of those who approved Stretzer’s license.

“Whether it was appropriate had nothing to do with the licensing,” she said.

“It was whether he is reputable. We were told he’s an outstanding citizen. He passed the police check. He teaches at Stanford, and that’s a reputable place.”

Stretzer could not be reached for comment Thursday, but officials at the Stanford University School of Medicine confirmed that he is a professor of cardiovascular medicine there.

After receiving his doctorate from New York University in 1961, Stretzer worked in private practice for 18 years.

In 1978, he became one of the first doctors in the United States to perform a balloon angioplasty, a procedure used to repair or replace damaged blood vessels.

Nineteen years later, he joined the faculty at Stanford.

He also co-founded Arterial Vascular Engineering, a supplier of medical equipment, which was sold in 1998 for a huge profit, according to Biospace, a biotechnology Web site.

After the sale, Stretzer donated $2 million to endow a chair at the medical school.

In an interview with the San Jose Mercury News shortly after his North Las Vegas license was approved, Stretzer said the purchase of the Palomino was simply an extension of his real estate interests.

“I made the decision to do this because I thought the potential for cash flow was far larger than the standard real-estate investment,” Stretzer said.

“We are in a serious financial threat when it comes to research, and anything I can do to help, I will attempt to do.”

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Associated Press contributed to this report.