Usher’s Fake Cash to Promote Casino Show Creates Confusion at Las Vegas Topless Club

Posted on: April 13, 2021, 05:04h. 

Last updated on: April 13, 2021, 05:34h.

Larry Henry Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Gaming Business, Legislation, Politics, Regulation.

A misunderstanding over tips at a prominent Las Vegas strip club surfaced this week, with pop star Usher accused of using fake money with his likeness at the Sapphire Las Vegas Gentlemen’s Club. The money was a promo item used to promote Usher’s upcoming residency at a Las Vegas casino.  

Usher
Star singer Usher is seen in this photo illustration from the New York Post. Usher is set to begin a residency in July at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace. (Image: Page Six)

The stripper-tipping flap blew up on social media sites this week. The misunderstanding happened when the phony bills were left behind to promote Usher’s upcoming residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, according to George Wilson, Sapphire’s director of marketing, and were not used as tips for the dancers.

The Colosseum is familiar to many as the Las Vegas Strip site where Celine Dion held a long-term residency.

Wilson told the New York Post that the confusion resulted from someone on Usher’s team leaving “dollars on the floor to promote his Vegas residency.”

The controversy picked up steam early this week on social media sites.

On Instagram, a social media user asked, “Ladies what would you do if you danced all night for usher and he threw this??”

A friend of this Instagram user tagged the strip club and The Shade Room, a celebrity gossip site, which posted the item on its Instagram page, the New York Post reported. Other national celebrity websites picked up the story.

“The star’s supposed attempt at usher-ing in his own form of currency quickly spread across social media, trending on Twitter by Monday afternoon,” the Post wrote on its Page Six site.

Usher’s Team Tipped Well

The so-called Ushbucks come in multiple denominations. On the front is a seal that says, “Colosseum Caesars Palace Las Vegas,” and the words, “The Las Vegas Residency.” The start date for Usher’s residency, July 16, 2021, is printed on the fake money. The bogus currency includes his full name, Usher Raymond IV, and an imprinted signature.

Wilson said Usher and his team used thousands of real dollars for tips.

We would love to host him again,” Wilson said.

Sapphire owner Peter Feinstein told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that Usher plans to return to the club before the July residency begins to “make things right.” Usher’s phony currency has been left behind at other sites in Las Vegas, including Esther’s Kitchen in the Arts District, the newspaper reported.

Usher has not commented publicly on the incident.

Celebrity Strip Club Sightings

The Sapphire topless club is on Sammy Davis Jr. Drive, just west of the under-construction Resorts World Las Vegas.

Celebrity guests have included 50 Cent, Katy Perry, and Avril Lavigne, according to the club’s website.

Sapphire boasts that it is the “world’s largest gentlemen’s club,” with more than 400 entertainers each night during its operating hours of 8 pm to 4 am.