I went to Club Venue on the evening of Friday, July 4, and sat in the main VIP area, reserved by a friend of mine (the "host"). The host, asked another friend of mine who arrived early, to order several bottles of liquor, which he did, as he was running late.
The host of the party never showed up, and after a half hour, my friend and I decided to leave. We did not drink any of the liquor (at least, I certainly didn't). My friend asked the waitress to take back the unused bottles, which after talking to the manager, she said she could not do. After a little more bickering, a security guard eventually told us not to worry about it, and that we could leave. We left, but then, the very same guard chased us down, and said the manager said we had to pay (guess they decided to take it out of his salary).
We were then lead into a back office of Club Venue by security guards, where either the manager or owner, Larry (I believe his last name is Kelley) said that we must pay, regardless of the fact that we did not resserve the VIP. The VIP, by the way, was resserved by one of their "regulars." Larry kindy told us that if we did not pay, we would be arrested for theft of service (extorsion - threat of criminal action in exchange for money). Specifically, Larry told me that if I did not pay, as my friend did not have a form of payment, that he would have me arrested. I gave Larry my card, and decided to take up legal action later, versus risking any arrest. When the card did not run properly - I gave him the wrong card, a debit with a small account balance - Larry immediately brought in two police officers to speak with me.
To make a long story short, I did not reserve the VIP. I did not order any alcohol. I did not drink any alcohol... And, as such, Larry and Club Venue extorted money from me. My credit card company has opened an investgation, and I intend to contact the DAs office after the holiday weekend.
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