Owners of strip clubs across the Las Vegas Valley entered a pact this week to resolve the battle over payouts to cabdrivers, eliminating all tips for cabbies delivering customers to their businesses.

Competing clubs had paid limousine drivers, cabbies and other commercial drivers as much as $70 for each patron brought to their business.

Club owners have said the competition is so stiff that businesses regularly try to one-up one another with their payouts. One owner's business shelled out $1.4 million in one month paying commercial drivers.

The strip club payouts are important to cabbies, whose weekly income is significantly bolstered by them.

"It's a house payment if you can get three, four rides to a strip club each week," said Dennis Clark, a driver for Lucky Cab Co. of Nevada.

Clark first learned of the agreement at 6 p.m. Tuesday, when the new rule went into effect.

He took a passenger to the Olympic Garden near the Stratosphere and learned from the doorman that there would be no more payouts.

"Right then, two guys came out and wanted to go to the Crazy Horse," Clark said. "I was out $140 the first minute and 30 seconds of the new rule."

Clark County administrators are reviewing an ordinance that prohibits topless clubs from paying tips to cabdrivers. The law, which is rarely enforced, raised concerns because it did not extend to limo drivers.

Business License Director Jacqueline Holloway said her staff was looking into amending the ordinance to make it more equitable. That could include adding all commercial transportation drivers, or it could include abolishing the ordinance altogether.

During briefings with commissioners this week, elected officials were asked to decide whether they want to move forward with a new ordinance or simply let the club owners and cabbies hash it out.

"Is it a competitive business decision and should we get involved in market forces?" Holloway said.

Craig Harris, managing editor of Trip Sheet Magazine, a transportation industry publication, said limo drivers have caused the problems, yet cabbies are targeted by the ordinance.

"There is a bias involved in this county code, which says only taxi drivers because we're scum, right?" Harris said, shortly before shouting "go to hell" and abruptly hanging up the phone.

The debate over whether cabbies should receive payouts is clearly an emotional one. Earlier this year, cabdrivers staged a slow-speed protest along the Strip to show their opposition to Assembly Bill 505, which was ultimately killed.

Club owners have said that cabdrivers divert passengers away from businesses that do not pay the generous bounties.

County officials have discussed introducing an ordinance that would prohibit commercial drivers from accepting anything of value from businesses including strip clubs, restaurants and massage parlors.

Holloway said the ordinance will be difficult to enforce unless the city of Las Vegas adopts a parallel law and the Taxicab Authority agrees to make sure drivers are complying.

"This is very broad and pervasive, which makes it difficult to enforce," said Holloway, who noted advertisements in Trip Sheet Magazine show payouts are available from a variety of businesses.

"We fully intend to engage the community in this discussion," she said.

Holloway expects the commission to begin considering different options in late January.