Taffer rescues bar despite sex remark

Las Vegan and “Bar Rescue” host Jon Taffer recently went to the old Sand Dollar Lounge to rehab the bar for his hit show — but first Taffer had to watch a co-owner of the bar make nasty sexual comments to his wife.

Taffer took his “Bar Rescue” TV staff to the lounge (at Spring Mountain Road and Polaris Avenue) in an effort to rehabilitate it.

Taffer then sent his wife, Nicole, into the bar under surveillance to see how much work it needed.

So Taffer watched from an SUV while a bar owner said ridiculous things to her, such as:

“Probably one of my most impressive tricks is, just from looking at the bend of your arm, I can tell you what your vagina looks like.”

Taffer caught this encounter, stormed inside the bar and screamed at the guy, as you can see in an online trailer for the show’s upcoming season debut.

But Taffer still fixed the bar. It’s not called Sand Dollar anymore, but rather Bar 702.

Taffer also signed up Vegas gambling expert Anthony Curtis of LasVegasAdvisor.com to help.

Curtis now says on his site that Bar 702 offers “the best video poker schedules of any non casino location in town, with the lowest return on any machine being 99.1%, and some above 100%.”

This episode runs July 7 on Spike.

Taffer, head of the national Nightclub & Bar Media Group, is also putting together a three-day On The Rocks festival July 12-14 on the Strip with performances by Martin Solveig, Markus Schulz, Tiesto, Danny Avila, Lil Jon and Laidback Luke. For more, check out OnTheRocksLasVegas.com.

LOHAN IN OUR TIME

Have you ever wondered what a press release for Michael Lohan looks like? Here’s the one I got from his publicist.

“Inspired by his faith, Michael Lohan has decided to open the nation’s first faith-based clinical treatment center brought to you by Aid In Recovery.

“Michael Lohan can discuss this by answering the following questions:

“What brought you to do this?

“How will this facility be different than typical rehabs?

“What do you hope people will learn while attending this facility?

“Meet Michael Lohan:

“Father of movie star and celebrity, Lindsay Lohan

“Representative for the rehabilitation center, AIR (Aid In Recovery)

“Actor and Entrepreneur ...”

“TO BOOK THIS GUEST SEND AN EMAIL TO:”

I don’t know, but I just wasn’t convinced Michael Lohan was a good fit for this column.

RIP

I interviewed James Gandolfini once in a hotel lobby in L.A. We were standing. He kept backing away from me until his back was against a wall.

I thought, “Is he scared of me? But he’s much more physically imposing.”

I never figured out why his face and body language seemed so paranoid or anxious. It was as if he were threatened by me during a professional, respectful and friendly exchange.

It was like we were in a cartoon, he was an elephant, and I was a mouse out to get him.

I felt sorry for him for this. But I can still see his sweet smile.

(Note: I posted this remembrance first on Facebook.)

Doug Elfman’s column appears Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. He also writes for Neon on Fridays. Email him at delfman@reviewjournal.com. He blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman.