Sex club? What sex club?

Some of his competitors in the local adult racket call David Cooper a troublemaker, and I can see their point.

He's outspoken and refuses to stick to the script.

In trying to carve out his own piece of the shadowy but lucrative sex club market, he has upset some longtime players, sued Clark County and exposed a regulatory double standard.

For several years now, Cooper has been way too candid about his business plan - certainly too outspoken for the county's regulatory tradition of sexually oriented clubs that is one part plausible deniability and one part "don't ask, don't tell."

The county doesn't officially license sex clubs, but over the years, plenty of the joints have opened under business license designations ranging from "juice bar" and "health club" to "tanning salon" and clothing "boutique."

So, I officially misspoke when I wrote that Cooper wants to open a sex club. It's more like a maybe-you'll-have-sex club. Officially, the county has seen fit to license Cooper's latest business as a catering company. (Insert your own joke here.)

In 2008, Cooper himself was close to opening his Sextasy club in the sleazy end of Commercial Center under a "restaurant" license.

The place had plenty of couches, a round bed and a stripper pole, but no kitchen. In its defense, the location for years had been home to the first Green Door and Red Rooster III sex clubs.

Since then, Cooper has been in a dust-up with business license officials and currently is involved in a lawsuit against the county. He also is close to opening a business in the previous location of the Hushh Club, which was owned by a Metro cop's brother and never had a problem staying open.

You don't have to search far in Las Vegas for examples of sex clubs that operate under the flimsiest of disguises. The Power Exchange, for instance, has a license for a boutique and its Buns in the Sun tanning salon. A call to the Power Exchange number listed on its Nevada business license application leaves little to the imagination:

"Thank you for calling Power Exchange, America's naughtiest adult nightclub experience. We are an 18-and-over fetish and fantasy club devoted to all genders and orientations. We offer fantasy rooms for our patrons to utilize in their interactions with other patrons."

From its application: "Power Exchange is a place where its members come to learn, grow, practice & inspire each other in their beliefs & convictions. Power Exchange & its community believes in accepting everyone, embracing differences & learning from each other."

Nothing much about sun bathing, but maybe you must read between the tan lines.

For most locals, all this is neither shocking nor particularly newsworthy. It's a bit like finding gambling in Casablanca. That's Las Vegas, America's kinky Casablanca.

Which I think is Cooper's point. If this sort of thing is so common, then why not just be upfront about it?

Cooper has raised such questions since 2003, when he first inquired about opening a sex club. After seeing so many operating and advertising, Cooper approached county business license officials about obtaining an applicable license. He recalls being told that such activity was illegal.

"I asked them why all these places were operating," he says. "They said, 'We haven't had any complaints.' "

Get it? No complaints, no problem.

Cooper is, it would appear, a slow learner. He alleges he's still being treated differently than other adult businesses, in part because he has had the audacity to be frank about his intentions to provide a rendezvous for sexual thrill seekers. He has lodged complaints against other clubs and is litigating a case against the county through attorney Lisa Rasmussen.

These days he has a new license in a new location on the site of a previous adult-oriented club. But he doesn't care for some of the stipulations and restrictions, which he contends weren't present under the previous ownership.

Does that make him sound like a troublemaker?

The real question isn't whether one love merchant stands on the sidelines or sees his business take its place among the valley's many sexual storefronts.

The question in 2013 is whether the county's regulatory tradition merely points to the wink-and-nod nature of after-dark Las Vegas or creates a double standard that encourages public corruption. Not that recent history indicates Clark County needs much encouragement in this area.

By keeping the laws clear and the actual practices limber, you structure a way for a bureaucrat to make a score. You know, in theory.

For her part, candid Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani has met with Cooper. While she won't discuss anything associated with his litigation, she says fairness must be an essential part of the county's regulatory process. And she's right.

So perhaps some day Cooper's lawsuit against the county will go away and he will open his "catering" business, "restaurant," "juice bar," "health club" or "tanning salon."

And our kinky Casablanca will once again go about its business as usual.

John L. Smith's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. E-mail him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0295. He also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/Smith