Sale of Poker Club Delayed by Council

The sale of the Horseshoe Club, one of Gardena’s three poker clubs, was put on hold this week when the City Council voted to table a proposal from a group of investors who balked at the city’s requirements for a license transfer.

City officials on Tuesday told prospective buyer Herbert Stern and his partner, Leonard Baum, that before the city would approve issuing a license to the group, five conditions must be met, including the establishment of a $180,000 escrow account to cover four weeks’ pay for the club’s 250 employees.

The city also requested a letter of credit for $6 million. Stern, former president of an investment group that owned the Commerce Club, must also sever all ties with that club.

Officials said the conditions were necessary to ensure the club’s solvency during an extensive remodeling of its facilities at Vermont and Rosecrans avenues.