Gold Club

A meritocratic society founded by a business and based on consumption of that business's wares. The advantage of being in a Gold Club is that you are treated, as a policy, better than an ordinary customer.

For instance, frequent travelling has placed me in the gold club of a major airline. As a result, I get to board the plane whenever the hell I want, even if I'm way out of turn. I also get a set amount of free upgrades.

Gold club membership is based on the first derivative of consumption. If I accumulate 100,000 miles in a year, I join the club, but if I then expend 50,000 to get a free ticket, I am not kicked out, because the requirement is to rack up 100k miles per year, not to retain 100k miles total.

Beware of alternatives to Gold Club, such as Platinum Club or Executive Club. These clubs require a steep fee, and usually only provide services you could care less about, such as hotel discounts at locales you'll never visit, or free gas for your rental car.

Was a strip club in Atlanta until owner Steve Kaplan was found guilty of racketeering in August 2001. The Gold Club had provided sex to the wealthy, including singer Madonna and NBA star Patrick Ewing, and also funneled profits to the Gambino family of the New York Mafia. After being charged with obstruction, credit card fraud, loan sharking, and prostitution, Kaplan arranged a plea bargain. He agreed to a five million dollar fine, three to five years in prison, and to relinquish the Gold Club to the federal government. Members of the Atlanta City Council hoped to purchase the property, bulldoze it, and establish a city park.

The Gold Club is also a famous strip club in Atlanta, GA, run by Steve Kaplan until he entered into a plea bargain agreement in a racketeering trial on August 2, 2001. While the case accused Kaplan and six co-defendants of various forms of fraud, bribery, and consorting with the Gambino crime family, the charges which drew the most media attention centered on Kaplan paying his dancers to have sex with professional athletes and other celebrity clientele, both on and off Gold Club property. Despite the club's strong ties to the Gambinos, acting boss John "Junior" Gotti was never implicated. Had Kaplan been convicted on all 42 original charges, he would have faced up to 195 years behind bars.