Vaughn Sherman pushed his stack of chips forward on one of 100 red felt tables at Larry Flynt’s new Lucky Lady Casino, holding a beer in one hand and playing cards in the other.

The newly branded gambling room is inside the run-down former Normandie Casino that has anchored the corner of Rosecrans and Vermont avenues since 1980 but hasn’t embarked on a major renovation since 1990, according to property records.

Other than new branding, not much has changed inside since Flynt took over this month. Yet.

“It’s my first time in here since the change. So far, so good,” said Sherman, eager to return his focus to his blackjack game rather than a reporter’s questions.

Consistent with the famed strip-club owner and pornography mogul’s salacious style, Lucky Lady’s betting chips have a photo of a naked woman crouching suggestively.

Upgrades could transform area

Flynt promises to pour $60 million into the property by 2020 — a move expected to help transform a corner otherwise populated with run-down retails strips and fast-food eateries. Flynt, who opened the Hustler Casino in 2000, took over the Normandie when its owners pleaded guilty to federal money-laundering charges.

California card clubs are distinguished from commercial and Indian casinos largely because they are legally barred from having slot machines.

“I don’t want to sound disparaging toward the previous owners on the fact that the place has been neglected for decades, but it has,” Flynt said during a phone interview. “That’s the reason business was terrible. We’re going to have new signage, a $400,000 media program across greater Los Angeles and more. I think the place will do fine.”

Business up 20 percent already

Already, he said business has picked up by 20 percent since he put his name on the marquee. Dozens of former Normandie players filled the newly branded casino on Friday afternoon, including Sherman, who has been gambling at the club for two decades and plans to continue his regular after-work visits.

Flynt opened the club last week, after closing it for five days because of a bitter dispute with Gardena officials over an economic-incentive package. City leaders gave Flynt a last-minute ultimatum to pay at least $800,000 a month in taxes from both the Hustler and Lucky Lady before getting a break on its 12 percent tax rate. Flynt called the move a deceptive, unfair trick unprecedented in the gaming business.

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The City Council relented after out-of-work employees and residents chided them for the decision, excising the revenue guarantee from its agreement.

Staff morale improving

Robert “Bobby O” Oestreich, a floor supervisor hired by Flynt after a 34-year career with the Normandie, said the staff is hopeful about the club’s future.

“The morale has changed” since Flynt took over, Oestreich said. “Employees are so glad to have job security and are looking forward to the future.”

Flynt, who owns many strip clubs and Hustler retail shops around the country, said he’s brought enough money into the city to warrant more consideration than he was given when city leaders quietly added the tax-guarantee provision into his contract. The two casinos are critical to the city’s balanced budget.

“I’m a large part of the city budget and we should have a little bit of a voice of what’s going on — not that we want to be in control of the City Council,” Flynt said. “But, in Vegas, casinos have a voice. Think where Gardena would be if they weren’t getting all that money from me? As a result of the investment I’m making, I deserve a tax break. That was the big rub. But we did get our tax break.”

Phased renovations planned

To keep the doors open during renovations, Flynt said upgrades will begin in the back of the casino around the high-roller tables.

“We’re doing it in phases,” he said. “Everything changes. We’re putting new lining, new carpeting, new wall covering, a new sandwich shop and gift shop.”

And that’s just to get started. Flynt ultimately hopes to build an adjacent hotel and retail stores.

He kept most of the Normandie’s 400 employees and is still hiring. The Lucky Lady will compete with his Hustler Casino down the street at Vermont Avenue and Redondo Beach Boulevard.

“We’re going out of our way to give it a different look architecturally and decor-wise (than Hustler),” he said. “Even the menus will be different because we don’t want to do a cookie-cutter deal. We want to attract new customers.

“I think the city of Gardena will be proud of the club we’re going to build.”