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Barclays Center relented this week and agreed there would be no "bottle service" --the purchase of full bottles of hard liquor-- at Jay-Z's arean-based 40-40 Club, the result of local protests and controversy over a brawl at another New York hotspot, W.i.P. in Manhattan. In the bottle-throwing melee between rappers Chris Brown and Drake, bystander Tony Parker was hurt, "suffering lacerations to his cornea."
Now, he's suing the club for $20 million, claiming "there was bad blood between Drake and Brown" and W.i.P. only fueled matters by selling them and their posse alcohol..
The resultant publicity hurt the 40-40 club's chances to sell hard liquor --other than champagne and wine-- at the arean club, located at street level inside Barclays Center. So they decided bottle service will be prohibited. Critics have charged that bottle service limits a club's operator in controlling of how much the customer has to drink.
- Barclays Center bans bottle service at Jay-Z's 40/40 Club - Rich Calder - New York Post
- Jay-Z's 40/40 Club at Barclays Center, new Nets basketball arena, won't have liquor bottle service - NY Daily News - Bill Hutchinson - New York Daily News