RICK'S CABARET INTERNATIONAL, INC. REPORTS SECOND QUARTER REVENUE OF $18.36 MILLION AND INCOME FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS OF $1.51 MILLION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                           

RICK’S CABARET INTERNATIONAL, INC. REPORTS SECOND QUARTER REVENUE OF $18.36 MILLION AND INCOME FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS OF $1.51 MILLION

HOUSTON – (May 12, 2009) – Rick’s Cabaret International, Inc. (NASDAQ: RICK), the premier operator of upscale gentlemen’s clubs, reported revenues of $18.36 million for its second fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2009, a 21.6 percent increase over second quarter in the previous year.

The increase in revenues was primarily due to gains generated by clubs in Philadelphia, Las Vegas and Dallas, as well as the new media division.

Income from continuing operations was $1.51 million or 16 cents per fully diluted share, compared with $2.85 million or 35 cents for the same period a year earlier. Net income for the 2009 quarter was $839,471 or nine cents per fully diluted share, a result that was impacted by non-recurring impairment of $823,090 of the net assets of the Rick’s Cabaret nightclub in Austin, for which the company currently has a contract of sale.

 The company’s income from continuing operations was also impacted by pre-tax losses at certain clubs totaling $900,000, compared to losses of $1.9 million for the company’s first quarter ended December 31, 2008.  The principal losses for the second quarter ended March 31, 2009 occurred at Rick’s Cabaret in Las Vegas, which lost approximately $633,000 before income taxes. 

Other factors impacting the company’s income in the second quarter included:

• Advertising and marketing expenses of $1.68 million versus $471,874 in the prior year, related to launching the Las Vegas club and re-branding of clubs in Dallas and Philadelphia;
• Legal fees of $810,501 versus $337,991, principally due to contesting of labor lawsuits in Minnesota and New York.
• An increase in interest expense to $808,831 compared with $658,673 in the prior year, attributable to new debt to finance the purchase of the new clubs and related real estate; 

“We believe we made significant progress during the second quarter in pointing our Las Vegas club toward profitability when the Vegas market returns to normal,” said Eric Langan, President and CEO of Rick’s Cabaret. “We also made tremendous progress in turning around losing clubs in Philadelphia and Dallas, which are now profitable and which we expect to continue being profitability going forward. Our 10-Q statement gives details on these turnaround situations.”

“We are also pleased with our sequential improvement over the first quarter of this fiscal year. Revenues were up 7.9 percent, income from continuing operations was up 33.5 percent, total salaries and wages declined by 4.2 percent. We are hopeful we will see continued gains as the year progresses,” Mr. Langan added.  

 

RICK'S CABARET INTERNATIONAL, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME

About Rick’s Cabaret: Rick’s Cabaret International, Inc. (NASDAQ: RICK) operates upscale adult nightclubs serving primarily businessmen and professionals that offer live adult entertainment, restaurant and bar operations. The company owns, operates or licenses adult nightclubs in New York City, Miami, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Charlotte, Dallas, Houston, Minneapolis and other cities under the names "Rick's Cabaret," "XTC," “Club Onyx” and “Tootsie’s Cabaret”. Sexual contact is not permitted at these locations. Rick’s Cabaret also operates a media division, ED Publications, and owns the adult Internet membership Web site, couplestouch.com as well as a network of online adult auction sites under the flagship URL naughtybids.com. Rick’s Cabaret common stock is traded on NASDAQ under the symbol RICK. For further information contact ir@ricks.com. 

Forward-looking Statements: This document contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause the company’s actual results to differ materially from those indicated in this document, including the risks and uncertainties associated with operating and managing an adult business, the business climates in cities where it operates, the success or lack thereof in launching and building the company’s businesses, risks and uncertainties related to the operational and financial results of our Web sites, conditions relevant to real estate transactions, and numerous other factors such as laws governing the operation of adult entertainment businesses, competition and dependence on key personnel. Rick's has no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements to reflect the occurrence of future events or circumstances. For further information visit www.ricks.com <http://www.ricks.com/>.

Contact:  Allan Priaulx, 212-338-0050, ir@ricks.com