When Fiction Meets Reality: The Bada Bing! Strip Club
Bada Bing! is a fictional strip-joint from the ground breaking HBO series The Sopranos. It was the location of the mob boss, Tony Soprano’s, office and the unofficial mafia clubhouse. Bada Bing! was the site for many of our favorite and most significant scenes from the show. Tony Soprano, played by the incredible James Gandolfini, held court in the go-go bar throughout the critically acclaimed series to a debauched backdrop of casual nudity. The bar was the scene of depraved drug and alcohol fuelled evenings, shootings, mob deals and money laundering. The title of the bar also ha some fictional mob associations. It is homage to Sonny Corleone’s catchphrase from the unassailable mob movie The Godfather.
It now appears that Satin Dolls, the real life strip club where the Bada Bing! scenes were filmed, has mafia connections of its own. New Jersey law makers have ordered the closure of the Route 17 go-go bar alleging that it is in breach of state liquor laws. Satin Dolls, and one other New Jersey club, have been given until December 17 to stop all live entertainment. Law makers are contending that the Satin Doll club is owned by real-life gangster Anthony Cardinalle. Cardinalle was disqualified from having a continued business stake and interest in Satin Dolls because of criminal matters. New Jersey alleges that he continues to control the strip-club and runs the business.
The Real-Life Mobster Behind the Satin Dolls Club
Cardinalle, in another life-imitating-art twist, also goes by the name of Tony. He is a member of the Cardinalle family who have been the subject of an ongoing investigation of nearly 6 years. In further parallels between fiction and life the actual federal investigation centered on the mafia role in waste management in New York and New Jersey and resulted in the charging of nearly 32 mobsters. Fans of the Sopranos will remember that Tony’s legitimate front was a garbage management firm. The similarities in the life paths of the real and fictional mobsters diverge there however. Anthony Cardinalle is understood to have been flipped by investigators and is cooperating with federal agents in the hope of being granted a reduced sentence.
According to a statement released by Christopher Porrino, the Attorney General, the Cardinalle family may have wanted to continue to operate the club “the continued flouting” of the liquor laws won’t be tolerated. Despite Anthony Cardinalle’s guilty plea he cannot continue to run Satin Dolls. It is alleged that there were large amounts of cash flowing through satin Club which they owners were not able to give a satisfactory account of. Porrino made it clear that the type of illegal behavior which was glamorized in the fictional Bada Bing! club would not have a place in the modern New Jersey of today.
The Sopranos’ Legacy at Satin Dolls
All of the exterior and interior shots of Bada Bing were recorded on location at the real-life go-go bar, Satin Dolls in Lodi, New Jersey. Eagle eyed viewers have managed to spot the neon Satin Dolls logo on an inside wall of the New Jersey club. Satin Dolls reaped the rewards of the popularity of the gangster series and the notoriety of the Bada Bing! produced real economic benefits for the actual go-go joint. The management capitalized by organizing tours and selling souvenirs for the on screen club. The club contents were auctioned after the Sopranos series finale.
The Final Curtain Call for Satin Dolls
It now looks like Satin Club is set to have its own finale. It is expected that the club that close and see its final pole dance in mid December. The reason couldn’t be more mobster.
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