ATLANTIC CITY — Just before Christmas, New Jersey casino regulators made way for some girls on Santa's naughty list.

The state Division of Gaming Enforcement ruled today that it would be OK to have a strip club inside the Taj Mahal Casino Resort. It would be Atlantic City's first so-called "gentlemen's club" inside a casino in the 33-year history of legalized gambling here.

The ruling would permit Scores to open a $3 million club inside the Taj, provided the company can apply for and get a liquor license.

"This multi-faceted project will give us additional entertainment, food, beverage, and retail amenities that will be great additions to the property," said Robert Griffin, CEO of Trump Entertainment Resorts.

In a ruling that bordered on an anatomy lesson, governing in explicit detail what could be shown and what needs to stay covered, the division said dancers could strip down only to a G-string and pasties. Lap dances would be prohibited, as would any simulation of sexual activity.

Private dance rooms would be available, subject to the same restrictions on what can and can't be done. The ruling would permit so-called "table-side" dances in which a dancer would gyrate close to a seated patron.

Tips could be tucked inside a dancer's leg garter.

"This regulation does not prohibit the wearing of pasties and thongs by dancers/entertainers within the casino-hotel complex, and clearly contemplates that some entertainment offerings in a casino hotel complex will be suggestive," the ruling by Acting Director David Rebuck read.

The division says New Jersey had long anticipated the "Las Vegas-style revue" would be incorporated here, with certain restrictions. It says as long as the dancers don't get naked or touch the patrons in a provocative way, such a club would be permissible.

In its request for permission, Scores told regulators its club would charge "a significant admission fee" and would be "richly furnished, first-class, exceptional."