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I don&#39;t think I&#39;ve ever read about a Las Vegas dancer&#39;s experience that didn&#39;t leave me scratching my head wondering what the hell I just read at the end. Mostly, I was reading these reviews prior to becoming a dancer in hopes to use the information to my advantage of picking the right club and getting a heads up on what to expect. Eventually, I gave up researching and started my dancing career completely ignorant to the reality of Las Vegas strip clubs.<br />
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I don&#39;t pride myself as being a skilled writer. English was actually one of my worst subjects in school. With that said I would still like to step up and attempt to give the most adequate review possible on my experience as a Sapphire dancer. Hopefully all the rookies out there will appreciate this and the rest will enjoy..<br />
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When I first started to work at Sapphire in July 2010, I was by no means a &quot;newbie&quot;. For the past year I had been dancing at Deja vu Showgirls (a fully nude club) and even occasionally at the much smaller club, Talk of the Town. As much as I enjoyed working at &quot;The Vu&quot; its new transition to a topless club consequently cut my income down by two thirds. As much as it pained me, it was time to leave my comfort zone and venture out to join the thousands of girls to a tourism giant. Sapphire was my choice.<br />
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The initial hiring process was quite professional, giving me a somewhat false perception of the club.<br />
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I was told to be there by 9 p.m. and upon my arrival, I joined a group of about ten girls and the process began. We were told to go get changed and then come back to fill out paper work. I stopped to ask the manager named Matt behind the desk a quick question, and before I could even get the first word out, he blurted &quot;GO get changed. Then come back.&quot; Obviously noticing the agitation in his voice, I shut my mouth and obliged. Practically naked and cold, we filled out the basic and lengthy paper work, turned it in along with our sheriff&#39;s card and business license, and then waited as the manager copied and filed our information. This was quite a slow process, but we patiently waited for each and every one of our names to be called and to return to the desk to retrieve our documents.<br />
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&nbsp;Around 10:30 p.m. we were introduced to a heavily jeweled older manager who proceeded to take us on a tour around the club and go over all the rules, prices, policies, etc.<br />
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Finally the tour was completed and all questions were answered (of course there is always that one airhead who doesn&#39;t understand anything and keeps asking trivial questions and delaying the process). We then were directed back towards the check-in counter where we all started. Once there, we were called one by one to the desk where the still seemingly annoyed manager sat. I noticed that all the girls who were only allowed to work day-shift were called first. The managed was prepared for their reaction by muttering &quot;we have too many girls on night shift already&quot; A response that seemed practiced enough, that he was able to say it without the slightest hesitation or emotion. Once those girls were &quot;shooed away&quot; the rest of us were called up to the counter, where the manager collected our house fee and were told to work that night and any other night we wanted. I wasn&#39;t surprised.<br />
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I&#39;m not going to go into long detail about every night I worked in the club. I know the hiring process can be a bit unnerving to most girls, and wanted to be a precise as possible for that reason. I will though, sum up what it&#39;s like in general to work at this club. From there I will continue to tell a few stories I believe are worth mentioning.<br />
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The club is huge. It does, although, seem to get smaller and smaller the longer you work there. It is very easy to navigate (unlike Rhino in my opinion). There is the main floor which is sunken a bit below the rest of the club. Half of the main floor will be curtained off until the club is full enough to open the rest. There are many tables on the floor, but from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. on weekends there is usually only standing room available. Once this happens the club then charges customers in order to sit down.&nbsp; All twenty dollar dances are done here. Seems simple enough, but at night, there is very little room and these dances are done pretty much on top of one another. I don&#39;t know how many times I&#39;ve had a stiletto knock me in the shoulder or a drink splash me while on the main floor simply because it transforms into a mosh pit at night. The main floor also contains 3 stages, all connected together. Two songs at each stage and you only interact with customers on the first and third stage. The second stage is above the crowd with no pole, so you are pretty much doing a topless go go styled dance for a couple of songs.<br />
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There are two bars at Sapphires (one at each end of the club). The only information you need to know about this part of the club is the drink prices. The cheapest alcoholic drink you can get here is a fifteen dollar domestic beer. The average single drink price is going to be around $18, and that&#39;s if you&#39;re not too fancy with you drink preference. For this reason, I&#39;ve noticed that many dancers sneak in alcohol to achieve a little pre-work buzz without having to add to their club debt.<br />
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There is one VIP area to the right of the main floor, where all the three songs for $100, 30 minutes for $200, and an hour for $400 is done. It is in a separate room from the rest of the club to advertise &quot;more privacy&quot;. There is actually more security and less privacy in the VIP than on the main floor, and the lighting is so dim there that the waitresses carry flashlights. The price of the dance is kept by the dancer. Although, there is a required drink minimum depending dance chosen. Two drinks for the three song set ($32), four drinks for the half hour or a small bottle of champagne ($64-$200), and a bottle of champagne for the hour ($400-$600). Not to mention, the customer and dancer is expected to tip the &quot;VIP host&quot; twenty percent which, most would agree, is just insane. Not only are all the VIP hostes at Sapphires completely worthless, but they are complete jerks as well. All they do is write your name down on a little clipboard once you enter the VIP area and then point to the direction you are supposed to go. Plus, with the little interaction you do have with them, they still manage to be completely rude. They expect a twenty percent tip for that?<br />
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I&#39;ve actually heard, and believe, that most VIP hosts make more than the dancers. If you actually look, you&#39;ll see most of the hosts have fake tans, bleached smiles, and highlighted hair. Maybe even a manipedi to go with their pampered upkeep.<br />
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&nbsp;Also, a little tip for all you strip club patrons out there. I&#39;ve seen on multiple occasions where the VIP hosts includes his own outrageous tip in your bill if you pay with a credit card, especially if you&#39;ve had a bit to drink. Their strategy is to interrupt the dance to have the customer sign for the bill. In most cases, the customer will not want to lose dance time, so they quickly sign the receipt to get the host to go away. Always check your receipt and then check it again.<br />
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While we&#39;re on the credit card topic, there are a few fun facts about Sapphire&#39;s credit card policy that most might find interesting. While it is quite the norm for any establishment in Vegas to profit off charging absurd fees for any conveniences most people enjoy for free in their daily lives, Sapphire takes it up a notch. If a customer, God forbid, wants to pay for dances with a credit card, then the club charges a ten percent surcharge for the service. In return you get &quot;funny money&quot; for the amount you specified. The dancer then takes the &quot;funny money&quot; to the cashier cage where another ten percent fee is taken out before receiving real cash. In other words, you get charged and extra ten percent, and the dancer loses ten percent of the dance cost. Also, I wouldn&#39;t be surprised if your card was credited for &quot;extra charges&quot; or &quot;tips&quot; either.&nbsp; Oh, how could I forget? If a dancer mentions any of these &quot;surcharges or fees&quot; to the customer, we are automatically terminated. I honestly would suggest that all strip club patrons to bring enough cash for your visit to avoid this situation. There is a couple of ATMs at Sapphire, but there fees are just as absurd.<br />
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Back to talking about the actual club, there is one more area that deserves mentioning; the Sky Boxes. This club dotes itself for their infamous private rooms that sit above the entire club in complete privacy for you and girl(s) of choice. This is probably the biggest customer scam I&#39;ve ever heard of. While the girl will tell you that it is six hundred dollars for the full hour there, that is only her portion. The club requires you to buy a bottle of champagne that starts at $600. Now, I&#39;ve only been once. I never try to sell them, but one night I happened to be talking to a guy whose two friends were sharing a large sky box and he decided he wanted to join. I just got lucky. Of course, being dead sober, I got to witness a lot.<br />
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&nbsp;I don&#39;t do &quot;extras&quot; but saw that they were expected from the customers. The other two girls in the sky box also declined when asked if &quot;extras&quot; were included. From what I hear, very little goes on in the sky boxes. There is a lot security (cameras in every room with the hostess and waitress coming in often). In order for &quot;extras&quot; the customer must tip a large amount to the hostess and security. I can&#39;t even imagine how much that would be since they already expect so much just for merely existing in the first place.<br />
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Now it&#39;s story time:<br />
<br />
When I first started working at Sapphire, I always tried my best to keep to myself. One day I got to work a bit early (not too many girls there yet) and as soon as I was ready I was called onto stage. At the end of my second song, I noticed the manager (Matt) who hired me was standing by the stage waving for me to come see him. Clearly he had no idea who I was as he asked me my name and how long I&#39;ve been working there. I told him it was only my third day, and decided not to mention the fact that we had met multiple times before.<br />
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He told me that they needed a few girls to accompany some of the managers to a poker tournament to promote Sapphires. For my cooperation I would receive a complimentary house fee, a limo ride, free drinks, a paid spot in the tournament, and dinner with the managers after the event. I was hesitant at first on whether or not I should go. I really needed to work and make money, but being new, I really didn&#39;t want to start off wrong foot with the managers. I agreed, and hurried to the dressing room to get ready.<br />
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That&#39;s when I met Brett.<br />
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He is also a manager there. Brett asked Matt if I was going along with them. Matt nodded and Brett responded &quot;Good. She looks good.&quot; He eventually came over to me to see if I was ready. I was, and he then told me to follow him. As we walked towards the limo he went and got me a drink for the way. I was impressed. I actually remember thinking to myself that maybe he was the nicest most down to earth strip club manager I&#39;ve ever met.<br />
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Since I had only played poker a couple of times before, Brett refreshed my memory as we made our way to the tournament. He popped some champagne and poured everyone in the limo a glass. Like I said, I was impressed.<br />
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Despite my refreshed memory, I was out of the tournament within fifteen minutes (probably the first person out). I continued to watch the game as I enjoyed my complimentary drink. As time passed, I learned that this was going to be a lengthy tournament with all of the managers being avid poker players.<br />
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I then decided that I wanted to head back to the club, so I could begin working. I asked Matt if it was possible, and, without hesitation, he picked up his cell phone, rang the limo driver to come get me, and I was on my way. All in all, it was a fun experience and was confident that I made a decent impression to the managers despite my early departure.<br />
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For the next few days, the managers remembered me, and we would exchange &quot;Hellos&quot; when we saw each other. Upon my arrival to work about a week later, I saw Brett behind the counter checking in girls to the club. I made my way through the line where Brett greeted me with a smile. He told me to hurry and get ready, and when I was done, to come meet him in the Karaoke room. He continued to tell me about a private bachelor party that was being held there and how I should join. I walked to the dressing room smiling, knowing that only a few select girls are invited to the private bachelor parties in the expensive karaoke room.<br />
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I got ready quicker than usual and made my way over to the VIP room. Upon entering, I informed the host that I was expected at the karaoke room by Brett. The host immediately guided me through the back of VIP to the karaoke room in which I had only seen once before during my initial tour of the club.<br />
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I was led into the room and the door was shut behind me. I immediately saw Brett on the small karaoke stage singing along to the music with the microphone in one hand and a beer in the other. He seemed to be a bit tipsy, but not drunk. He stepped off the stage, greeted me, and then introduced me to his friend in which he told me to sit with. I obliged, took a seat with his friend, and then took a good look around to understand what was going on.<br />
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I noticed that there were about three other dancers back there. Oddly enough, we all resembled each other (tall, large breasts, and blonde). They were each sitting with another guy. Brett&#39;s friend informed me that this was not a bachelor party, but just one of Brett&#39;s many private parties he has in the back of the club. Feeling a bit uncomfortable, it began to make sense. I&#39;ve always heard that Brett has a special liking for busty blondes, and from my observation, this held true. I then learned that Brett was not just a manager, but also the son of the owner, and all the guys back there were Brett&#39;s good friends simply taking advantage of his father&#39;s status.<br />
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I made small talk to the friend as I continued to watch Brett dance, sing, and drink on stage. His friend excused himself to get water, and I sat there awkwardly trying to take in my surroundings. I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to realize it was one of the other dancers. She whispered in my ear &quot;What are we doing here? It&#39;s not a bachelor party. Do you think we are allowed to leave?&quot; I looked at her, shrugged, and whispered back &quot;I&#39;m not sure. These guys definitely aren&#39;t looking to get dances. I don&#39;t really know why we were sent back here.&quot;<br />
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Right then, Brett hopped off the stage and grabbed the dancer I was talking to. He pulled her back up on stage with him where he grabbed her hips, pulled her on to him, and continued to forcefully grind into her. I could see the shock and awkwardness in her face, but she went along not wanting to cause any upset. This continued for the rest of the song. At one point Brett had her against the wall where he pushed and rubbed himself against her as if it was his sick excuse for dancing. I sat there feeling extremely uncomfortable, feeling even worse for the girl on stage.<br />
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That&#39;s when Brett looked over at me. I faked a smile as if I were enjoying myself, when he suddenly stepped off stage and made his way over to me. Seeing that he wanted me to join him, I tried to play it off by laughing and yelling &quot;No, no, I can&#39;t!&quot; He pulled on my arm, and I resisted. He then straddled me on the couch and began grinding his pelvis on my chest and put his hands through my hair. I was mortified. He got up again, grabbed my arms, pulled them around his waist and continued to rub himself against me. I kept resisting, eventually freeing myself, and sat back down. He took a swig of his beer then went back to the dancer before and continued rub, grab, feel, and grind on her.<br />
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By that time, Brett&#39;s friend had returned. He sat down next to me and laughed. I asked him what was funny and he pointed around the room. I looked around to see what he was talking about, and saw that Brett&#39;s other friends were heavily making out with the other dancers. I shot his friend a look, and by this point, I was done. With that said I still managed to politely excuse myself to the restroom and promptly left.<br />
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Once I made my way out to the main club, I swore off the karaoke room for good. &nbsp;<br />
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I continue to try and suppress the thought of what might of happened to the girls I left behind.<br />
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I figured I would suffer the typical consequences for my disobedience. Mostly I knew that I would no longer be &quot;cool&quot; with Brett, but I actually welcomed that consequence. I&#39;d rather be a &quot;nobody&quot; than be one of the manager&#39;s &quot;go to girls&quot;. Especially now, knowing what it required to obtain such a status. From then on, I made sure to keep to myself.<br />
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I did just that, and for the next few days, I managed to fulfill my work day without any awkward run-ins with Brett.<br />
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&nbsp;Just when I was beginning to think that my absence at the karaoke room went unnoticed, I spotted Brett walking towards my direction. I faked a smile as we began to pass one another. The look on his face was unmistakable. Clearly, he had noticed my absence. His once friendly smile was now a direct stare of disgust and hate.<br />
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I shrugged it off and thought &quot;What should I have expected?&quot; I least I now had a definite answer, and knew to avoid him at all costs. Easier said than done.<br />
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The next day I arrived to the club around my typical time at 6:45 p.m. and as always, parked in the front parking lot. I made my way to the check-in desk, and to my delight, saw Brett sitting behind the computer. I stopped to take out my sheriff&#39;s card as I braced myself for our encounter. He suddenly glanced up from the computer and looked at me. I noticed his demeanor instantly change. I politely said &quot;Hi&quot; and handed him my card. He then took the card from me and angrily asked &quot;Where did you come from?&quot; Obviously he noticed that I didn&#39;t enter from the back parking lot. I replied that I had parked in the front as usual. He slammed my card down on the counter in front of him so hard that it repelled off onto the floor and yelled &quot;GO PARK IN THE BACK!&quot;<br />
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Just so you know, I always check in before 7 p.m. since the house fee jumps twenty more dollars after that time. I didn&#39;t even bother arguing since I knew he was just trying to make things difficult for me and arguing would just delay my check in time. I quickly picked my card up off the floor and hurried back to my car. To get to the back parking lot, you are required to get back on the main road. I knew this could take some time, but still managed to get back inside the club around 6:55 p.m. As I was walking towards the counter I saw that there was a dancer there checking in. I figured this would not be a problem since it literally takes fifteen seconds to check someone in. I waited patiently as he took his time with this girl. As he continued to make small talk with her, I checked the time on my phone. I noticed I only had three minutes left to check in before the house fee hiked. As I put my phone away, I finally noticed the girl in front of me making her way towards the dressing room. I quickly handed my sheriff&#39;s card to Brett when he suddenly turned to ignore me. He made his way over to the fax machine, pretending that there was something outstandingly important that he must figure out about it. Doodling with the buttons and scrambling through some papers, his true intent was perfectly clear.<br />
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As expected, he finished with the fax machine at precisely 7:01 p.m. where he then proceeded to the counter, grabbed my card, and checked me in. I remember walking to the dressing room furious, but doing my best to compose myself.<br />
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Composure has always been easy for me. It comes with the job. I spend most of my time pretending to be happy, elegant, and always interested in each man I talk to. Although for some reason, Brett got to me. I kept thinking to myself &quot;How can someone come off as such a nice person, but deep down, be such a monster?&quot; Needless to say, I had a terrible night. It was ruined before it even started. I realized that Brett was going to play the revenge game. Tonight, he won. I left work that night with only a terrible mood to bring home.<br />
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After doing a bit of research online, I found that I was not Brett&#39;s first victim. One dancer&#39;s online review struck very close to home. It was an older review from 2009. It was short with little to no detail. Although having a firsthand experience in the same situation myself, details were not needed.<br />
&quot;It&#39;s a tourist trap. no one will have your back at this club.&nbsp; My first night there i was pulled into the the karaoke room with the owner&#39;s son, Brett and nephew, Matt. I was basically abused for 4 hours, propositioned and refused.&nbsp; I was not paid and the next night when I checked in I was moved to a 3am to 9 am shift!!! This club is terrible!!!&quot;<br />
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Clearly, a trip to the karaoke room is Brett&#39;s form of orientation for the new girls.<br />
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I was never good at properly citing my information in English class. However, doing my best, I found this review on the website www.stripclubnetwork.com posted under Sapphire&#39;s reviews on 11/11/09 titled &quot;Totally Agree.&quot;<br />
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I hoped that Brett was finished. He had made his point and could now just leave me alone. Unfortunately, this wasn&#39;t the case.<br />
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I made it a habit to park in the back to avoid the previously mentioned situation ever again. Still, on three different occasions, Brett managed to lollygag around just enough to check me in late. Even on one occasion, he told me that I owed the club for a missed stage fee. Knowing that I had not missed any stage (a $40 fee), I argued that it could not be possible. I wasted my breath. I should have known it was pointless. I paid the missed stage fee along with my house fee. Upon receiving my receipt, I noticed that there was no &quot;missed stage&quot; fee. He just charged me an extra house fee, as it stated on my receipt.<br />
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By this point, I&#39;ve had enough. I decided that I would begin working the late shift, the 2 a.m. shift. I knew that around 2 a.m. there was a shift change in managers. I figured I would do best with these new unknown managers, since I hadn&#39;t been given the chance to piss them off yet. &nbsp;<br />
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Well, I was wrong.<br />
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Things did go as planned for about two weeks. I kept to myself, and managed to go unnoticed by any club manager.<br />
<br />
Then I met Martin.<br />
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It was a busy Saturday night, and the club was packed. I noticed a cute couple sitting together, watching and commenting as the girls walked by. Knowing that this is always a good sign that the couple is looking for a girl to do a &quot;couple&#39;s dance&quot; I made my way over to them. Most strippers are scared of couples, fearing that the female counterpart will not approve of their presence. I&#39;ve always embraced them. They tend to always appreciate the attention and after a bit of chit chatting, always get a couple&#39;s dance. Naturally, this dance is more expensive and the tip is always better. Like I said, I love couples.<br />
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A nice introduction and a bit of small talk later, this couple and I were in the VIP room doing a half hour. As I mentioned before, I don&#39;t do &quot;extras&quot; But, I do give one hell of a dance. As with all my couple&#39;s dances, they do tend to get a bit hotter than my one on one dances. Being in a relationship myself, I do my best to use the situation to bring out as much passion as I can between the couple. I encourage them to use each other along with me to evoke one amazing and memorable lap dance.<br />
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I must have been on my A-game this night because this particular couple was really getting into it. That&#39;s when another dancer got up and complained to the VIP host. She basically rambled on about how the guy she was with wanted her to dance like me and she would rather do the typical lousy lap dance. This is a common type dance which involves the girl taking the customer&#39;s money upfront, then just sitting on his lap the entire time sipping a drink and chatting away. I don&#39;t believe in cheating people out of their money. They pay a high price to have an experience that is far from the norm. A dancer should appreciate this and always try their best to deliver a great dance.<br />
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&nbsp;I always hear girls complain that they don&#39;t like to give lap dances and just want money for simply sitting in their underwear. My only answer to that is &quot;Then maybe you shouldn&#39;t be a stripper.&quot;<br />
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Now I&#39;ll get back to my couple&#39;s dance.<br />
<br />
The VIP host glanced over at me to see who this griping stripper was talking about. I don&#39;t tip the VIP host the absurd amount that many dancers do, so I knew that there would be no sympathy for me here. I watched as the host picked up his walky and paged a manager to come to VIP. Seconds later I look to my right and see a heavy set black male standing there, manager Martin. He waived for me to stop and come speak to him in private. Once we were out of sight, he told me to cool things down with the couple and explained how I was getting complaints from fellow dancers. Not wanting to leave the couple waiting, I shook my head implying that I understood and I was released back to my couple.<br />
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&nbsp;I tried to tame it a bit, but the two of them were already too riled up, especially the girl. I noticed Martin continued to stand close by, only a few feet away, watching me the whole time. I ignored him and put my focus towards the couple. After a few minutes, I heard him page security to the VIP room. Seconds later I was tapped on the shoulder by a bouncer, and was told to come with him. He pretty much told me the same thing Martin said before. This time I asked them if they were bored since I wasn&#39;t doing anything crazy (this is Vegas) and if they wanted the couple to calm down, then I was the wrong person to get them to do so. He replied that they don&#39;t like to enforce the rules on the customers since it makes an uncomfortable situation. I replied&nbsp; &quot;Great, I&#39;m supposed to be the fantasy and the bouncer at the same time.&quot;<br />
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Finally, I was able to get back to the couple.&nbsp; Despite my subtle efforts, they were still just as rowdy as before. Martin continued to awkwardly gawk at us from the corner but luckily, there were no more security calls for the rest of the dance.<br />
<br />
Despite all the annoying interruptions, the couple&#39;s dance was a success in my book. All smiles and still clinging to one another, the couple immediately left the club to go and make good use of this abrupt spark of passion.<br />
<br />
I made my way back out to the floor and continued to work.<br />
<br />
All was going well until I made my way to the bar and I heard a familiar voice call my name. I looked around, gazing through the crowd of people, when my eyes finally landed upon Martin. He was standing to the side of the bar motioning with his hands for me to come see him. Figuring this was about the couple&#39;s dance earlier; I took a deep breath and slowly made my way over to him.<br />
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A few steps before my arrival I composed a fake smile and continued to walk towards Martin. To my surprise he smiled back, and then told me to follow him. A bit confused, I followed him into the empty large auditorium styled room adjacent to the main bar. I had seen this room once before and knew that it&#39;s only current use was for the male review. Once inside, I noticed it was much quieter than the main club. Martin looked at me still smiling and said &quot;Now we can talk.&quot; He sat down at a table and invited me to join him. Hoping to make this as quick and painless as possible, I obliged.<br />
<br />
He began to speak and I nearly keeled over when I heard him apologize for the situation earlier. He asked me my name and if we had met before. We actually had spoken briefly once before this night, but I decided against informing him of this. I never cared for awkward situations and do my best to avoid them. I introduced myself and he began to ask me a series of questions. He seemed interested in me; asking me where I was from, how long I had danced, how old I was, etc.<br />
<br />
Seeming genuine, I decided to loosen up a bit and engage in the conversation. He was actually kind and quite enjoyable to talk to. He did exude a bit of arrogance, a trait of all strip club managers, and his body language implied that he approved of my looks. He began to question and converse about my dancing skills; asking me where I learned to dance the way I did. I responded that I used to dance nude at the very liberal Deja vu and that in comparison to most dancers there, my dances were considered quite modest. He laughed and responded &quot;Yeah, that&#39;s my spot! I like to go there and Little Darlings when I go out. That&#39;s what&#39;s up!&quot; I smiled and he confirmed that he understood why I dance the way I do. We continued to talk; although, I couldn&#39;t help to notice the irony of the situation. An hour before, he sent security on me for the way I danced. Now, here we are, him complementing me on my style of dancing. To further the situation, he invited me to go and have some drinks with him.<br />
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I don&#39;t like to drink too much at work. I&#39;ve had multiple hard lessons when it comes to &quot;learning my limit.&quot; but I figured one more drink wouldn&#39;t hurt. Plus, I definitely didn&#39;t want to step on this manager&#39;s toes. At this point, the only shift left would be the 8 a.m. morning shift (dun dun dun dun).<br />
<br />
When we entered back into the main club the crowd had really died down, making the excuse &quot;oh, I need to go and work the crowd.&quot;&nbsp; a less likely option at this point. I followed Martin to the bar where we both sat down and the bar tender immediately came to take our order.<br />
<br />
Just so you know, I&#39;m a beer and wine kind of girl with maybe a mixed drink here and there. I&#39;ve never done too well with any type of hard liquor.<br />
<br />
&nbsp;I was about to state my drink order when Martin announced &quot;Let&#39;s do shots!&quot; My stomach dropped and churned at the mere sound of the idea. I put my fake smile back on and hesitated. &quot;I don&#39;t know if that&#39;s a good idea.&quot; I said. He laughed and said not to worry that he knew some really good ones that you couldn&#39;t even taste the alcohol in. I regrettably smiled and nodded.<br />
<br />
Well, four or five shots later I was a good two sheets to the wind. I know my tolerance when it comes to beer and wine, but hard liquor is one tolerance I have yet to ace. I&#39;ve learned in the past that once I get to the point of being drunk, I stop. Any further drinking past that point will result in an endless need to consume more alcohol, a spotty memory, and a whale of a hangover the following morning.<br />
<br />
Even though I passed the point of being drunk my want for more alcohol was limited. Luckily, my stingy ways were still evoked in my drunken state as I refused to allow myself to spend any of my money on anymore absurdly priced drinks.<br />
<br />
I remember sitting in a restroom stall when I heard the DJ announce that I would be up on stage in two songs. I recall slapping myself a bit trying to reclaim composer. The last thing I wanted to do was to make a drunken fool of myself on stage. I still remember each girl that made that mistake before and how I couldn&#39;t stop laughing as I watched and pointed with the other dancers.<br />
<br />
&nbsp;I checked myself in the mirror, adjusted my bra, pulled my shoulders back, and made my way to the stage.<br />
<br />
While dancing on stage I decided against my usual pole tricks, and replaced them with a nice, slow, and sensual dance around the pole. This actually worked quite well as I lured a few men to the tip rail. I was finishing up my second song when the DJ announced that I was needed in the VIP room immediately after stage.<br />
<br />
Even in my drunken state, this rang to be a bit eerie. Still, quite curious, I walked through the main floor, up the steps, and down the hall the VIP room. Upon entering I immediately saw Martin talking to a male customer, whom was quite noticeably drunk. The man kept loudly muttering &quot;I&#39;ll hook you up, just give me five minutes.&quot; I walked towards Martin and he pulled me aside to one of the empty rooms. He explained to me that he got one of the customers (the drunk male) to buy him some dances and that I was his dancer of choice. This made me uncomfortable, but I figured I could use the money and would just look at Martin as another customer. In all honesty, I didn&#39;t really feel like I could tell him &quot;No.&quot;<br />
<br />
We exited the room back to the VIP reception area where the drunk man stooped against the wall repeating the same drunken phrase to Martin &quot;I&#39;ll hook you up. Just give me a minute. Go find your girl and I&#39;ll hook you up.&quot; Martin, seeing that he wasn&#39;t making progress with this individual, told me to check back in a bit because he is really going to try to get this guy to buy him some dances. I agreed to check back and promptly left the VIP room.<br />
<br />
Back on the main floor I found gentleman who was interested in chatting and receiving a few dances. I was happy to do so, knowing that it would be an excellent excuse to why I hadn&#39;t check back in at VIP room. It worked. The DJ called me back to the VIP room again while I was in mid dance with this customer. I simply waved to catch the DJ&#39;s attention showing him that I was preoccupied.<br />
<br />
After a while this customer was ready to leave. I walked him towards the exit and stopped at the bar to hug him good bye. We parted ways when I suddenly heard that all too familiar voice. &quot;There you are!&quot; I turned to see Martin standing there next to the bar smiling at me. I went sat down next to him, and immediately explained why I hadn&#39;t check back with him. He blew it off and said that the guy decided not to buy him dances anyway and left some time ago. Feeling a little bit relieved I continued to make conversation with him.<br />
<br />
Another short leprechaun looking manager approached the bar and announced that he was ready for some drinks as he pounded his fists on the bar. Martin looked over at the bartender and shouted &quot;Add two more of what he&#39;s having over here!&quot; pointing in front of us. &quot;Oh God&quot; I thought to myself. I was still drunk from the shots before. &quot;Okay, one more and I&#39;m done.&quot; I said with a determined voice. It was about time for me to get off work and I was more than ready to get out of there.<br />
<br />
The bartender brought us these two large shot glasses and filled them to the top with some type of tequila. Martin did a cheers and we both took the shot back. It was awful. I this point I began to lose track of time. My shift ended at 8 a.m. and needed to be home by 9 a.m. so my husband could have the car for work.<br />
<br />
Martin and I continued to talk at the bar and at one point in our conversation he stopped and said he wanted to show me something. I drunkenly obliged and followed him to the VIP room. As we continued to walk through the deserted VIP area asked him &quot;Where are we going?&quot; He grabbed my hand and said &quot;Have you been here before?&quot; I heard the door close and I took a step back. I was in the Karaoke room.<br />
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I don&#39;t know why, but I quickly lied and said that I had never been there before; most likely not wanting to bring up the ordeal from my previous visit. He quickly dimmed the lights and put on some music. As drunk as I was, I still was not at ease. Martin pointed at the stripper pole and asked me if I know any tricks. I smiled and nodded as I walked towards the pole. I remember thinking to myself &quot;Okay, this isn&#39;t so bad. I&#39;ll just do some pole tricks and be on my way.&quot; As soon as I went upside down on the pole, I could feel my alcohol soaked blood rush to my head. Standing back up, the alcohol was at full effect right now. I glanced over at Martin sitting and watching me on the couch nearby. He looked at me intensely as he sunk back into the couch and spread his legs a little. &quot;Why don&#39;t you come show me those dance moves of yours?&quot; Martin suggested as he motioned me to come with his hand.<br />
<br />
I that moment, I remember feeling scared and thinking about what happened the last time I ran away from the karaoke room. Feeling numb from the alcohol, I decided to just go along with it and get it over with. I began to give him a pretty shitty lap dance, remembering that he is a manager and the very exact manager who had me removed for dirty dancing earlier. After a few seconds of my air dance Martin says &quot;No, no, not like this. Show me those moves you were doing back there with that couple.&quot; The irony of this situation was overwhelming.<br />
<br />
So I began a more sensual lap dance. &quot;Like this?&quot; I asked. &quot;Yeah, I like this. Can&#39;t you tell?&quot; Martin said implying to his obvious erection protruding from his loose suit pants. &nbsp;<br />
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&nbsp;I was drunk, tired, and hungry and just wanted to go home. I continued to dance hoping that he would soon be satisfied. I completed my third song, when I glanced at Martin&#39;s watch and saw that is was 8:40 a.m. I suddenly jumped up and with a surprised expression said &quot;Oh, I&#39;m late! I didn&#39;t realize it was so late!&quot; Martin sat up to regain his manager composure. &quot;Oh, wow. I didn&#39;t realize how late it was either.&quot; he said as he adjusted himself and stood up.<br />
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I walked quickly with him to the front of VIP where I was preparing to say my good byes. I smiled and said &quot;So, I&#39;ll see you later?&quot; As I started to walk away he yelled &quot;Hey! Are you working tomorrow?&quot; I told him that I most likely would, and he informed me that in exchange for my dances he would give me a free house fee.<br />
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The fact that I just did three free dances didn&#39;t even cross my mind. I didn&#39;t care about the money or the free house fee. I just wanted to get the hell out of there as fast as I could.<br />
<br />
I didn&#39;t go to work the next day. I spent that day lying in bed nursing my hangover and fighting off the memories of the night before. I was confused and angry.<br />
<br />
Thank God I have an awesome husband who supports me and understands the club environment. If I didn&#39;t have him to talk to, I would probably go insane.<br />
<br />
From then on, I avoided Martin. If I did see him I would simply fake a smile and say &quot;Hi!&quot;<br />
<br />
I learned a hard lesson from him and I will never allow myself to be taken advantage of by him or any other manager again. I certainly realized it is better to be hated by a strip club manager than liked by one.<br />
<br />
I still cringe every time I see Martin, thinking back to that night. I would pay to be able to go back and deal with that situation sober. I probably wouldn&#39;t be working at Sapphire anymore. Not for being physically aggressive, but for simply walking out of the karaoke room.<br />
<br />
There is nothing I can do to change the past. I live, learn, and move forward.<br />
<br />
Hopefully, the truth will prevail.<br />
<br />
xoxo</p>