tuscl

Seattle Area Strip Club Overview

Mistoff
Washington
Sunday, July 14, 2013 12:00 AM
TUSCL is great for looking up a club. But the individual reviews don't give you the big picture. Some places don't have a big picture. Excepting COI, L.A. is pretty devoid of a storyline. But Seattle has a story. Years ago Seattle had a scene more exciting than Portlands. That was Frank Colacurcio Sr.'s doing. Frank was Seattle organized crime. Got convicted in 1943 when he was 36 for having sex with a minor, did time in Monroe about 20 miles northwest of Seattle. Then controlled cigarettes, was regularly investigated for raqueteering, and ran a chain of very liberal clubs - Ricks, Honeys, Sugars. These made COI look tame. He was brung low on FBI-investigated bribery charges, which escalated into everything else. The clubs and Talents West were raided in 2008. That was five years ago. Sugars and Honeys are no more. Ricks has been reopened as "Ricks at Deja Vu". In Seattle now, Deja Vu is the big name. More than half the clubs are Deja Vu. Deja Vu is often a franchise that started in porn but went upscale. It shows in the clubs. But Deja Vu went all-in in Seattle, with corporate (Lansing, MI - Mahoney) even buying The Showbox, a large venue near Pike Place in 1997. (That's the heart of the fish-flinging downtown part of Seattle.) So there are no clean hands in Seattle. But there are clean clubs. Seattle has basically three classes of clubs: 1. Anything Goes 2. Classy 3. Dive The Anything Goes class is reminiscent of Frank. It's a short list. Pandora, Sands and Centerfolds. And it depends on the time of day. The more liberal policies are before 5pm on weekdays. But your dancer may not be an 8. If you don't like tattoos and piercings, not even a 4. Seattle is an alternative town and these gals are skank. The Classy clubs are most of the Deja Vu ones. Yes, the perpetrator of porn, Harry Mahoney, made good. That includes the Deja Vu in Lake Forest Park (Bothell or Kenmore, the nicest one, that's on the 522), Dreamgirls at Ricks in Kenmore, Little Darlings in Seattle near the stadiums, and the Deja Vu in Seattle. All are Deja Vus, and all have, well, certain restrictions. The two clubs on 522 (Kenmore) have great looking gals. The others, except Tukwila (near the airport), are nice. Tukwila is worth skipping. The Dives are the rest. Notably Club Sin Rock in Renton, about 5 miles from Tukwila (SeaTac airport), and the other two Deja Vu clubs, Tukwila and Tacoma. Sin Rock has uptight unpleasant and not particularly attractive dancers toeing very restrictive rules. TUSCL calls the Tacoma Deja Vu "Parkland". It's Tacoma. The Tukwila Deja Vu is in a poor and ethnically disadvantaged area, and the staff reflects this. Tacoma is in... Tacoma. The Deja Vu Tacoma (Parkland) survives on desperate military leaves, with okay lookers but no service or ambience. So there you have it. If you want a certain amount of interaction, hit Pandora, Sands or Centerfolds during a weekday. If you want great looking dancers just out of reach, hit the Deja Vu clubs including their Dream Girls and Little Darlings names, but not south of Seattle. And if you want frustration, go south of Seattle.

20 comments

  • Clackport
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    11 years ago
    Good article mistoff, I had been thinking of checking out the club scene in Seattle. It's only a 3 hr drive from me in Portland. Maybe I'll make that drive one of these days.
  • shadowcat
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    11 years ago
    Good job. Wish there were more informative articles like this.
  • Tiredtraveler
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    11 years ago
    I have done the club scene in Seattle and you hit it right on the head. While I have not been in all the mentioned clubs I have been in many and the Deja-Vu and Little Darlings clubs are as described and The others are also as described. I would add one club not mentioned Dancing Bare. I would it consider another dive club with low to hit and miss talent and no privacy. about as much interaction as Deja Vu in Bothell but not as nice looking.
  • Chili Palmer
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    11 years ago
    What a great job writing an interesting and informative story about the Seattle clubs. My hat is off to you, sir. CP
  • Club_Goer_Seattle
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    11 years ago
    Mistoff, Generally a good overview, but I will disagree with you on one point and offer some corrections to your material. 1. DIVES I would say that Dancing Bare, is definitely a dive. I've clubbed all through Southern California, the Puget Sound Region, Las Vegas, and a smattering of other U.S. cities. I've seen no lower a club than Seattle's Dancing Bare anywhere else. However, I would also include Centerfolds as a dive. Just read it's reviews. The club is managed and maintained very poorly. Conversely, I would not consider Club Sin Rock a dive. It's well-appointed and maintained. It's weakness is that its rules are so strict. I won't go there as a result, unless I have some specific recommendations. Perhaps it's a dive in that sense. 2. GEOGRAPHY I would offer some corrections to your geographical references: a.) The Deja Vu, Lake Forest Park is in the city of Lake Forest Park. You mentioned Bothell and Kenmore which are the next two incorporated cities east of Lake Forest Park. (Some confusion can exist with that club, because although within the city limits of the city of Lake Forest Park, it advertises itself as its "Lake City" location, which is the name of the neighborhood in the adjoining city of Seattle, just one block south.) b.) Dreamgirls (at Sodo-Seattle for "south of downtown") is one block south of the stadiums. Neither Deja Vu, Seattle (across from Pike Place Market as you alluded to), nor Little Darlings are near the stadium district. c.) State Route 522 has three strip clubs, not just two: From north to south - Deja Vu, Lake Forest Park, Dreamgirls at Ricks, and Pandora's. The latter two are within the city limits of the city of Seattle. Further confusing the matter could be that State Route 522 changes street names at NW 145th St. It is Bothell Way, north of that point, and Lake City Way south of there. Bothell Way is the street address for Deja Vu, Lake Forest Park; the other two clubs have Lake City Way addresses. There are no clubs within the cities of Kenmore or Bothell. (See TUSCL's club directory.) d.) The following statement of yours need correcting: "TUSCL calls the Tacoma Deja Vu "Parkland." (I think you simply confused the two south sound clubs. It's easy to do.) What is advertised as the Tacoma Vu is located outside of the city limits of Tacoma and within the incorporated city of Lakewood. That's why it's listed in TUSCL's directory with a Lakewood address. Like the Deja Vu, Lake Forest Park, the Deja Vu company has chose to advertise the Lakewood Vu as it's Tacoma location. Understandable. Dreamgirls at Fox's is correctly stated as located in the unincorporated Pierce County community of Parkland. Sorry to nitpick your description of the locations. You may have created some confusion among readers attempting to locate these clubs. I spent 22 years working in the field of urban geography. I'm very conscious of municipal boundaries and exactly where incorporated cities and unincorporated county areas are located in areas I frequent. I enjoyed your synopsis of the life and times of Frank Colucurcio! For just a little longer description, see his Wikipedia entry: [view link] (or maybe you did already). If you're really interested, I recommend reading, "Seattle Vice--Strippers, Prostitution, Dirty Money, and Crooked Cops in the Emerald City" by Rick Anderson (2010). The name "Colacurcio" has more entries in the index than any other name or subject in the book. After the 2008 "big raid" on the Talents West clubs that you mentioned, and their subsequent 2010 closing, I became fascinated with the history of the Colacurcios. The book is quite enlightening!
  • TxVegas
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    11 years ago
    Thanks for the summary. These types of articles are the most helpful. I will be in Seattle late this year and will come back to this to help decide where to club.
  • SlickSpic
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    11 years ago
    Mistoff, that was very well done. I'll be definitely checking out that book. Thanks for the article.
  • minnow
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    11 years ago
    Kudos to mistoff and Club_Goer for their posts. I have a much better idea which clubs I should drive my rental car to, and which clubs to pointedly avoid, even though it is near my hotel. Well done!
  • Alucard
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    11 years ago
    Should ask Dougster too, he claims to KNOW IT ALL!!! ;) ;)
  • ArtCollege
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    11 years ago
    Good summary. Regarding Dancing Bare, mileage not as high as Pandora's but my experience was friendly dancers, better mileage than Deja Vu. But it is a dive.
  • Player11
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    11 years ago
    What about pop in the anything goes clubs? I wonder how prices there compare to Houston. Funny you mentioned Centerfolds on the anything goes list. There is a Centerfolds here in Houston which is anything goes. Wonder if owned by same guy.
  • Mistoff
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    11 years ago
    Club-Goer added some great detail and neurosis. Even locals don't know where Lake Forest Park is. It's just 522 between Kenmore and Seattle which means right on top of the lake. Nobody knows. Nobody cares. He is right that there are 3 clubs on 522. I've reviewed all three. But I meant the sentence about Classy Clubs which Pandora misses. It's skank. Go a mile west to the skank. Its worth it. I didn't expect a proof reader or any attention really. Other geography. Most of Seattle is pretty close together. Sodo is a 10 minute walk south from the stadium district. Another 10 minute walk to Pike where the Seattle Deja Vu is. It's worth missing. And yes, Dancing Bare is a dive. Player11, Houston is random. Would you compare PT or Dolls to Mirage? You mean like Frisco near Dallas? Or skanksville? Dancers set own prices but happiness maybe 40-50% of Texas cost. With a lot less face powder and more tats and nose rings. Everything is bigger in Texas. Including bolt-ons and price tags.
  • Mistoff
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    11 years ago
    Be nice to be able to edit. Before Club-Goer corrects me. From Sodo, 10 minute walk north to stadiums. One spotty club and several great breweries. 10 minutes walk north from there to Pike. One more okay brewery in the Market, great market, flying fish and one Classy not fun club. 10 minute east walk to another Classy club. Another 10 minutes walking is Capital Hill. Alternative, but has another decent brewery. Just make sure that girl really is a girl.
  • SlickSpic
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    11 years ago
    Thanks for the extra info. Especially the breweries.
  • Club_Goer_Seattle
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    11 years ago
    No more corrections, Mistoff. Good description of the fun to be had in the area (especially the flying fish)! Sorry I got so carried away on making corrections. The Puget Sound Region and the rest of the Pacific Northwest has the most complex street naming and numbering systems I've encountered anywhere in the U.S. It's easy to make a mistake. Speaking of mistakes, I made one myself in offering the corrections I did. Did anyone spot it?
  • Dougster
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    11 years ago
    It's a good summary. Only thing I have to add is that it is a myth that you can't get extras in the DJV clubs. A but scarcer, sure, but it is still all there. As for OTC doesn't really matter which club you choose, DJV or not, since most girls are up for it these days.
  • JGoose
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    11 years ago
    It is a myth! If the dancer knows which cameras aren't working, and you can afford it, it could happen for you!
  • ALLADDIN69
    •
    6 years ago
    Any New updates here
  • RatchetHoes
    •
    5 years ago
    Follow me for the gutter monsters of Seattle's Strip Club Scene
  • rhiannon529
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    4 years ago
    This was GREAT!!! I’m from Seattle originally but started dancing at 18 in LA and Dallas when I moved there for college- anywhere is western WA that isn’t a total dive is a deja Vu franchised club, the Seattle stripper listener is $175, $150 house fee, no alcohol And full nudity- shit I knew I’d never make any money dancing here so I’m not even gonna try it. Dallas was great-$25 house fee, $30 license that never expired, topless only and full bars!!
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