Oversaturation of Northeast Pennsylvania Strip Clubs

Apr 12, 2016, 12:00 AM

The strip club scene in Northeast Pennsylvania has been ever-changing in the past few years. Recently three clubs either opened up or changed hands. Teasers opened in the old G-10 location. The Diamond Club in Old Forge changed hands, as well as the club in Mayfield. Old Superdads is now Perfect 10. So that is three clubs. There are five more in a 30 mile radius: Grandview in Goldsboro, Tattletales on Rt 115, Pleasure Dome in White Haven, Carousel in Nanticoke, and Cabaret in Kingston. That's a lot of clubs close together. In some ways that is a good thing, some ways no so good.

Let's start with the good first:

Variety. There are plenty of clubs and dancers to choose from.
Choice. If you are a club and it isn't happening, you can just move on. The next club is only 20 minutes away.
Service (extras). With this many clubs you know you can get everything you want.
Availability. Hours to fit your schedule. Some open up early afternoon, some close at 4am.

Now for the not so good:

Talent. It takes a lot of girls to fill the schedule. Therefore they pretty much let anybody dance, even ones that should have stayed home on the porch.
Income. After talking to a few dancers, I know for a fact the money just isn't there. How can it be? With a limited number of customers, there is only so much money to be had.
Quality. If the hot dancers can make money they head down to the Las Vegas area to work and we end up with a bunch of has-beens or newbies.
Customer Service. If the club isn't making money, service falls off and the up-keep of the facility suffers.

Here is my take on the scenario. Only the strong will survive.

Perfect 10. It gets awful lonely out there in Mayfield. This will be the first club to go belly up.
The Diamond Club. It's a big building, and it takes a lot of door fees to heat and cool this place. Add in a mortgage or lease payment and this ship will be the second one to sink.
Teasers. It's a toss up here. Things are slow so far. Can they keep up with the Joneses? I guess we'll see.
Pleasure Dome. Rock solid and it ain't going anywhere. After Bruno had to shed the wayward orphans (Diamond Club and Superdads), this place has to be the money maker.

Comments (3)

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ellocohombre9 years ago

3)Should read can't make money,Lehigh Valley not Vegas

DFFECHSWU9 years ago

I lived in the NEPA area most of my life and definitely can agree with some of what you wrote. However, I also think we have something unique in that area in that we have BYOB clubs that are full nude. Granted that's not a benefit for those who don't drink, but it's a big cost saver for those who do. I would rather pay $20 at the door instead of $5 at the door and then 5 to $7 for a drink.

As for the clubs, I've had some good times and some bad times at most of the ones you mentioned. I haven't been to Superdads / Perfect 10 in Mayfield, as it's just too far away from me.

I do agree that the Pleasure Dome is pretty rock-solid these days. When it first opened up and even several years after, it was inundated with New York City "talent", which also ended up at Diamond Club. It is definitely much better these days as it's gotten rid of that vibe. Gentlemen's Club 10, now Teasers, what's a good club. From what I gather, this club is also owned by the same people who own Platinum Plus in Allentown, and they have brought simar concepts to Wilkes-Barre. They've started scanning IDa, and some interior changes such as the ones made to the VIP rooms, are not in the customer's favor. I've seen a lot of dancers there that have previously danced either at Tattletales or the Peasure Dome.

I'm not sure that the Carousel Lounge and Cabaret Lounge can even be included as competitive places for takent. Both are definitely on the low end of the totem pole. So is Leave it to Beaver's, which at one time was pretty good in 2010-2013, but it's definitely fallen off the cliff as of late.

My favorite of the ones you mentioned is The Grandview. I know some folks don't necessarily agree with that due to the smallness of the club and/or tip requests made by some of the dancers. But from what I have experienced at the Pleasure Dome and the Diamond Club, those tip requests aren't any different. As a frame of reference, I had one girl at The Diamond Club State she wanted $80 for one nude dance. That is extreme for any area, but for coal country, it's way out of line. It's also indicative of how our of synch the dancer's self worth is vs. their environment. That's not meant to demean them, but at $80 for a song, you're talking roughly $1,600 an hour.

Anyway, for overall quality, I think The Grandview beats every other club in the area. The Pleasure Dome in most instances is close behind and they are generally more accommodating.

Time will decide the clubs that survive. But I think those that have the best chance are the ones that are the longest tenured in the area without several name changes or owners. In the end, I think The Grandview, The Pleasure Dome, and Diamond Club will remain. As with any other industry, the talent will gravity to the more favorable options.

sinclair9 years ago

Scranton and Wilkes-Barre have been losing population for many years. The population of Scranton has declined 45-50% since the 1930's. Coal mining is gone and manufacturing jobs are gone. There are just not enough guys with disposable income to keep this many clubs afloat.