CLUB HISTORY : 2001 Odyssey Tampa
minnow
Any place that interests me.
The starting point was 1968 when "2001: A Space Odyssey" ( Director Stanley Kubrick) hit the theaters, and ended up winning an Academy Award. I didn't see the movie until 1969 when it made it's way to the 25c theaters. (Gotta save some dough for future strip club visits.)
Concurrently in 1968, Finnish Architect Matti Suuronen designed a flying saucer like Futuro House. It was made of fiberglass, ~ 26' diameter, 13' high, and 500 sf living area. It weighed 12,000 lbs. The original intent was for Futuro House to be a ski cabin that would b easy to construct in rough terrain. Fewer than 100 were originally built, ~ 60 still survive today.
Aforementioned features just might be suitable for some gimmick minded club owner to buy a Futuro House to put on top of a building.....
THE EARLY YEARS : According to current club manager Todd Trause, a crane was used to lift the saucer on top of the club in 1969, the same year the club opened.
Information on the first two decades of club operation is murky, with conflicting accounts on ownership. Original ownership has been attributed to a Tampa Mafia figure, or a local Futuro House dealer.
I couldn't obtain any info on club venue (nude, topless, pasties), lap dances, prices, etc. I've heard nothing about club ever having a liquor license.
THE 1990's : I found this club by accident on my winter vacation in early 1990. My original intent was to visit the much heralded Mons Venus. Driving up Dale Mabry, I couldn't help but notice the flying saucer on top of 2001 Odyssey club advertising "Nude Dancers". Hmm, I'll have to check this out after Mons Venus visit. For this split vacation, spent the last 2 days in Tampa. My first and only visit this trip was an early evening visit- not the greatest time or the greatest shift. Dancer attractiveness wasn't quite up to earlier Mons Venus visit, but not fugly either. Cover charge was probably $10 then, lap dances in private area were $20 each, no volume discounts.
Nude lap dances with contact were a new experience for me, I was just trying to absorb new things.
I didn't try the Spaceship until subsequent visits (both vacation and business trips).
I vaguely recall there being a $20 admission fee, plus a minimum of 3 dances ($20 each) paid to attendant. (almost always female wait staff.) Throughout the 90's, 2001 was my secondary club on Tampa visits because dancer attractiveness, particularly on day shift didn't measure up to Mons. OTOH, there was a good number of midrange lookers there. With the right dancer, I had the best standout dances at 2001, but the best overall experience at the Mons. There were 2 dancers at 2001 that I bought multiple repetitive Spaceships from throughout much of the 90's. Both fit one of my more favored profiles- medium to thick build with moderately large natural breasts. Odyssey was (and still is) willing to hire dancers thicker than model thin.
NEW MILLENIUM & SIX FOOT RULE: Y2K was a bad year for Tampa strip clubs with the vigorous crackdowns on the new 6' rule. Joe Redner's Mons Venus thumbed their nose at the 6' rule, and took the brunt of the raids.
2001 Odyssey did what many other Tampa clubs did (Deja Vu, Tanga Lounge, etc.) did by putting 6' distance colored tape on stage for stage performers to stay inside, and thus keep their 6' distance from patrons. There was a tip jar for tips- no more Stevies or putting tips in g-string/garter. In the back (VIP dance section) it was business as usual.
A little after 911, the club raids sharply dropped off, then basically ceasing altogether. I guess Tampa PD had better things to do than hassle strip clubs, especially after a distraught teenage student pilot flew his rental light aircraft into a bank building in downtown Tampa.
During the first new decade, basic lap dance price was raised from $20 to $25, another club staff was inserted into the transaction with payment of a per visit fee to downstairs area. Spaceship was charged for 15 and 30 minute time packages paid upfront. There were also Champagne Rooms (they probably existed in the 90's, either way I wrote them off as being too expensive. Club also followed Mons Venus lead in becoming a non - smoking club.
2001 ODYSSEY ENTERS THE INTERNET AGE: Thanks to tuscl, I became aware of 2001 club website (2001live.com) which allowed for live video feed of club stage, dressing room, and shower cam for a VIP membership fee.( $9.95/mo, $99/yr, it's about twice that now). There were several cool features. Videos of dancers could be purchased for anywhere from $1 to $12. You could chat with dancer in chat room, and actually hear what she sounded like. One could also "friend" other VIP members, AND club dancers. I used this feature judiciously, mainly asking desired dancer what days/times she'd be on shift. For site mongers, I'd mention when I'd be in club. If visit was mutual, we'd swap info on fave dancers. No one was obtuse enough to post candidly, tuscl PM style on club website PM's as they were likely monitored by club management.
Sadly, the anti - trafficking frenzy that developed a few years later put a kibosh on much of this. LV Networks/ Club management did away with PM capability, purged the video files (losing hot vids of dancers that I'd already purchased sucked). You could no longer hear dancers chat. Now you can type message to dancer on stage or dressing room, but her replies are restricted to emojis, or canned phrases. ("Hey, baby", "Tip me", "You are so great", etc.)
One online feature that hasn't gone away is the "make it rain" option. The minimum amount is $25, I've seen $50 at a time. Early on, a trap door on stage ceiling would open up, with dollar tokens "raining" down on stage. After several years, this practice was discontinued. (Staff got tired of sweeping up stage.) Now, online viewers will hear thunder sound, and see announcement " C made it rain on D for X credits($)." One can also just make an ordinary tip (minimum 5 credits = $5).
There is a stage screen that occasionally shows "Leaderboard" with the highest online tippers and online tipped dancers last 12 hours. One recent viewing showed top 2 tippers tipped $225 and $45 for second highest. I've seen some as high as $300 - $500. That's not my bag - I'd rather spin that kind of money on a live club visit. But some guys treat this like an online poker game, much to the benefit of club, and individual dancers. (Not sure how much of tip/rain parade dancers get to keep.)
POST - COVID ERA : I already have an article about how club managed to get some revenue during Covid 19 shutdown (~ 2 - 3 months) by running limited online shows. Of course now live shows are back. Club is different in that it derives income from more than just being a nude club dependent on just local customers and tourists. Online revenue expands customers beyond club capacity, and may even induce people to visit club on their Tampa vacation. (I've actually met 2 club website VIP members who did just that.)
Another post Covid development is the opening of "Riveters" bar at the south end of the front parking lot. Riveters in a way acts as the third rail of revenue for club in that it brings potential traffic into club who might not otherwise have driven by club. ("Hey, lets hit this club with the saucer after we've had a few drinks and wings.)
2001 Odyssey, for the longest time had food trucks in parking lot, and winked at patrons sneaking in mini bottles to spike their non - alcohol drinks with. It was common to see people go out to their vehicle to grab a beer from the cooler in the trunk, guzzle in the parking lot, and then go back in club with hand stamp, or wrist band. Now in current setup (DJ frequently plugs Riveters, though I don't think there is a direct business/ownership relation between strip club, and bar/grill), people can get their bar, and strip club fixes more conveniently. This at least partially offsets one major gripe of some patrons, namely , no alcohol service in club due to local restrictions.
FUTURE OF CLUB : No discussion of club future would be complete without any mention of hurricanes. One cannot help but wonder how a saucer shaped fiberglass
"house" on top of a club could withstand a major hurricane. I posed that question to current manager Todd Trause. He didn't have a hard wind speed number, but thought that it might withstand a Category 1 hurricane. (74 to 95 mph, a tropical storm wind speed is 39 to 73 mph.)
During my 3 decades of club visits, I'm not aware of Spaceship suffering any significant damage. During that time, Tampa area hasn't been clobbered like some other areas have (Key West, Fort Myers, Panama City, some East Fla. cities come to mind). Maybe a lower Category 1 hurricane/ upper range tropical storm is the worst. I know that when there's been hurricane warnings, club (and online cams) have been closed for 1 to 3 days. Mother Nature can be fickle. One F5 tornado totally destroyed at least 2 clubs in Dayton OH back in 2019.
So far, that club with flying saucer on top is still standing. Hopefully, this article gave you a good idea of the club history.
Adjudicators
shadowcat
very comprehensive.
misterorange
Sounds like a real unusual place. Def will check out if I'm in the area. Can you go up into the spaceship, or is it just for decoration?
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4 comments
misterorange yes you can go in the spaceship like a higher cost VIP room.
But the hottest dancer I’ve ever danced with in my entire life was at The Tanga.
But the prettiest, cutest, girl next door type I’ve ever seen at a club was at 2001.