membership cards

Avoiding trouble is probably more like it. As shadowcat once said, even clubs that don't require memberships can restrict entrance apparently to some type of casual dress. I was told at one time that Nepals requires a collar shirt on guys to maintain a dress code as well. Many clubs also ask for ID. I don't know if that is age related appearance or not. I am no where near 21 anymore but get asked for my id almost all the time.

The door lady at Nepals told me that the purpose of their membership requirement was to restrict clientele to those who weren't likely to cause a disturbance in their parking lot. It might even be (I'm speculating) that their quiet residential location required them to be a membership-only club. I don't believe this was code for bigotry, and as I recall the mix of patrons reflected that.

shadowcat, I was actually trying to avoid the top 40 but forgot all about it. The rating system used to not count reviews after they were over a year old. I used to post under a different name as well. I don't really care to be in the spotlight or have the clubs I go to be in the spotlight too much. Unless they need attention of course.

I will probably drop back off the list any week now.

I ran into this in Olathe, KS a few weeks ago. It was a $5 cover or a $10 annual membership card. I opted for the card since I knew I probbably would be back during the trip a few times. It seems to be a deal that is region dependent. I know lots of the NC clubs require it. I personally would rather just pay a reasonable cover and be done with it.

Shadow, I think that's exactly right. By calling themselves "private," they can get away with laws that refer to "public places," "places of public accomodation, " etc.

But note (since I am a lawyer)--in the 60s, some organizations with bars, restaurants, etc., tried to get around the racial descrimination laws by declaring themselves private. Under those circumstances, the Supreme Court declared that if an establishment has a liquor license, the sponsoring organization has sufficiently availed itself of the benefits of the public sector that it will be considered "public" for the purposes of open accomodation laws.

I'm not away of this rationale being used with private clubs that were trying to skirt obscenity/indecency laws.

Chitown, I used to think there were legal reasons for having memberships too, but there are other clubs in the neighborhood that have full bars and just as much nudity and contact (in fact more) than the two MD clubs I mentioned. So I assume it's main purpose is to recover the money the club loses by not being able to sell drinks. In fact all of the MD clubs without liquor licenses that I know of have higher entrance fees than the clubs that sell drinks, whether they sell memberships or not. I guess it depends on where you are.

I'm not sure if Nepals issues membership cards but they keep a computer file I believe. I like the club as well. It's upscale and the music volume doesn't hurt your ears like it does at some other clubs. It's like a friendly neigborhood bar where you can relax and talk to the dancers or other friendly people. You can get lost in some bigger clubs down the road such as Platinum Plus and may have to wear ear plugs as well to save your hearing. It can get annoying in such a club to keep shouting at a dancer so she can hear you and visa versa.

At the clubs I went to that required membership cards, the "membership fee" was relatively small, in the $5-10 range, so I just threw out the card in the parking lot and considered the fee as a cover charge.

Typically, these "membership" requirements are just _pro forma_ dodges around nudity/obscenity laws that regulate conduct/business in public places, not exempt private clubs. So, if you want to see boobies, you have to pay $5 at the door to "join" our "club. (The Association of People Who Will Pay $5 a pop to Watch Boobies.)

Memberships seem to be a NC, or MidAtlantic thing. Harpers in Greensboro area waived it by showing hotel key, may have paid slightly higher CC, been a while. I've declined to visit 3 clubs in SW OH ( 1 has gone out of SC biz) for their practice of requiring the scanning of your drivers lic. into computer, no thanks.

I've been to Nepals several times and I don't remember having to do anything other than sign a log, and I always did so in such a way that it was impossible to read. But I also always had a room key from a nearby hotel which substitutes for a membership, which is maybe a reason to swipe a hotel key card sometime. I really like that club by the way, I can't say I know of any other place quite like it.

The other two places I was thinking of are Showcase Theater and Wagon Wheel (aka Manhattan Players Club), both in Maryland. Both require an annual membership but they're both BYOB so you more than make up for the cost in what you save on drink prices. Both are fairly high contact LD factories and have very attractive and friendly ladies, worth visiting if you're ever in the area.

Many if not almost all clubs in NC seem to require memberships and membership cards to get in unless you are a guest of a member. At least that's the way I remember it. Many couples actually go to upscale strip clubs together in the Carolinas so it may not really be a big deal to have a card around here. I suppose if your SO thought it was a terrible sin just to have a drink, you would have much bigger problems on your hands than where to hide your membership card.

This is very big in the Charlotte NC area. I hate it. Sometimes you can bypass this if you tell them you are in town for a short business visit and show them a hotel key.

FONDL, when I visited Nepal's in Greenville, South Carolina, they took down a whole lot of personal info. Nothing I considered a risk, although a guy who was paranoid about blackmail might feel otherwise. It might have been an easier process if I had a hotel key, which was their first request.

My home club issued me a VIP card, which gets me in without paying the cover. I keep it in my car's console, and slip it into a back pocket when I'm in the club. I never carry a wallet in a strip club.

It's been awhile but I don't think the place I'm thinking of did that. They may have looked at a driver's license but they didn't take down any information other than your name, and I'm not even sure they did that other than putting it on the card. I would think a place would lose a lot of business if they required a bunch of personal info.

I've seen this before. Usually they can keep you on file in a computer so you don't have to have the card to get back in at the reduced rate. What I don't like is the personal information they usually want you to hand over for the "membership."

I think Nepals is different than most, it definately has a private club atmosphere, which I like. And is dressier than most with no young punks. The 2 places in MD that I mentioned are the exact opposite, very lowbrow, so that's clearly not the issue with them. And both clubs are located in moderately seedy industrial areas. I think the issue for them is strictly the money.

I used to have a yearly membership to this one club that has since been closed up. It was $25 the first year and then $30 the next, which ended up a waste because I only went twice more before they closed up. I think all they did was check your ID to see if you were of age, and then gave you a card with your name on it and you showed it at the door. You could get a one-day membership which amounted to a cover as well. I wasn't fond of the whole procedure, but they did have good dancers.