Indian reservation casinos are big business; why no strip clubs??

avatar for Electronman
Electronman
Too much of a good thing is never enough
Gambling is legal on Indian reservations in the United States and has made some tribes very wealthy with gambling revenue. I've never seen a strip club (or brothel) on a reservation or incorporated into a casino operation. That would seem like another obvious money maker, especially if prudish U.S. laws about prostitution did not extend to the reservations. I'm not a gambler but I would certainly be tempted with an upscale, full service strip club on an Indian reservation. Is it the case that most (maybe all) Indian reservation casinos have "working girls" in the club?

So, why no strip clubs on Indian reservations? Would a strip club add to or detract from your willingness to visit a casino?

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avatar for vincemichaels
vincemichaels
8 years ago
I have no attraction to casinos other than watching people lose money. It's gambling, plain and simple. The Flight Club here tried adding a casino upstairs and it was a total flop. People came, lost their money and didn't partake of the strip club. I've met some gorgeous young Indian women. I'm part Cherokee and Chippewa. I'd definitely would like to see them naked. I don't know why, Electronman.
avatar for motorhead
motorhead
8 years ago
That's an interesting question and I'd say you'd have to be an attorney specializing in Native American Law to answer it.

Las Vegas casinos don't have strip clubs either. There are "moral turpitude" clauses in the gaming licenses and the casino owners aren't about to risk their licenses to have a SC. (Though Scores did open up a strip club in the Taj in Atlantic City - so we'll see if times are a changing'.)

I suspect the Native American casinos don't want to rock the boat. Indian Reservations are "sovereign nations" but the law is complex.

I know in Michigan, the Michigan Liquor Control Commission still has some authority over the liquor permits issued to casinos. State governments and Native American tribes are not exactly friends. The states know they are missing out on a lot of tax revenue. I think anything the Indians would do to promote prostitution would be met with challenges by the state.
avatar for rh48hr
rh48hr
8 years ago
I think they make more money with the casinos then they could with a strip club. But I would also think they could keep the money in house because you know when a lot of guys win gambling they spend their windfall at the strip club.
avatar for K
K
8 years ago
I think the government is OK with the gambling. If they started sex based business, Congress and the State would discover the sovereignty of the reservation didn't actually exist.
i can also see it as they see the gambling as a way to exploit others after centuries of being exploited. Strip clubs would be seen by many Native Americans as being exploited again.
avatar for shadowcat
shadowcat
8 years ago
I had wondered about that too. Not in conjunction with a casino but just a strip club/bordello. I tried to research it on the internet and pretty much came up with what motorhead said. Basically it is prohibited by law.
avatar for Papi_Chulo
Papi_Chulo
8 years ago
Maybe they have "reservations" with respect to strip clubs
avatar for ime
ime
8 years ago
Most casino's seem to want to portray themselves as "family friendly" i'd guess it is a bit of an image or branding.
avatar for day_trader
day_trader
8 years ago
I can give a Canadian perspective, and I'm also Native. On reserve casinos are regulated provincially here, in Ontario by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, or OLG for short. The OLG would never get their hands dirty by having their name associated with a strip club.

However, in theory a reserve could operate their own strip club that has nothing to do with the casino. A person or group would need to get band council approval just to get started. Such an approval is highly unlikely. A strip club and even a casino would bring along too many negative social concerns. Problems like gambling and alcohol addictions, and increased crime.
avatar for sclvr5005
sclvr5005
8 years ago
As open as some tribes are with gaming, the sex industry is a whole other thing. Indian laws probably stop anything like a stripclub on a reservation.
avatar for vincemichaels
vincemichaels
8 years ago
Indians have enough problems, they don't need more.
avatar for JuiceBox69
JuiceBox69
8 years ago
I have contemplated the same
avatar for flagooner
flagooner
8 years ago
@papi. *GROAN*
avatar for 4got2wipe
4got2wipe
8 years ago
"Indians have enough problems, they don't need more."

Ace!
avatar for 4got2wipe
4got2wipe
8 years ago
Seriously though, most tribes will negotiate compacts with the state. Even though we say that reservations are sovereign they really aren't. I suspect gambling brings in more money relative to problems than strip clubs or brothels would.
avatar for Dominic77
Dominic77
8 years ago
Why a strip club? Why not go all the way with a strip club / brothel / escort hybrid? I think "brothels" is really want the market wants (since WWII). We just polish the exterior and interior and call it a strip club.

--

seriously a casino / stripclub hybrid would be perfect. "Mrs. 77" loves casinos. I can't stand them. I love strip clubs. It sounds like the perfect short vacation to me! I'd rather 1s and 5s in women's G strings than put nickels and dimes into slot machines like she loves. Whatever "gambling gene" or "gambling bone" there is, I was clearly born without one. Gambling provides no rush and no euphoria for me .. even if I win. To be it's just anxiety. Give me T&A instead!
avatar for DandyDan
DandyDan
8 years ago
I believe there is nothing legally stopping an Indian reservation from allowing a strip club on tribal land. Culturally, however, all I will say is that I knew a dancer who was a registered member of a tribe and it was known what she did for a job and she was not exactly a beloved member of the tribe, all because of her job. I wouldn't know if every tribe was the same, but my guess is they look down on strippers and strip clubs in general.
avatar for san_jose_guy
san_jose_guy
8 years ago
I don't know of the Indian Gaming is legal because of special state laws, special federal law exempting the reservation from state prohibitions, or via a court decision. But at least so far, no one is talking about prostitution being legal on reservations, or that it should be made legal. There has not been any support for this, no one even talking about it.

There is more talk about the idea that prohibition prostitution anywhere violates the 1st Amendment.

SJG
avatar for azdd
azdd
8 years ago
I agree with previous comments regarding state governments. States want to negotiate compacts for a share of the gaming revenue, but likely don't want to appear to be making money from sexually oriented activity. The other issue is alcohol, which is frowned upon because it is a big problem in many tribal communities. Some reservations, such as those around Tucson and Phoenix have suburbs that almost completely surround them, so there would also be the issue of proximity to other communities.
avatar for san_jose_guy
san_jose_guy
8 years ago
I don't know the legal mechanism by which they are having Indian Casinos. But if there is to be a legal change to allow prostitution, why not allow it everywhere, or at least in approved zones?

Santa Clara CA has now committed to building a 240 acre $6.5G "Entertainment Zone". I feel that they probably are intending to have casinos, and it is to have a hotel. It is across the street from that NFL stadium. I feel that it is intended to be a Vice Zone, like their own Las Vegas.

In that sort of environment it makes no difference whether prostitution is legal or not, as it is impossible to enforce the law.

It is a completely crooked City government, which got in because of the stadium.

SJG
avatar for vincemichaels
vincemichaels
8 years ago
san_jose_gay, I'll take a gross of those sprays.
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