Should we not take credit/debit cards to a strip club

49 comments

• shadowcat

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  7 years ago

  I never had to learn the hard way and I don't even have a ATM card. I trust myself and my credit union is a good back up. If a charge looks fishy to them, they don't pay until they have checked with me.
• twentyfive

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  7 years ago

  I wouldn't!
• Hugh_G_Rection

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  7 years ago

  I used to feel naked without the debit card, but now that they have radio chips embedded in the cards they are more vulnerable to being illicitly scanned even if they are in your wallet.
• Corvus

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  7 years ago

  I never take a CC into the club. Never. I leave everything I don't need (including CC, wallet and primary cell phone) either in the room or conceled in my car. It's not as much of a precaution against spending too much anymore. There is no reason for me to carry those items into a club anymore than there is any reason to wear a belt in a club. Just more things to worry about and/or lose or get in the way of having fun. If there is any type of emergency, mine not the club's or a dancer's, I can go out to the car and get what I need. I have a small wallet perfect for carrying cash, an ID and anything else I might need into the club. No reason to take my entire wallet and everything else that is inside it into a dark strip club.
• larryfisherman

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  7 years ago

  I do sometimes use my credit card to put drinks on my tab.
• jackslash

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  7 years ago

  I didn't realize I was so daring. I always charge my drinks on my credit card at Detroit clubs, and I've never had a problem. They probably don't want to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.
• WTFlock

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  7 years ago

  I don't know. On the one hand, it's better to be safe than sorry, so it can't hurt. On the other hand, I think it's a bit paranoid. I generally use cash only, but I have used credit cards occasionally. If I use my credit card, I always close out the tab right after the purchase and keep a copy of the receipt. Usually, that's just at the bar for food and drink, but I have pre-paid a VIP before. In all cases, I've gotten both my credit card and the receipt back right away. I feel pretty confident that my credit card company, which I have a longstanding relationship with, with honor my dispute if I ever had one. Also, if I was ever drugged or anything like that, I'd immediately file a police report along with my credit card dispute. I think cash is still the best way to go, but occasionally charging some food and drinks and then closing out the tab right away seems low risk to me.
• RTP

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  7 years ago

  I agree with Corvus, I don't take cards or my cell phone into a club. I am not really concerned about being drugged and overcharged, but more concerned of getting pick pocketed or simply losing it. I have had keys, etc fall out of my pockets before, so why take a chance. I am not going to use my cc's anyway. Also, I have heard numerous horror stories about people with phones in clubs, including my barber who tells me that his girlfriend heard him getting extras in the VIP as he somehow butt dialed her. He just laughed about it, but she is not longer his girlfriend.
• rockstar666

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  7 years ago

  I go to a good enough club that I don't fear for my safety, so I do have my cc's in my wallet. That being said, I always check where the wallet is, and as mentioned in another thread, when the cash runs out, I go home, no matter how smitten I may be with some new toy.
• Call.Me.Ishmael

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  7 years ago

  I never brought my credit cards into the club before they had RFID chips, as a precaution. Now that they have RFIDs, I'm even more reluctant.
• Longball300

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  7 years ago

  My wallet has just a few CC's in it. The others are kept elsewhere. Like JS I have started dozens (hundreds?) of tabs in clubs for food and drinks and have never had an issue. Just ask for and check your itemized receipt before signing. I never have my phone with me in the club.
• rockstar666

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  7 years ago

  Longball, I always have my phone with me...I may turn it off but it's with me 24/7.
• Dominic77

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  7 years ago

  The fear is, and if you can believe some random somewhat credible looking stories on the internet from customers and dancers, that the dancer(s) get the customer back to to the Champagne room, somehow manage to drug the customer, then while unconscious, the dancers (with or without staff) rob the customer. Rob the customer blind. The stories range from all of the cash taken to running the CCs at the bar until either thousands are taken or the card(s) reach the limit. So the risk is drugged assault plus robbery. With most cards, you can dispute the charges and get thing reversed. But still, one might get blow back at home. With some cards you might take a while to clear it up. Why did I take out the cards my first 2 trips in 2015? It was not for will power or any lack of it. But because I was going to be on unknown turf with dancers. I didn't know if I was dealing with legit entertainers or straight up thieves. So to limit the damage, stress, and humiliation to my family I protected my myself (overkill, I know) and left them home. Once I was certain that this was a legit business and that I would not be drugged and robbed, I now bring my debit card in with me. (I don't have a CC and no one will issue me one .. I wish I did though!) If you know what you are dealing with and what your risks and possible liability could be, then you can plan, and properly protect your assets. Since now I am 100% certain I'm just killing time with entertainers with little risk of robbery or pick-pocketing, I don't worry about it and take a card with me. I think different people deal with the various risks in different ways.
• rickdugan

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  7 years ago

  I am one of those people who learned the hard way, though I got off fairly light compared to many. My bar bill got significantly padded one night when I was clubbing in NYC. The only reason tht i know is that they gave me an itemized receipt along with my CC charge, which I drunkenly stuffed in my pocket without reading. It was not until the next day that I took it out and found that I had purchased several drinks that I had not ordered. I bought my usual drinks as well as a few dancer drinks, but someone took it upon themselves to charge several more drinks on my card. Unfortunately, there was a long period of time where shit like this, and much worse, was not uncommon in NYC clubs. Lesson learned and my tuition bill was quite modest compared to what was happening in some of the CR rooms in NYC clubs. Since that time, which was about a decade or so ago, i have never again put a card down in any club and often bring nothing but cash and my phone in with me.
• WTFlock

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  7 years ago

  I'll add one thing after reading Dominic's post. I'm not worried very much about using my credit card at the club, but I would NEVER, under any circumstances, use my debit card at a club. If they overcharge you or try to rip you off on your credit card, you can dispute the charge and not pay the bill. With your debit card, if they screw you, all of the cash immediately comes out of your bank account and you have to fight to get it back. Even if you win the dispute, you have to wait a while to get that money back. It could also cause you to bounce checks, if they drain your account and your mortgage check is in the mail or something like that. So, credit card yes, debit card hell no.
• shadowcat

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  7 years ago

  FYI Follies does not take credit cards. They do have 2 ATMs.
• gammanu95

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  7 years ago

  I'm not worried about scanners, since I have an RFID- shielded wallet. Nor do I use my cards to open a tab anywhere ever. I even came close to getting ripped off by the ROB who stuffed my wallet down between the couch cushions. But no, none of those are the reason I remove the cards from my wallet before going into a club. There is a inversely proportional relationship between the amount of alcohol I consume plus the attractiveness of the women, and my ability to make good decisions. As a comic once said, if you put a beer and titties in front of me, I become as dumb as a box of rocks. There are times when I walked up to the ATM in a club, fully willing to pay the absurdly high fees to withdraw more cash, only to curse myself for discovering that I had purposefully left my plastic in the hotel safe. Drunk me was very angry at sober me, but hungover me was grateful that sober me had done so.
• Dominic77

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  7 years ago

  LOL @ Gammanu. Drunk me and Sober me sort of split the difference and bring an extra $100 than what I plan to spend. It's mostly there to cover if I go "over" by 20 or 30 dollars. But I see what you mean. It's like the girl with the little curl. In the moment, when it feels good it feels really, really good.
• JohnSmith69

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  7 years ago

  Why do some people not take their phones into da clubs? Afraid of loosing it, or fear of being tracked? I don't go anywhere without my phone.
• goosman

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  7 years ago

  Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck no
• shadowcat

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  7 years ago

  I have no concerns about being tracked but I don't take my phone into the club unless I am expecting a call. My concern is it getting lost, stolen or broken.
• Dominic77

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  7 years ago

  John, I take my phone so I can't answer that. I take my work phone, too, because I'm essentially on call. Plus the wife might text or call, if it's a real "fire" emergency. I think my situation might be different than others.
• Papi_Chulo

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  7 years ago

  I usually walk in w/ what I feel is a decent amount of cash I'll need to have a decent time w/o overdoing it - like Corvus and others said, I take the bare min into the club for fear of losing it or having it stolen - thus I normally just take cash, my ID, and my phone (no wallet) - I take my ID in case I may have some medical emergency or something so they can identify me - I take my ph b/c I don't wear a watch and the black clubs I visit there is often issues w/ certain DJs cutting songs short and since I often buy lots of dances cut-songs are a big-issue to my PL bottom line - so I often time the songs to see what kind of value I'm getting. Taking the ph inside is an issue b/c it can get lost or stolen - in clubs like Follies where dances are table-side and the club is packed w/ often a lot of foot-traffic; not hard to be distracted getting table dances and forget you had placed your ph on the table and someone walking by can easily swipe it - on my last trip to Follies a few months ago I had my ph on the table and the dancer on the other side of the table was giving a dance to another PL; she hit the high-top table while dancing spilling the guy's beer all over my ph - it was an accident so I was not mad but my ph although still works now has some quirks - but it's a cheap smartphone that was only about 100-bucks new so it wasn't a fancy supa-expensive one. When it comes to SCing I often have a YOLO attitude - like Corvus I keep my wallet hidden in my car and will go to the car and grab my ATM card if I run out of funds but the club is jumping and I'm having a good time - if I'm having a good time I prefer to treat myself and enjoy the moment then adjust my spending by cutting back on future visits - if I'm having a good-time I don't like to leave b/c I reach some arbitrary limit; I rather enjoy the moment.
• Dolfan

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  7 years ago

  I bring my cards and phones in to the strip club every time. I'd have to significantly cut back the amount of time I spend in strip clubs if I didn't bring my phone. I just can't be out of reach for that long, that often. Sure, there is a risk of losing it but I've developed the habit of checking for keys/phone/wallet every time I get up and never had an issue. As far as cards go, I'm not gonna leave them at home, and I feel like they're safer in my pocket than in my truck, so I bring them too. It's anecdotal, but I've seen many smash & grab jobs in parking lots first hand, but I've only ever heard stories about being drugged in a SC. I've never actually used one in a SC, and have no intention of ever doing so. I'm completely confident in my self discipline in that regard, so there's no risk there. At the end of the day though, do what makes you comfortable. There's arguments to be made for each approach and each person and situation is unique.
• Dominic77

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  7 years ago

  I take my ID, too. I figure I would need that in an emergency or a police raid.
• Papi_Chulo

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  7 years ago

  I only use my card w/ the club's ATM in an emergency - I have never used a card to buy anything in a club nor have I ever handed my card to anyone in a club - I only spend on dances and don't drink much and rarely buy food, thus all my spending is w/ cash and 99% of it is on dances and occasional extras.
• JimGassagain

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  7 years ago

  ^^^ Yes! For emergencies only. Like getting into a bar fight and you need someone to drive you to the hospital because you broke your hand, and have no cash for the cab ride (or Uber). This really happened to me so I gave you the short version. I didn't start it.
• ppwh

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  7 years ago

  It sounds like a good idea to leave credit cards. It's probably too much for me to get motivated to do at a club that regularly go to and recognize / am recognized by staff members, though. I actually did have a problem with a phone recently, with the same dancer on two different visits. I do frequent phone checks to make sure it is still in my pocket. Once when I was looking for it and called it with another phone, it ended up under the chair she was sitting next to me in. The other time, we went back together to the dance room we were in and as she started to "help me look for it" it was all the way under the bench in there.
• flagooner

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  7 years ago

  I always leave my Credit and debit cards in the car. I refuse to use them in a club. I don't want it to pop up on my statement and also feel it is a more likely place to have someone try to steal my wallet than most other places. I want them available for emergencies,but I also want to make sure it takes effort to get to them.
• gammanu95

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  7 years ago

  I usually take at least one phone with me (work or personal). I lost a Moto ROKR once after Katrina, brand new $600 blown. That pissed me off. Another time, a gf heard a whole convo between me and a stripper because of stupid short cut buttons on the top of the phone that I'd somehow pushed. Both of those happened years ago before touchscreens and passcodes requiring multiple steps to open a phone. But I figure I always need at least one phone. If it's an afternoon or I've got guys on a job, ill usually bring the work phone. Late nights or no employees working, then personal phone.
• Dominic77

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  7 years ago

  JimG and a can of whoop ass. lmao. Well done.
• san_jose_guy

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  7 years ago

  I don't take any plastic in. But, in San Francisco I once had to go across the street to a bank and try to get a counter check, as a way of getting cash out. And my girl knew all the details of how to do this. :) SJG
• shailynn

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  7 years ago

  1. ID - I almost always take my ID because up until the last 2 years I would still get carded. 2. Credit cards - if I take a cab I take one credit card just to be safe, if I drove I leave the cards inside the car unless I am with friends and will have a bar tab which I sometimes charge to my card. I also want to be sure if someone steals my car they'll have plenty of credit cards to use for gas money. * sometime ago someone mentioned on here that their ATF was bragging that she had a new scanner and was going to pull numbers off of PLs cards inside the club. All she had to do was walk by them. - that's scary shit 3. Phone - I have been pretty vocal about not carrying a phone inside the club with the biggest fear being losing it. One time I actually walked out of a club and the bouncer was chasing me with my phone in his hand. It had fallen out of my jacket in a booth and I had not noticed it. Like Dolfan said he needs it pretty much at all times, I club at night so I am usually unavailable, so having it in a car or at a hotel room is fine with me, getting a phone call from my wife in the middle of a strip Club session is a real downer. Luckily if she would call, and I don't respond until the next day she doesn't flip out, she just assumes I'm tired and went to bed early in my hotel.
• Corvus

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  7 years ago

  A few years back I had gotten a new smart phone and made a visit to Bourbon Street Circus in Phoenix. All my contacts and my schedule, emails, etc are on there as expected. Made a visit to VIP had some great dances and promptly walked back out onto the main floor. Sat down and about two minutes go by and I reach for my phone. Oh, shit, I left it in VIP. The black phone case coupled with the pitch dark VIP room was all it took. Well that and the exquisite body of the dancer. I immediately returned to VIP and thankfully no one else had started to use the dance booth and I retrieved my phone. I vowed right then and there to never take my primary phone into a strip club. I now have a burner phone I use for strippers and other fun ladies. I always take it into the club.
• vincemichaels

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  7 years ago

  I've never had a problem taking in CC's into a club, yesterday at one of our clubs, I never felt ill at ease, phones tend to be useless as it is usually very loud inside, but I take it in to check time on.
• Subraman

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  7 years ago

  I always have, and always will, brought my credit cards with me into the club. You are not responsible for fraudulent charges ,and I have no problem with self-discipline. And, keeping in mind I often get pretty buzzed, in decades of SCing, I've lost control and raided my credit cards -- exactly 0 times. I do think that for guys who know they lack self control, leaving your credit cards at home is a fine idea. I ONLY spend cash, never start a bar tab, so that's never an issue. But, I have my credit cards with me if I want to call an audible and take a stripper out later, or go out to dinner with my buddies before we head home, or have a way to pay to get my car repaired if it breaks down while I'm there (for those times I drove) or buy another train ticket (for those times I didn't). Similarly, I would never not bring my cell phone with me, it is far too useful a safety device I'm going to have to find those stories about the SF clubs. So exciting! I have heard this scam numerous time at LV clubs
• Subraman

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  7 years ago

  Ah! Found the article! Those are not "mainstream" clubs ,they are bottom of the heap SF clubs... all owned by Deja Vu, of course, but still bottom of the barrel. In fact I am pretty sure if you do a search through my old posts, I specifically used the term "Den of ROBs" for New Century Theater, and discussed bouncer/management collusion with dancers to rip off customers. Besides New Century, which does have pretty girls on weekends, the other 3 are filled with the ghetto-est, most unattractive strippers going. If I heard about this type of behavior at a club that was even mid-range, I'd definitely be concerned, although the fact is, this is a good wakeup call and reason for me to re-review my SOP.
• K

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  7 years ago

  leave everything you don't need at home. Leave what you do need on your person in your car. It hasn't happened to me but I've known a few guys that had their pockets picked . I know many more that made stupid decisions about running a tab on their cards
• Papi_Chulo

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  7 years ago

  Treasures in Houston was an infamous club b/f the crackdown a couple of years ago - on more than one review I read an account of a SCer using his CC to start a tab, have a dancer come up to him and stay w/ him for a while talking w/ him; at the end of the visit when the PL closes his tab there were charges in the $2k to $3k range where whoever had control of the PL's CC (barkeep?) would be billing the PL for his time talking to the dancer; unbeknownst to him of course; and her being the one that had approached him. Tjhere was also an infamus SC in Vegas (off the strip) that was actually forced to shut down about a year ago due to all the illegal activity and ripping-off of custies including stealing CC #s.
• twentyfive

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  7 years ago

  Papi I believe that also used to happen at a club in Orlando I remember reading about it a few years back, also Wonderland in Miami was the focus of a similar story in the Herald 2-3 years ago. I never use plastic in any strip club and I don't have an ATM card by choice as I have never needed to get more cash than I typically carry but remember I also carry a S&W .380 auto so I don't worry too much about getting boosted.
• twentyfive

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  7 years ago

  Papi I believe that also used to happen at a club in Orlando I remember reading about it a few years back, also Wonderland in Miami was the focus of a similar story in the Herald 2-3 years ago. I never use plastic in any strip club and I don't have an ATM card by choice as I have never needed to get more cash than I typically carry but remember I also carry a S&W .380 auto so I don't worry too much about getting boosted.
• Phoenix133

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  7 years ago

  Eh for some it's best to leave the card or trust it with a friend and always get cash out before hand
• NinaBambina

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  7 years ago

  I learned after my first time spending $ as a customer at a club, that it is best I leave all debit and credit cards at home. Not in the car where I can go get it, but safely at home. On the rare occasion that I go to a strip club as a customer I leave the plastic at home and take only a cash amount of what I am comfortable spending. Otherwise I will get tipsy, start making it rain which is like taking a shot in itself, then get reallly drunk, then want to buy shots for everyone I came with and drop stacks on adorable strippers with small waists and round plump asses.
• jester214

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  7 years ago

  I've done every combo of take/leave under the sun. I've gotten in to the habit now of taking a money clip with ID and cash, with a CC in case of an emergency. Ideally that only leave my pocket at the door, if at all. The cash I may spend is in another pocket. This combo also works for other recreational activities. I would prefer my wallet out of habit but it's pretty thick and not always comfortable during lap dances. I'd like to leave my phone but that's not always practical. Typically I turn it off.
• mjx01

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  7 years ago

  I tend to optimize my strategy by what club I'm at. After finally giving in an getting a smart phone, I tend to leave my phone in the car because it's just in the way. I'm either paranoid it will get damaged/broken by some mishap, or I have to take it out for LDs and paranoid it will get misplaced/stolen. As for CCs, I think it is far more important to not use them. Leaving them home or in car is obviously safer, but probably unnecessary in most cases.
• rockstar666

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  7 years ago

  Nina, I'd say 1/3 of my club visits results in me wanting to over spend my cash budget...it takes a lot of self restraint to keep my plastic in my pocket....but that's my rule so I do.
• HolaTX

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  7 years ago

  I stopped using cards in clubs after a couple of visits where I'm still not sure if it was a valid charge or not. Once was when I had visited a few times over a few days to scope out the talent at a club and decided to keep my dance budget and drink budget separate by charging the drinks. I didn't trust the club to total it right at the end of the night, so I paid individually. The credit card processor processed all the drinks on the same date, and there were like 12+ of them, which was plausible, but I would rather pay cash and be sure. The other time, I was at a club from like 10pm-5am and raided the club ATM a couple/few times to get dances. I thought it had been more like a couple, but the bank statement showed a few. I hit the card limit and it seems possible that the ATM took the money out of my account when it said the transaction was declined on the screen. Now I get any extra cash out of a bank ATM which for most clubs can be found within a half mile and with much lower fees. If there were a real unicorn, I would still hit the club ATM to pay for dances, but it's easier to keep track of a one-time thing than use cards as a matter of course.
• Joe from NJ

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  7 years ago

  I don't even carry my wallet (or cel phone) into a club (I use a money clip). If I am asked for ID, I say why. They always say that it is to check my age. Well I definitely look older. So if they will not accept that, I leave. I only use cash. That also lets me set a limit for what I will spend that trip. (I do have a $100 bill in my sock.)
• san_jose_guy

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  7 years ago

  Certain types of crimes are more likely to occur in strip clubs because most guys won't want to even admit that they were their. And then the worst will be these extortion schemes where a girl and a bouncer are working together. So even if you wouldn't mind telling police that you were there, and what you were doing, you still need to consider that the risks of being a crime victim are higher. So I say that you should be careful and take certain precautions. For myself, and not just in strip clubs, I don't like to use valet parking. And I prefer to park on the street. I feel that you are more likely to have problems if someone hits you, on private property. And here in San Jose I have seen people who do all kinds of squeezing around. Police won't even take a report on private property, and most traffic laws don't apply. Your car can be a liability. Just for grins, lets look at this, Paradise Show Girls, La Puente CA. There have been things posted talking about bully bouncers trying to stop people from leaving the parking lot. [view link] So we have this Paradise Show Girls, an Adult Book Store. And then there is this R and R Massage, which looks real good on RubMaps. You can look around, but there are No Stopping 3pm to 6pm signs. So I would want to park elsewhere, unless specifically picking up a girl. This Orange Ave is an industrial area. Don't see any parking restrictions. Residential is safer, but i'd go for it. Good for a motorhome too, probably. [view link] Going just the 200ft beyond Orange Ave, we have residential, even apartment buildings. Lots of cars. No one cares who parks in front of an apartment building. And I always plan my walk away's so that no one can observe where I go. I like corners. So I could be a guest of a resident or actually a resident, and the car could always be in view, for all they know. I might first walk into the apartment building lobby, just for cover. And I never futz around with stuff in the car. What ever needs to be covered or in the trunk, is already so before I pull up. Just common sense. So likewise, I feel that when going into a strip club you should bring no plastic. And the ATM fees inside of strip clubs you know will be real high, and then your bank will probably charge its own fee on top of that too. And besides, neither the girls or the club want credit card records of what money changes hands in there. And that system also has fees. SJG Killing Me Softly, about what it looks like and sounds like in S.J.'s Viet Coffee Shops [view link]