When strip clubs take a turn for the worse or close altogether

theDirkDiggler
Illinois
Unlike some TUSCLers here, i just don't have the time, opportunity, money, energy or desire or some combination thereof to travel the country (or world even) in search of strip clubs and the like. So its mostly local or relatively local for me, which means about 2 hours one way maximum, ideally well less than an hour, although i might stretch it out a bit further if i felt it was worthwhile. I know that Chicago is considered a wasteland (for customers at least; the girls seem to make or potentially make good money), but that's my reality. Detroit and East St. Louis, just too far. Ditto Indianapolis and rural Indiana . Wisconsin is largely just not worth it i hear in terms of quality or mileage.

Over the last few years, several strip clubs in the area have either closed down, changed ownership/management or just made strange/bad decisions that have turned off both dancers and customers often at the same club. So i go to those clubs less if at all now. And there are still the clubs that i would almost never visit to begin with or the ones that i would rarely go to. That doesn't change. But i still find myself spending about the same time and money if not more so. I just spend it at the remaining clubs that haven't gone in that direction. And because it's mostly spent in the clubs i prefer, i tend to have more satisfactory albeit expensive visits.

And yet i'm a bit saddened by the lack of options. There's a part that wishes that the estranged girls that left the other clubs never to be seen by me again, somehow all end up in the clubs i still go to. But that's rarely the case and even if they did it would change the way i operate during my visits. Sometimes too many familiar faces/favorites in one club isn't a good thing not to mention the whole familiarity breeds contempt sort of deal. A change of scenery or break could be a good thing. Nor do i want to be too much of a regular face at one club. It's one thing to be familiar with the staff, but another thing to be rather chummy with them or even other regular customers.

So how is it for you? If you live in an area with a wealth of strip clubs (probably Texas, Florida, Arizona, California, Nevada, New York, Portland maybe, etc.), in this day and age, you've surely noticed clubs going downhill or closing altogether. Do you just go less and save money and time to do other things (like i don't know, but surely there are other things to do) or visit the same few more often?

21 comments

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SirLapdancealot
7 years ago
@theDirkDiggler I am in Portland and yes there has been a slow decline of the number of clubs over the years. But the difference with Portland is that it has a high number of small sized clubs and so losing a few over time isn't that big of a hit to the overall scene. And there is a bigger per capita population of dancers here in this area and so the market is a little buffered from change due to the overall economy. Portland doesn't have the big huge corporate style and glitzy gentleman's clubs like those other cities that you mentioned. Within a 2 hour radius at this moment, I can go to at least 20 clubs and I'm being safe with that number. So then what is the issue if one or two clubs close? I still have 18 clubs left and yes in Portland you do see the same dancers jumping back and forth between clubs.

But to your point yes, business is slower in most Portland clubs. I have seen this over the last four years for sure. But LOL that is a perfect situation for me. I am the type of PL that will stick with an ATF as long as our schedules line up and right now in this downturn I have an ATF ATF that works at a club that is on my way home from work and she also is on shift when I get off work. So I am soooooo good right now in terms of my mongering.
theDirkDiggler
7 years ago
^ wow that's a lot of strip clubs. They weren't joking calling Portland the city with the most strip clubs per capita. But you would rather not travel 2 hours or close to that if the better ones were more nearby and if not it would still be tiring. Also of those 20 clubs, how many of them do you really like in terms of dancer selection, contact/mileage and value/bang for the buck? Probably a much smaller number. If that number continues to dwindle, would your mongering habits stay the same?

I have almost a similar number of clubs in a 2 hour radius, so you're number is certainly conservative. Of those roughly 20 clubs, i'll go to maybe 5 of them more than occasionally and 3 of them frequently. It used to be more like 8/5 or even 10/6.
SirLapdancealot
7 years ago
I totally get what you are saying Dirk and what I'm saying is that it is still not that bad enough of a problem. Of those 20 clubs I would say that I would be fine going to 15 and have a good time based on what I expect whenever I club. Here are the specific names and in no particular order of preference:
Stars Bridgeport
The Acropolis
Sunset Strip
DV8
Rose City Strip
Casa Diablo
Union Jacks
Club Sinrock
Club205
Mystic
Riverside Corral
Sassy's
The Golden Dragon
Club Rouge
Spyce

So as you can see, the decline hasn't been so bad that I don't have options. And it really is irrelevant with me because of the way I monger. I am the PL type that latches onto a dancer(s) instead of going to a club. And there are simply too many dancers in Portland to get tired of. There is a good portion of the dancer market in Portland that turns over constantly which provides fresh faces at the clubs but there is also a well established community of mature dancers in the area. As I stated, Portland is unique in that the ups and downs of the economy don't severely change the club scene. While I agree that overall I have observed this decline that mention over the last four years but again it is not significant enough to affect my mongering.
theDirkDiggler
7 years ago
^ Obviously, or not so obviously, i'm not very familiar with the Portland or Oregon clubs. So i don't know if the rules and pricing at one club are pretty much the same at most other clubs. Now if all those clubs are in Portland or very close, then they almost certainly see each other as competition and will likely have similar rules and pricing if they're offering basically the same thing. Again, i don't know what those are.

In my case, even though there are numerous clubs in a somewhat small area, the costs associated and contact/mileage offered are astoundingly different at times. So it's not just a matter of latching on to a specific dancer although dancer quality is also very different at the clubs.

I've experienced dancer(s) at other clubs after she left the previous one, and often wished that she went to another club or back to the one she left because we (or i really) weren't able to have the same fun for the same amount of money or any amount of money. In other words, i wouldn't go back to that club just for her; it had to do with the club, not her. Sometimes i would even find myself avoiding her at that particular club or skip that club altogether, just so i wouldn't end up overpaying for my experience with her.

Maybe my question is more notable in less saturated markets.
SirLapdancealot
7 years ago
Yes Dirk, the Portland market stays constantly saturated relatively speaking. And competition is extremely high which keeps pricing approximately level across clubs.

Also it really is an overall no extras (ITC) area but also offers higher than average mileage. Again it varies a little but overall you get the same offers at all the clubs which levels the pricing.
chessmaster
7 years ago
Interesting take on the oversaturated scene in Portland.
https://www.stripperweb.com/forum/showth…

I think the Chicago(land) strip club scene is oversaturated as well fwiw but with upscale gentleman's clubs. Too overpriced and too many skinny strippers.(which is why dancers seem to like it but the tip outs are high supposedly). Except maybe across the border in Indiana but I find the talent takes a nosedive.
flagooner
7 years ago
^ It depends on how you define talent.

From the classic stripper looks department I would agree, but from a "pleasing the customer" standpoint I totally disagree.
Cashman1234
7 years ago
Sadly, I've seen some of my old standards close over the years. I'm not sure of the reason for the closure of some clubs. I know the locals objected to the clientele of one club (being in a residential area). One of the other closed clubs was due to the fights for that occurred.

I'm in northern New Jersey and there are still lots of clubs - and a good amount of variety. I prefer the filthier clubs - with fewer rules - and more itc and otc extras. I still find a good amount of clubs that suit my needs.
PrimetimeSchein
7 years ago
Being in the Detroit area there is a good amount of clubs. I feel like we're at a point where there isn't too many but not enough ya know. Like if one or two opened up wouldn't be a big deal
rickdugan
7 years ago
*** "If you live in an area with a wealth of strip clubs (probably Texas, Florida, Arizona, California, Nevada, New York, Portland maybe, etc.), in this day and age, you've surely noticed clubs going downhill or closing altogether." ***

Funny, but in my area, the number of clubs has actually increased over the last 5+ years. This is due to one new club and a couple of other formerly closed clubs opening back up.

Now have the club numbers shrunk in some areas? Certainly, in some cases by a lot. But truth be told there were probably too many clubs to begin with. A lot of them opended up in the 90s and early part of the 2000s and we have not seen boom cycles like those in a long time now. Add to this (1) an aging population; and (2) more competition from online options and it is no surprise that some of the money that used to be spent in clubs has dried up or been diverted elsewhere.

But with all of that said, I don't think that strip clubs are going away anytime soon. If anything, the ones in my area are picking up, which is a little irritating as it is driving up the cost of OTC. ;)
joc13
7 years ago
Re: Portland
So I read all that SW stuff and it looked like the bottom line was that the only club girls could make good money in was the one that 1) allowed lots of touching, 2) had lots of girls working there, and 3) required the girls to really work hard (provide good service) to get the guys with money to spend it.

Imagine that: the club that girls could make most money in is exactly the club with three top criteria that most PLs look for in clubs.

Imagine that!
SirLapdancealot
7 years ago
@joc13, yes LOL it is basic supply and demand out here in Portland, enabled by the structure of small mom and pop style clubs instead of the big Vegas style corporate ones. They are all competing with each other so yes the dancers have to work hard for business.

I fear the day when Portland starts going to more corporate style clubs. I think it is a long time away, though, because the mom and pop clubs here are so we'll established. The corporate Spearmint Rhino came to town a few years and I like that it hasn't taken off and struggles just like all the mom and pop clubs do.
impala
7 years ago
I'm based out of eastern Pennsylvania and for the most part the clubs there have seriously went down hill over the last two decades. In our area (like so many others) a combination of political pressure with a less that favorable portrayal in the local media along with easy access to internet porn and escorts has seriously hampered the clubs. Add on top of that LEO watching and pulling over every car that leaves a club trying to catch DUI offenders it's a wonder any are even still open. Lucky for me I travel for work.
Papi_Chulo
7 years ago
I live in Miami and the SC-scene here is probably healthier than it's ever been - part of that is the Miami economy is geared around tourism and partying thus nightclubs and SCs are part of that and localities rarely go after them lest they may be in the middle of a densely packed neighborhood w/ mostly homes around it.

I'm a variety-PL thus I prefer to have access to lots of clubs, but I often wonder if a lot of clubs may actually be PL-counterproductive in that it thins-out/spreads-out/waters-down the talent, vs it being more-concentrated in just a few clubs.

I used to hit many different clubs but w/ time/over-SCing I'm only down to 3 or 4 in my rotation (used to have about 10 or so) - part of it is my niche; i.e. I'm almost exclusively into AA dancers and in South FL very few of the mixed clubs have enough AAs on staff, if any - thus I mostly hit the all-black clubs thus that significantly reduces the amount of clubs I'm willing to visint in my area.

Liking variety I get tired of my local scene although I think it's pretty-good - I def enjoy experiencing new clubs in different areas and also treat-it as a mini-vacation and a getaway from the same-ole same-ole - I'm single w/ no kids thus it's easier for me to do what I want when I want but I still don't travel outside my area as much as I'd like either b/c I'm busy doing something or I've spent my $$$ in the local-spots.

Nowadays airfare is pretty-cheap and one can afford to take weekend trips and use credit-card reward-points for hotels, making a weekend getaway not a huge expense - but often times it is finding/making the time or one being good about organizing their schedule - I often have a good to great time when I visit known good/fun out-of-area SCs (e.g. Follies ATL, etc).
Papi_Chulo
7 years ago
It seems good SC areas are the exception these days - and it seems in the recent past many localities have decided to go after SCs b/c they are seen as an unwanted eyesore - there's also been lots of gentrification where once neglected areas no one cared about are now being developed and SCs are not wanted as part of the redevelopment plans - subsequently many areas that once had a thriving SC scene now are SC-wastelands.
theDirkDiggler
7 years ago
In terms of local clubs for me it's basically come down to Club 390 in Chicago Heights, Atlantis in Ford Heights and a good dose of Club O in Harvey which has made a temporary (hopefully more than temporary) comeback in talent (young white btw) with the occasional visit to PoleKatz in Bridgeview on discount Tuesdays. Club O was almost out of my rotation, until i started checking it out again. The thing is probably no less than 100 new girls have tried out the place in the last year and maybe only 5 have stuck around. I used to enjoy visiting Skybox in Harvey, but haven't since they sold it, Jimmy's in Chicago Heights raised their dance prices, but still have short songs and added a cover and mostly transitioned to a black club with black clientele when it wasn't always that way. Industrial Strip in Hammond, Indiana used to have good value and a lot of hot girls, but ever since they've sold alcohol and became topless only they've lost talent and they still raised dance prices. Another good club that kicked the bucket for me. Even 390 (one of my mains) made all these unnecessary changes to their stage and seating areas that haven't helped the club.
Papi_Chulo
7 years ago
Yeah - the Chicago area, even the divier places; seem to have expensive lap-dances.

I like good-mileage lap-dances; but anything more than $20/LD and it's probably a better value to just opt for extras/VIP instead of getting a whole bunch of expensive lap-dances (even if one likes/enjoys lap-dances)
theDirkDiggler
7 years ago
i didn't know that $20 a lap dance was considered expensive still. The very first lap dance i had was $20 almost 20 years ago. The second strip club i went to also had $20 lappers. Both clubs were strict no contact from the customer and only air to light contact from the stripper. The third club i went to had $25 dances for the same thing but even less contact. Needless to say i didn't go there again. The fourth club i went to had $30 dances (to me a big jump) but you could touch everything except titty and kitty as the girls loved to say. At the time, i was so not an ass man (how things change) so i didn't care to spend 10 extra bucks to touch a butt.

All of these clubs except one were in central Illinois or the boonies, the other one was in a fairly conservative suburb (St. Charles) and closed down only a few years later. The one club that charged $30 still charges $30, so no inflation after all those years. The other two clubs (the first two) finally raised the price to about $25 only in the last few years but added light to moderate contact although it's really hit and miss at that first club. Every other club i've been to in the past 10 years has pretty much kept the same prices or changed the pricing scheme to bundling dances (you have to buy three, but price per individual dance is less than one dance used to be).

I'm certainly not complaining but i wonder if it weren't for the great recession if dance prices would have kept pace with inflation. It seems the $20 dance was a thing even in the 90s. Recession or not, $20 back then was about half a day's work after taxes for many working class people and people still spent it. The minimum wage and median wage were just above half of what it is now. So was the cost of many other items, although lap dances don't really have a rising cost of goods/materials associated with them like other products.

I guess the value of pussy is at an all time low for the century and the GPS girls haven't figured it out yet. 15 years ago, i would have been shocked if a hot girl did a lap dance for $5 (regular dance too, not a special or promo) like they do nowadays in some parts of the country. Or $10 high contact/high mileage dances when $20 only got you air. Just thinking out loud here.
chessmaster
7 years ago
$20 is a fair price imo. It might have been overpriced 20 years ago. $30 for a dance is overpriced today and price gouging 20 years ago. At $30 per 3 minutes give or take, thats $600 an hour. Steep considering hookers and escorts rates.
chessmaster
7 years ago
Even then, this is only after ive seen what $10 can get you at follies(and other places) and even $20 can get you in other areas. The high cost of living may have something to do with strip club prices but still...
theDirkDiggler
7 years ago
Oh i definitely agree that $20 is a decent price for a good lap dance (nude, with good mileage and contact and at least 3 minutes from a quality dancer) nowadays. I'm just intrigued by the evolution of strip clubs over the years. Even when the lap dances were comparably so much more expensive years ago, i spent way less than i do now even adjusting to inflation and wages. It was a much bigger deal to get even one lap dance despite the lesser contact and mileage. But even back then, i and many others felt it was worth it at the time, or we wouldn't have gotten them.
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