First time that I have heard of this.
"I went back to the bar for a second round and another girl sat down next to me and we chatted for a couple minutes. I saw her talking to others including dancers before she sat down and they all seemed to know her. However she wasn’t a dancer at least on this day, but was offering services outside the club. I’m assuming this is a problem for the club and thus the large cover charge for women in the evening."
"she wasn’t a dancer at least on this day, but was offering services outside the club"
So the rather large cover charge could be either 1) Club trying to discourage working girls from plying their trade in the club, or 2) Club trying to get a piece of the action
Known of a lot of clubs that highly discourage or won't at all allow unescorted women in to prevent working girls from "poaching" their customers. Even escorted women at most of these clubs for the most part are watch heavily just to make sure. Club owners want to keep it all for themselves.
Most clubs will not let a dancer return to the club once she has left the club that day. Follies even makes the dancers pay their club tip out before they can start work.
It’s an attempt to keep the whores from poaching business. If the girl has a male escort - they assume he’s the pimp. It’s probably based on past occurrences - but it’s definitely discouraging to girls who just want to enjoy the show.
There are a number of clubs in Louisville that won’t even let lone women in. Some of them convince customers coming in to escort them. :)