illinois clubs going up in smoke

7 comments

• DickJohnson

  •

  16 years ago

  i haven't really noticed yet...but i haven't been out much in this newer year. I imagine being near the border where there is a choice in smoking/non-smoking clubs yoiu might see more of an effect. this law really pissed me off, it should be up to the proprietor whether smoking is allowed or not. It is not even possible to open a place exclusively meant for smokers.
• chitownlawyer

  •

  16 years ago

  I am down here in Southern Illinois, literally right across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. There are no strip clubs of any note in Missouri, so competition between te two states is not a factor. The strip clubs in the East St. Louis area sit in two counties, Madison and St. Clair. The State's Attorney (government prosecutor) of St. Clair County (which includes East St. Louis, Sauget, Washington Park, and Centreville) has announced publicly that he will not enforce the law. The States's Attorney of Madison County (Venice--Roxy's and Pink Slip) about this topic, has said that in the first three months of this year, no LE agency has brought any citations/charges to his office. In the clubs that I go to, there is no noticeable difference from pre-smoking ban. For about the first three weeks of January, management took about half of the ashtrays off of the tables on the main floor, but they are all back, and life is back to normal. I think that the dancers were going outside to smoke for about the first three days of January, then they cut out that shit.
• sandyman

  •

  16 years ago

  I get to the East side clubs occasionally and at first they were following the rules, but the last time I was in (about three weeks ago) they were smoking again. I asked one of the girls about it and they said the club was losing so much business that the owner had decided he would rather pay the fines. As a non-smoker, I was quite happy with the change and not going home with the smell. As a side note, I have been to a number of clubs in California where smoking is prohibited and there were always plenty of guys there. I think that if they had just left it alone for awhile, everyone would have adapted. It reminds me of all the good citizens who thought they could close down the nude clubs in some areas by banning alcohol. Last time I checked they were still flourishing. I think most fans of SCs are there for the girls and we'll make adjustments for any restrictions as long as the dancers are worthwhile. IMHO
• arbeeguy

  •

  16 years ago

  Sandyman is right of course. We go for the girls. Smoke is good for some guys, alcohol is good for some guys. If the girls are "RIGHT" the smoke & the alcohol are sort of just side issues. I do wonder just how the real heavy smoking girls get by if they work in clubs where no-smoke is strictly enforced. Speak up, girls.
• DandyDan

  •

  16 years ago

  Then you could go to Ottawa, which is not close to a border, where the only discernable change (at least based on my recent visit to the Lamplighter; I never did get to Silver Slipper) was the fact they weren't smoking. On the other hand, they seemed to have more coming and going people going out for a smoke. Its probably business as usual in the interior of the state except for the fact some people need to go outside for a smoke more often.
• chitownlawyer

  •

  16 years ago

  Springfield, Illinois has had a municipal no-smoking law for the past two years, anticipating the rest of the state by about a year. I was in Springfield's one strip club, a Deja Vu, before the muncipal no-smoking law took effect, and I have been in the club since the no-smoking law took effect. The club was equally mediocre on both visits--the typical Deja Vu combination of low mileage and high hustle. So, in this case, I would say that the no-smoking law was a neutral factor.
• jimmyblong

  •

  16 years ago

  CHicago clubs are now also smoke free. It is nice to not smell of smoke after a visit to the club. Now I just smell like stripper perfume..lol. Dancers and customers run outside to smoke, some clubs even have set up heaters and tents for people to smoke in. I joked with one dancer about her doing extras while taking a 'smoke break' in my car...she laughed and said "you know that might work out".... All in all is hasn't affected attendance, that I've noticed.