Comments by Crosscut

If you're pressed for time, and need to stay close to the airport, Scarlett's (Ybor Strip), where I've had my best luck, is way out of the way for you. Your challenge is sort of like trying to see Disneyworld in a couple of hours......In fact, that's exactly what it is. I'd recommend working on a scheme to extend your stay. Good luck.

True Story: I wouldn't even mention it, but it seems appropriate here. Last week at PP Columbia, a lady who had once been a favorite, gave an incredible dramatic performance of winsome disappointment that I might infer that her attraction to me was "all about the money." (Her phrase, not mine.) Nearly convinced, I apologized for giving her that impression. Two beat pause. "So, you wanna get some dances?"

It would depend on how you learned it and what your intentions were. If she is someone you know from the real world, you could offer a conspiratorial wink and quietly ask her what she would prefer. She would probably appreciate your sophisticated discretion and give you an advantage moving forward If she shared it with you as part of your ITC relationship, I think she would expect it in your private conversations. If you're just being a jagov like the lady above's classmate's, you're too big a fool to matter.

Interesting discussion of two clubs, each close to my heart. I first became intrigued with the possibilities of this hobby at Mons, but these days PP is much closer to home. The salient points have been well covered above, with availability of alcohol receiving scant mention. I used to rationalize my visits to the "pop shop" Tampa clubs with the excuse that at least I wasn't out drinking. Tough to maintain the same discipline at PP. I find that I stay there longer, spend more money and am more susceptible to the outrageous offers by the ladies. (I guess that's a good thing.) All in all, if they were across the street from each other. I'd be more inclined to hit PP. However, I might drive fifty miles to get to Tootsies in Miami.

I don't think that's what he meant.

Shadowcat: I've been following your adventures with interest, and I may have had a very similar experience. In the last couple of years, did the lady in question do a name change with a common first letter? Either way, it just shows that deep down---in places we don't like to admit exist, we're all romantics at heart. (Either that or territorial M--Fers, take your pick) I feel your pain, but it goes away...... ...not that any that is news to you either

The Founder is wise.

It's the "sweet" ones that'll kill you. Four of these five from the same girl at PP, Columbia. 1. You know you're going to have me, don't you? 2. I've been doing this a long time, and I never feel a connection like this. 3. I enjoy talking to you so much, I don't care if I just sit with you and don't make no money. 4. I think I'm a little bit jealous. 5. I'm afraid I'm falling for you a little bit.

A lot of good stuff here. I've come to relate to your idea that "creative counting" can be a test as much as a straight money grab. At the end of a well performed session, I had a dancer add $40 to a total that we had established just a few minutes---maybe one song---before. This lady was no novice, but she was somewhat under the influence. And the matter had to be addressed. Immediately realizing she had f-ed up, she apologized and said, "Hey, welcome to stripper world." Before I could react to that, she asked if I would accept four free dances in recompense. Big hearted guy that I am, I said, "OK." Four inspired dances later as we left the dance area, I was trying to decide what sort of tip might be in order, and she was still apologizing. I said, "Tell you what. Buy me a drink, and we'll forget all about it." She says fine. We sit down. At which point, I pushed my luck too far. " Order me a drink, and I'll be right back." (I wasn't being a hardass, I just had to go.) When I came back, she was hustling guys at another table. I was just a little bit of bladder capacity away from a classic play. But my point is, some of them will respect you more if you call them on it.

Super SS???? Please tell us more.

David You and I may be kindred spirits

How many times over the years have we seen incredible sets of natural breasts "enhanced" into lifeless, joyless appendages. At least the rationale there was generally based in improving the package for business purposes. Most of this piercing stuff (with the exception of tongue jewelry, which I believe we all support :-) seems to be some combination of self immolation and a desperate cry for help. The most beautiful and intelligent woman I have ever known would exhibit disgust with herself by either tarting herself up with far too much makeup or---at it's worst cutting herself. More to the point. (And I learned this the hard way.) Unless it is exceptionally complimentary, I generally withold comment on women's appearrance unless I am asked. Then I answer honestly. If nothing else, it trains them not to ask questions they don't want the answers to. More likely than not, the hardware represents an area of her life in which she feels she has control. She'll keep it. the poster formerly known as fantasycamper

David: #2 mirrors my behavior in what I called my "Blind Dog in a Butcher Shop" phase. A habit based in the extended gaps between my club visits. As with you, the first step was "awareness" The other thing I noticed was after a particular week when I was based in Columbia and had multiple consecutive days to visit PP, familiarity brought a certain calming effect, and I became much more circumspect in my consumption. I'll be going back next week after a month layoff. I'll probably be like a sailor on leave again. the poster formerly known as fantasycamper

Until recently my highlight club experiences were business trips primarily to Tampa, with San Francisco, Miami or Niagara Falls Canada thrown in as well. Those visits were anywhere 3 to 6 months apart. And although I believe I became a reasonably astute consumer, I found myself unprepared for the outlook adjustment required when I found myself with closer access to a "go-to" club. The past year has led me to employment within reasonable driving distance of Columbia, SC and the estimable Platinum Plus. Initially, the differences were matters of logistics lack of nearby hotel room for OTC, stuff like that. However after two or three returns, I began to sense an entirely different dynamic to my visits. First: budgeting. My sporadic business trips had programmed me to think in terms of cash availability of $1000 per trip (usually two days). I was a Boy Scout in the strip club, Always Prepared. Occasionally it paid off.  However, I unconsciously adopted a scarcity mindset during my SC ventures. Not unlike the way the body stores fat in anticipation of lack of nourishment, I knew that my time in Tampa, Vegas, etc was limited, inspiring an inclination to indulge liberally. I rarely drank when I was clubbing, and I never spent money I hadn't allocated for the purpose. No, problem. BUT with a "go-to" like PP within an hour and a half, I found my visits becoming far more frequent, while my desire to consume remained somewhere near "Blind Dog in a Butcher Shop" levels. An adjustment was required, but it came naturally as I adjusted to more frequent exposure. (make your own joke here) BUT the big curveball arrived in the form of a dancer for whom I was simply not prepared. I thought I had seen and heard it all, but this one brought something new to the game. Sincerity. Yeah, she was pretty hot too, but I had never encountered a dancer more skilled in enabling me to believe that my presence was the highlight of her day, week, month, career. You name it. To this day, I wonder if it was actually the girl herself or what up until then would have been beyond imagination, a continuing semi- regular relationship with a dancer. That all went away---which will not surprise regular readers of this board. However, it was a previously unthinkable aspect of consistently attending sone club (and one favorite). In the words of Inspector Clouseau: "All part of life's rich pageant." The poster formerly known as FantasyCamper

Interesting topic representing the only distinction I've ever drawn between GFE and non-GFE experiences. Over the years, I had always thought of DFK as rare. But have come into a run of good luck with it in recent months. First, with a girl next door type, who waxed on and on about the unique connection between us. It is unlikely that she was into it as much as she claimed to be, but the fact that she was at it at all was fine with me. Since that has gone by the boards, I've encountered three more in the same club offering the same liberties. (Of the four, one came through on OTC, although each has professed it to be available.) I'm closer to 60 than 50, and I wasn't that big a deal when I was 25. But I just think it has to do with dress, manner and eye contact. That and 6 dances for $100. The poster formerly known as fantasycamper

Had a similar experience at the Gentlemans Club in Charlotte (not to be confused with the Men's Club). Was asked for my license, no problem. Kind of funny considering my age. Next thing I know, she swipes it through a card reader. I hadn't even thought about it being encoded. I was annoyed enough by the presumptuousness of the whole deal, but compounded by a generally unsatisfactory club experience, I've never gone back. As far as the SS # is concerned, if they have your driver's license info, virtually your entire life is available to them. I watched an escort pull up my social based on her clearance from her day job at a financial institution . It's a cold world out there. The poster formerly known as Fantasy Camper

In my experience, the danger in this for beginners is that when the novice is approached by a duo with promises of the ecstasy of two/ count 'em two women----it is generally two dancers doing half the work. Sometimes it is one "setting a screen" so that the other has more room to work. But generally the two on one has not been to my best advantage. You have obviously taken this to another level. But that is not the norm.

We martini drinkers have deserved reputations as a fastidious, argumentative lot so I won't take the bait on vodka vs. gin. I'm curious---despite the cost---how well was the drink at PP mixed? I generally see the bartenders in dance clubs primarily as beer slingers, and generally order my libations straight on the rocks. Less room for error. An exception is the barstaff at Mens Club in Charlotte, who offer a properly chilled glass and pour with the little bits of ice float at the top, which make that first couple of sips especially refreshing. Of course you pay for it too. I don't think it was ever more than $9, but money was flying fast and furious that night, and anything could have happened. (celebrating a friend's divorce) Shadowcat: The next time you're in Columbia and jonesing for a martini, walk up the block and try the bar in the Embassy Suites. Crystal, the night bartender, has a light touch with the vermouth bottle, and the results have always been more than satisfactory. Finest kind.

Book Guy: Sounds like we have a lot in common. Look forward to your return.

Wow, this is an hospitable group. Chandler pretty much nailed the Lipstixx experience. And curiously enough we were there in about the same time frame. I understand they have a new location rather than the one I visited in the bowels of Drew Park, and it couldn't help but be an upgrade. The ambience was what you would expect if someone opened a club in their garage. I remember that my one drink minimum was a can of soda (came unopened, nice touch) The VIP room did double duty as the route the dancers took to the dressing room. I remember sitting on a wooden bench, while the other dancers walked by as I received an HJ (she called it a "private touch") from a dancer who was sitting on a picnic cooler which, it was apparent, had recently held the aforementioned unopened can of soda. Some things I remember despite my best efforts to forget. Book Guy, my only trip to Memphis, sadly, wouldn't accomodate any club activity---GREAT music though. As to Mitchell Brothers in San Francisco, I can't list it as a favorite, but it was one of those experiences every reader of this board needs to have once. It is the most wide open and multi-faceted entertainment facility an adult male could imagine. The theme rooms, the on premises porn theater, the complete lack of pretense. The ladies I encountered were strictly of the "churn 'em and burn 'em" school of thinking, but I believe that is by the operator's design. You've got to admire the ingenuity it takes to sell tokens to activate timers on the private rooms. That being said, I went back two more times.

Realistic assessment of my own experience