article comment
13 years ago
Money is definitely not the problem for most of the Dakotas. A few areas of each state have some money issues, but most of the area is doing well financially. Most of the clubs that have closed have been because of new local regulations, not money.
I haven't been in Williston for several years. But the reports I've gotten from others tell me that the dancer earnings could very well be in the range described in the article, at least for some dancers. Twenty one year old truck drivers are earning $75,000 or more per year with very few other expenses. There are a lot of guys with money to spend. And they don't have a lot of options besides sitting in the bar drinking. As a side note, I have heard rumors that the city of Williston may consider new regulations on their clubs. Then the closest clubs would be Rapid City, SD or Billings, MT.
Cheo, I think you're right about Minneapolis-St. Paul. St. Paul is more of a local community and used to have a few small local clubs. I believe that only 1 still exists. Minneapolis has always been more of the sexy, hip, tourist destination (at least for Minnesota). It has always had more clubs and had a range of options from small local clubs to glitzy men's clubs. The number of clubs in Minneapolis seems to have held steady over the past several years.