discussion comment
15 years ago
The answer is "nothing, you already told her twice" but I do not think this is funny or appropriate. I had to google it to find out.
discussion comment
15 years ago
Michigan law has not changed yet, and several of the dives I frequent are smokey as hell. I think you can try filtering out the smoke, but a really well ventilated place probably has to draw in a lot of outside air, which of course has to be heated in the winter and cooled in the summer (read bar owner shells out $$$, so no can do).
Leggs Lounge, the fore-runner of John's Hot Spot, was the worst. In business for at about 40 years, it was not exactly "up to date." After a few hours inside, it would take more than 24 hrs before I could no longer smell smoke coming out of my lungs. Terrible. After the fire (helped by a lack of sprinklers) the ventilation is better.
Clubs in Toledo are non-smoking, with smokers' patios. I prefer this 100%. Too bad the mileage is so bad. A dancer in Scarlett's told me the customers dropped off when the ban first went into effect, but before long business got back to normal.
discussion comment
15 years ago
I don't mind a little cheerful promotion, such as "these beautiful ladies stepping down are available for those up close, private dances..." etc., but I really dispise DJs who think they are funny and must talk. At Scarlett's in Toledo they have 2 for $30 specials with free merchandise thrown in. One time it was a Scarlett's golf towel, whoopee. The DJ announced that if you didn't play golf you could use it to wipe the cum off your girlfriend's face... honestly, just shut up.
discussion comment
15 years ago
shadowcat, it's not her marital status that matters, but the relationship she has with her husband DOES matter. If he approves of her OTC activities that would be one thing... if he's a jealous sob with a gun rack in his truck that would be another. He may be "fine" with her stripping as long as he thinks it's just LDs. It may be totally irrational, but the point is it's his irrationality and you better find out what the real story is before stepping in a big pile of s***.
mreef, as hard as it is to believe, some dancers have standards and ethics. Or, it could be that she is trying to avoid an OTC relationship with a lot of drama... it actually works both ways! It could be that she prefers OTC relationships with single men because it's easier to get $$$ out of them. Finally, she could actually be interested in dating you. I had one dancer crying on my shoulder because she was totally head over heels for a customer and he didn't even like her.
discussion comment
15 years ago
No worries. Having Flight Club across the street from Bogart's doesn't hurt Bogart's one bit. If Hustler club opens with high cover, high drink prices, high LD rates, nothing in the market will change. If they open with low prices, prices elsewhere may drop.
discussion comment
15 years ago
I got a free VIP card to Bogarts (also works at Henry's N/S and JHS) just for showing up on "customer appreciation day" last year, sometime in February I think. Saves the $5 cover.
discussion comment
15 years ago
Possibly she just thought he was a cop and was putting on a show. For some reason several bouncers and a few girls have been very worried about me being a cop... I must just have that "cop look", lol.
Reminds me of the Halloween party at Bogarts last year. There was a guy in a really realistic cop uniform there drinking. It was hilarious to see how many guys and even dancers did a double take when they saw him.
discussion comment
15 years ago
honestly, just ask. when she asks if you want to go to the vip, say "maybe, here's what I'm looking for..." If she won't do it, most will point you to another in the club who will.
discussion comment
15 years ago
A while back I thought I saw a kind-hearted post from Dougster, big surprise, and then I noticed it was dudester instead. Oh well.
discussion comment
15 years ago
BTW, it's "John" Hamilton, not "Don", as the article says.
discussion comment
15 years ago
The NEW cat in town...
discussion comment
15 years ago
At Bogarts:
Dancer goes ballistic when the top she removed for VIP dance is no where to be found. "Damn it, that's the only top I brought tonight!" She storms around the bar for 1/2 hour (topless) giving every other dancer the third degree about stealing her top. Later it turns up on the small side stage on the opposite side of the room from the VIP; she holds it aloft triumphantly and then slips it on again.
discussion comment
15 years ago
At Henry the VIII, Inkster:
Me (pointing at VIP entrance sign saying "NO Touching"): there's no touching?
Her: ignore that.
discussion comment
15 years ago
Near the end of the night at Bogarts:
Her (scanning the room, looking for final business): want a 2-fer-$30?
Me (waiting for someone else): no, thanks.
Her: 1-for-$15?
Me: no, thanks
Her: 1-for-$10?
Me: no, thanks
Her: 1-for-$5?
Me: no, thanks
Her: what are you, a f**king homosexual or something???
discussion comment
15 years ago
A dancer at Leggs Lounge tells me that when she applied the manager told her her family name was familiar. Turns out her mother had worked there as a dancer, and her GRANDMOTHER had worked there as a waitress. Hmmm... is it nature or nurture?
discussion comment
15 years ago
Was getting a LD at Bogarts when a dancer nearby had an asthma attack. My dancer runs to the dressing room to look for the girl's inhaler. Bouncer comes over to check on her, sees me sitting there by myself, and says "Did you lose something?"
discussion comment
15 years ago
Fond Memory: Being told the rather imposing middle-aged african-american getting a lap dance in the corner was a michigan state trooper.
discussion comment
15 years ago
This article if full of interesting tidbits for those interested in the darker side of things... I was amazed, for example, that the manager claims to have contract papers from 1200 dancers. I mean, I know the place has been around for ever, but still...
Topless-bar death inquiry deepens
Police seize videotapes, say investigation of drugs and prostitution at Van Buren Twp.'s Leggs Lounge could take months
Wednesday, May 8, 2002
BY SUSAN L. OPPAT
News Staff Reporter
Ann Arbor News
It started out as an investigation into what some believe was a deadly delay between the time a patron at a topless bar suffered a heart attack April 21 and the time someone called for help.
Since last week, witnesses have come forward to tell investigators they believe the call for help was delayed while evidence of drug dealing and prostitution was cleaned up inside Leggs Lounge east of Ypsilanti in Wayne County's Van Buren Township.
Police looking for videotapes that might prove if there really was a delay in the call for help have confiscated hundreds of surveillance tapes and $1.6 million in cash from the owner of the bar on East Michigan Avenue.
Van Buren Township Detective Marc Abdilla believes the full investigation could take months. And, he said, the IRS is now involved, trying to determine whether the bar owner, John Hamilton, claimed the money on his tax returns.
The 45-year-old bar patron, whose name has not been released because his family doesn't know the circumstances of his death, collapsed in the lounge during a private lap dance. According to Van Buren Township Public Safety Director Christopher Elg, the man had no illegal drugs in his system and his death was ruled to be of natural causes.
Police had nothing to investigate, according to Abdilla, until the middle of last week, when several witnesses told police there was a significant delay between the time the man collapsed and the time someone called for help. They also said the bar was cleaned up during that delay.
Elg said the delay could have been anywhere from 45 minutes to two hours.
He said informants told detectives that dancers at the bar have sex with clients in upstairs rooms at the bar, that the sex is videotaped, and that there is drug dealing at the bar as well as other illegal activity.
The informants said the bar keeps cameras trained on the exterior of the bar to monitor the approach of police, and that a strobe light in the bar and the private rooms warns clients and employees.
They told police live video feeds are run from the bar to a house behind the bar, also owned by Hamilton, where the lounge manager lives and monitors activities, and that Hamilton's nephew, who lives in Wayne, was involved.
Looking for information that might show criminal negligence in waiting to make the call for help, Abdilla and Detective Louis Keele obtained search warrants for the bar; for the home behind the bar where the manager lives; and for the Wayne home of Hamilton's nephew., who police informants also said was involved in the business. Officers raided all three last Friday.
Police found condoms on the floor of the bar; lounge manager's Bob Martin's guns and several ounces of marijuana in the house behind the lounge; and several more ounces of marijuana, 300-500 videotapes and a 5-foot safe at a home in Wayne.
Martin, Hamilton's nephew, said hundreds of the tapes were children's tapes belonging to Hamilton's nephew, but Abdilla said he has found no children's tapes among those seized.
Abdilla said police asked Hamilton for the combination to the safe after he told them there was $1.4 million in the safe. When he refused to hand it over and police seized the safe.
Van Buren Township firefighters used the Jaws of Life to pry the safe open the next day. What they found inside was more than $1.6 million in cash, stuffed into two black bags. Abdilla said Hamilton told him the money had been earned at horse race tracks. He told television reporters the money came from his business.
Hamilton said this morning the cash is legitimately earned income he keeps on hand ever since he had a run-in with the IRS in 1990. He said that between his real estate investments, four bars and a shopping center, he earns $2 million-$3 million a year. He said he paid taxes on the money.
He also said Van Buren Township police aren't after any evidence about the man's death.
Hamilton said police are after tapes they believe exist that show police officers at the bar in the off-hours, doing things that could get them fired. He said Martin drunkenly told an intoxicated, off-duty officer several weeks ago that such tapes existed. Hamilton said they don't.
He said the search warrant made no mention of the man's death.
Hamilton and the township have been battling over a new ordinance that forbids topless dancing in a bar that serves liquor, and he said police are using this death to try another way to close him down.
As proof there's nothing wrong at the bar, he said, with the search warrants, "there were 20 police in there, not one found anything to write a ticket for."
Martin denied Tuesday that there was any delay in calling for help. He said there was a 35-minute delay before an ambulance arrived after the call.
Huron Valley Ambulance spokesman Rob Dormire said paramedics were on the scene 10 minutes after the call came in at 5:05 p.m. They performed CPR on the man for 25 minutes, but could not revive him.
Martin also said Hamilton, of Northville, makes too much money legally at Leggs and three other lounges he owns to risk the business on drug dealing and prostitution.
Martin pointed at signs posted on the doors warning patrons against drug use at the bar, and said the estimated 1,200 dancers whose contracts are on file with the bar include signed agreements that they won't sell sex there.
The private lap-dance rooms are monitored by video camera for the safety of the women, Martin said, but he denied they are videotaped. He denied Abdilla's statement that the rooms have mattresses, but Elg said the mattresses appear on at least some of the confiscated tapes.
Martin also said cameras monitor the cash registers and the parking lots, for security reasons. He said the strobe light in the main bar is activated by the club DJ with a remote-control device if there is trouble in the parking lot as he walks dancers to their cars. He denied there are warning strobes in the private dance rooms.
Neither Hamilton nor his attorney returned calls from The News Tuesday.
Elg said police have not yet found a tape of what happened inside the lounge on the day the man died.
[From The Ann Arbor News, 8 May 2002]
discussion comment
15 years ago
I found these two old reviews of Leggs Lounge (now John's Hot Spot). They kind of sum up opinions of the place, although I'm not sure if the second one is sincere or just sarcastic. He did give 5 stars! I especially like the "pros and cons" section of the first review.
Stretch Marks, Beer Guts, Dry Heaves
by markymarkmarkasdf
No matter how low your expectations are for a strip club, Leggs is sure to go below. Perhaps the stretch marked, overweight, large gut type of lady is what you are into? If so, Leggs is just the place for you. Otherwise, you had better steer clear. You can find much better looking girls pretty much anywhere, and don't have to pay for them. Frankly, I would have preferred to pay the dancers to put their clothes on so I could eat a hot dog from their gourmet buffet than lose my lunch looking at them.
* Pros: Exits clearly marked.
* Cons: The girls take their clothes off.
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended
11/10/06
Hot Dog Cooker
by podolakc
I will recommend this place all day. Any strip club where you can order a hot dog from the rotisserie machine, sit down, and enjoy while watching strippers with duct tape on there nipples, is an awesome habitat! Dont forget the mayonnaise!
discussion comment
15 years ago
I think you guys are missing the main point about the Hamilton clubs... it's not that the VIP bouncer is being tipped by the girls to look the other way... the management of the clubs is actually encouraging extras, because they know that's what brings in so many guys. Someone else mentioned on this site that the bouncer in the VIP at one of the clubs actually sells condoms. Additional evidence: there is a dancer at Bogarts one might call an FS specialist. She typically comes in late every night - 9 or 10 - and doesn't have to pay the late "bar fee" of $130, just the regular $80 or $85, because mgmt knows she brings in so much money to the club.
BTW, my understanding of the "tip-out" or "bar fee" mechanics is that the dancers all pay the fee at the end of the shift to the DJ or bouncers, and I think they split up the money. At Henry's, I think the fees are flexible depending on how busy the place is, but at Bogarts it's sink or swim. That's one reason the dancers are so aggressive.
One more point: the dancers all have to sign a contract saying they will not engage in prostitution. This covers the mgmt if they get busted.
discussion comment
15 years ago
I'm thinking now there are three types of strippers... actually, that reminds me of a joke. There are two types of people, those who divide people into two types and those who don't... okay, end of levity break. My three types are:
(1) ROBs who treat each customer like they will only see him once, and therefore must extract the most $$$ by any means - the pages of this website of full of such examples.
(2) Marketing savvy ones who at least understand that being nice and treating the PLs like they are important brings in more $$$ in the long run - again, many examples on this site, like the dancer who greets a guy as he comes in with "honey, i've missed you!" and a big kiss, then later tells her fav custie that the first guy is an asshole;
(3) Those who are open to forming actual friendships with regulars, and not just so they can take advantage of them. One of my favs likes to take me to the VIP just so we can talk and she can avoid the "finales" every 4 songs where all dancers who aren't in the VIP have to get up on stage. It doesn't hurt that I rub her back and shoulders while she's sitting on my lap. She doesn't charge me by the song, but just says "whatever you want to give me." Recently she's acted like she didn't want to go... the day shift would end, but she would stay with me well after, knowing it wasn't going to produce any more $$$. I thought that was sweet. Okay, I'm a rank sentimentalist... cut me some slack.
discussion comment
15 years ago
And here I thought they did it to meet me...
discussion comment
15 years ago
At the Hamilton-owned clubs in metro Detroit, there is always a $10 dance day, all day. Monday: Henry the VIII; Tuesday: Bogart's; Wednesday: Henry the VIII South; Thursday: John's Hot Spot. All are dives (some would say charming dives), but mileage is extremely high. $5 cover and $10 wristband, but after that average cost drops rapidly! As one reviewer said recently, Henry the VIII South is basically a brothel.
On the other extreme, Scarlett's and Platinum in Toledo both offer 2 for $30's with a "gift" of some sort. Silly. Like I need the offer of a Scarlett's golf towel to get interested in a dance. Scarlett's does have really cool semi-private booths with couches, which would be great, except that there's no mileage!!!
discussion comment
15 years ago
There are also nude clubs in Ohio that do serve booze, at least until 2:30am. Some serve fruit juice until 4:00 or later.
***note*** "nude" means on stage. In the few places I am familiar with in Toledo, the LDs are not nude and the dancers are very low mileage compared to Detroit.
discussion comment
15 years ago
Good question. I'm guessing all or most clubs require them, otherwise you would expect there to be at least a stripper or two with different taste...
The first club I visited, a dive called Leggs Lounge, had a dancer named "Rain" who wore a traditional pair of high-heeled pumps. She was beautiful and very elegant in them, but to be honest it was a little startling to see her up on stage without stripper platforms. Maybe it's just that stripper platforms are so closely tied to strippers...