I was driving through NW Arkansas...

I was driving through NW Arkansas recently on my way from Texas to the Midwest and decided to spend the night in Fayetteville and check out the [in]famous Bottoms Up, described as the only nude and highest contact strip club in the whole state. The club is located in a so-so residential neighborhood fairly close to the UA campus. From the outside it's not much to look at; the inside is even worse. In fact, this is one of the seediest-looking strip clubs I've ever seen -- and I've spent considerable time in Washington Park, IL and Inkster, MI!<br>

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I arrived about 9 on a Thursday, paid the $7 cover, and took a seat at a table near the stage (one of two but the only one in use), sipping my sweet tea from Popeye's and watching the entire line-up of seven strippers do two dances each repeatedly. The top came off during the first dance and the bottom almost always early in the second dance. The quality of the dancers ranged from about 4 to 8. One or two were black and the rest white. When I arrived the other patrons consisted of two young couples seated at the stage and an old-timer or two at the bar. As the evening wore on, the crowd changed to mostly young Hispanic men and perhaps some East Indians.<br>

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When sitting at the stage it took me a couple of dances to figure out why I was getting no attention whatsoever. At most clubs I am a frequent tipper, but only after the stripper provides a Stevie or some other acknowledgment of my presence. At Bottoms Up, dancers completely ignore you until you put a dollar (preferably two) on the stage. After I figured this out, I got plenty of attention.<br>