I visited this club occasionally in...

I visited this club occasionally in the 1990s when it was still called Brad's Gold Club. I used to pay $5 cover here and then finish the evening across town at Brad's Brass Flamingo, with which it then shared an owner. In recent years it has been part of the Rick's Cabaret chain of strip clubs and hasn't had much to recommend it to my attention: it's more expensive than my Indianapolis favorites -- Brass Flamingo, Dancers, and Club Rio among the middle-brow clubs and Babes and Harem House among the dives -- and, until recently, it was open only at night and didn't really get rolling until 9 or 10, too late for my schedule.

About two months ago Rick's started opening at noon rather than 6, so I thought I would give it a try. I arrived at about 12:45 on a Tuesday afternoon in late July, paid $5 cover, and was immediately greeted by an old favorite. She is an older (probably late 30s) career stripper from whom I had received *many* happy-making private dances over the years at the Brass Flamingo until she disappeared from there about four years ago. I had written her off as gone from my life forever, but here she was welcoming me to Rick's! I'm no fool -- I ordered a $2 Bud Light, tipped her at the stage, and took her back to the lap dance area for a couple of very hands-on $25 dances that ended the way lap dances with her always do: 11 for 11 at the Brass Flamingo and now 1 for 1 at Rick's. I was in and out of the club in less than 45 minutes.

Some further details: Rick's is quite nice inside but is among the darkest strip clubs I have ever visited. (Since my eyes hadn't adjusted to the dark yet, I had to recognize my old favorite by feel rather than sight.) Domestic beers are only $2 all day Tuesday and Wednesday and there is a free lunch buffet Monday through Friday until 2. Lap dances are $25 each, plus $5 per song to the club, which is expensive compared to my favorite Indy clubs listed in the first paragraph. As I recall, the VIP room costs $260 for 30 minutes or $500 for an hour (let's hear it for volume discounts!), so I suspect the menu is wide open back there with at least some of the dancers.