Feel the Hustle

Attended Kamasutra as part of a planned bachelor party package - where an outside host handles the minutia of the evening for you, cover charge, table, making sure your party can get into the club at a set time, etc. That turned out to be a blessing, because Kamasutra was packed the night we attended and it's not a particularly large club to begin with.

We were a large party, about 10 guys in all, and we got packed into what was clearly a space for ~6 in the corner by the stage, next to one of the couches they reserve for lap dances. So, you know, not the best start to the evening but hey, maybe we got stiffed by a bad outside host who wanted to get us into the club but didn't bother to make sure we wouldn't be giving each other lap dances before the girls could get there. I fancy myself a fair-minded sort, so we'll count that as a wash, and the fact that the club was packed should point more to its popularity than anything else.

Due to the pressed nature of the night, we opted for bottle service, deciding that it would be more convenient for everyone not to have to constantly shuffle around trying to make their way to the bar. This was our first mistake - I'm not under any illusions that strip clubs are there to do anything but fleece you for as much money as they are able, but I like to think that there is a contract in place whereby they'll at least pretend they're not doing that. Our waitress gave us the bottle and immediately demanded what amounted to roughly a 50% tip on top of the bottle with an unveiled threat to have us bounced as that was the "expected tip" if we didn't fork it over. The $200 for a mid-shelf bottle of vodka and some mixers was expected and fine, but bluntly demanding that we tip a certain amount on top of it was just twisting the knife.