More of the same

Another night in Canton, another trip from the Tilted Kilt to the Royale, this time in the cold and snow. Only a few changes since the last review. First, the obnoxious bar lights are gone. They must have been holiday related. Second, they are building up to the 12th anniversary with some promotions. Tonight they gave raffle tickets every time you got a dance then drew for a free 15 minute champagne room. I didn't win but I did wrack up a few tickets getting mostly perfunctory table dances from some very attractive, but with only a couple of exceptions, unremarkable girls. I was approached early by Alesia, who stood out due to her tinier than normal thong and just general friendliness. She got called on stage and after an obligatory shower of ones from a VIP table, headed over to spend what seemed at a distance to be an excruciatingly boring time with the wanna-be's at that table. I had a series of OK dances from some cute girls whose names I don't recall. To their credit, none asked me to buy them drinks during our brief pre-dance chats, nor did I buy any shots from the very pregnant shot girl. The most interesting one of the bunch was the only African-American dancer in the house who told how she used to come in and play pool, won an amateur contest against dancers, and got hired on the spot. Good conversation--OK dance. They did one promotional item dance with the girls peddling an ugly ball cap that cost $5 if you got two $10 floor dances for $25. The better deal was 2 for $35 upstairs ($5 off a $20 dance, but normally they offer 2 for 30 so still a markup). I pointed out to the owner-manager that the hats were ugly (he took it well since he knew me as a semi-regular) but I did not take him to task for the mark-up. To my disappointment, no 2 4 1s were offered during the time I was there. As usual, there were some good looking women getting dances all around me. I was on my way out the door with money in my pocket when I saw a guy I have known for years at one of the back tables so I stopped to bullshit with him. I noticed Alesia giving a good dance to a guy not far away, and lo and behold, she came up to me afterwards and asked if I wanted a dance. I was happy to oblige. She confirmed that the conversation at that first table was a dud and that they never spent another cent after making it rain, then gave me several better-than-average-considering-the-rules dances. She was the only one to bring any heat to the performance so I was happy to spend the rest of my budget with her. All in all, the same old same old. Good but not great. Reliable but not boring. Pleasant but only occasionally passionate. Not a bad way to stay warm on a cold night.