Capitalism and the Strip Club Scene

I arrived early on a recent Thursday afternoon and did not see many cars in the parking lot which I suppose wasn't all that surprising. The club is located on the southbound side of Route 9 in Parlin, about a mile from the split from route 35. It sits right between a McDonalds and Speedway gas station and the parking lot is very easy to miss especially if it is nighttime. Inside the place is extremely well-maintained and clean including the mens' room. There is a relatively small stage in the center of the main room with about 18-20 bar seats surrounding the stage and couches positioned in the back of the room for additional seating. The public lap dance and semi-private VIP rooms are located to the left of the bar and stage through a beaded curtain which does not shield a damn thing from curious minds.

On this particular afternoon there were 4 girls working and one other customer when I arrived. Two of the girls whom I would rate about a 6 were hanging out with the other customer, an elderly gentleman. Standing a few feet to the left of where I was seated was a dancer who looked like she had just received a military discharge from the Army with her buzz haircut and completely rough appearance. On stage was a rather tall, busty dirty blonde haired woman who appeared to be on the wrong side of 35, but still looked pretty good. When she came over to collect her mandatory dollar tip, we spoke briefly and she was pretty personable and seemed ripe for a lap dance so I made the request and then was told that there is a new club rule: VIP only before 6pm? Are you f**king kidding me? I get it, their club, their rules, but they are going to lose a lot of customers if they don't get their hands out of our pockets. I really did not feel like forking over the $$$ for VIP (which is $125 for 15 minutes and $230 for 30 minutes, plus add $10 if you pay with a card instead of cash) so I passed and immediately walked out. Just out of curiosity, I sat in my car for nearly 20 minutes afterwards just to see if anyone else would show up and nobody did. Management really should not be surprised if it becomes a daily occurrence to have the day shift sitting around with nothing to do for the first 6 hours. However, given the attachment these chicks have to their phones, maybe they won't even care.

Incidentally, lap dances are $30 per "song", but unlike Go Go Rama where there is an official timing mechanism in place to ensure that the customers don't get ripped off, here it is up to the individual girl's discretion so don't be surprised if you are asked every 2 minutes (or less) if you want to continue.