I have been a regular here...

I have been a regular here since the place opened 5 years ago so I generally like what it has to offer. It has the decor and atmosphere of a gentlemen's club without the pretentions, dress codes, and pushiness that you find in more upscale places. My main goal for this recent visit was to get a private VIP dance from one of my favorite girls, Jenna, who is retiring from the business at the end of this month. I had only gone upstairs once with another girl prior to this and was not overly impressed with the show I got for $80/15 minutes. It really did not seem like it was much more than a glorified version of the $10 topless table dance. But, I had promised Jenna I would spend some money on her, so we went for a half hour. As much as I like this girl, I was underwhelmed by her private dance. Unless there are some girls giving a bit more bang for the buck, these VIP dances are not worth the money. On the other hand, I like many of the regular girls and have enjoyed some lovely table dances from a few of them. There was a cute new girl who talked me into a 2-song set with a T-shirt that has some potential and Nichole, the new shot girl is a long-legged stunner! There are lots of couples and mixed gender groups in this place all the time. Sometimes it gets hot when the women get dances; other times--like the Saturday in question--it's a bit of a buzz-kill when they look bored and keep the boys with them from having fun. On this particular night, the servers, bartender, and shot girls were all doing badly on tips in spite of a good crowd. I fear that more and more customers are skimping on the things that make strip clubs fun: getting dances, buying shots, tipping the hot servers, and making everyone smile.The small number of dancers on a busy Saturday was a bit surprising; I have seen as many as 20 on other nights. I hope this is not a trend. I have not visited the Lodge yet but need to take my VIP card and check it out. Overall, I recommend the Royale for its hot servers, reasonable prices, low pressure, and nice, generally pretty girls. The only negative (and the reason for the 6 rating in value)is the overpriced champaign rooms.