I was in San Jose for...

I was in San Jose for the Embedded Systems Conference and decided to check out the Pink Poodle while I was there. The stage is long, with a very short L where the dancers enter and exit through a curtain. The lighting on the stage is good, but the rest of the club is very dark. There is a shower show area, and a lap dace area, though Shower show was $50 and laps were $40, which discouraged me from trying either.

I arrived about 6pm, the cover was $15 dollars but my one drink was only $3.50. The Day shift was finishing up when I came in. A tall curvy dancer was on stage. She finished her set just as I sat down. There was a short song while she scooped up a fair number of bills, and left the stage. The stage was only bare for a few minutes when the next dancer came out. The only other customer at the stage immediately threw a wad of bills on the stage that made my $2 tip look pretty small. The set was 2 full songs, not cut short as in some clubs. When the next dancer came out the customer put out a generous tip, and another customer, who was not sitting at the stage started throwing $1 bills on the stage until one end of it was totally covered. At the end of her set the dancer had to crawl along the stage pushing a pile of bills in front of her.

After that the other customer left the stage, and the tips dried up. The next dancer got my tip and $1 from another customer. I suspect that dollar fell off the stage during the previous set. After the last dancer from the day shift the stage was empty for almost 20 minutes before the first night shift dancer came on. I stayed for a few sets, and then went back to my hotel.