The Las Vegas Scene

LapHunt
Thursday, October 28, 2010 12:52 PM
I've enjoyed weekend trips to Las Vegas at least twice a year for the better part of the last decade and have visited Sin City's strip clubs a fair bit during that time. I can recall a time (circa 2001-2005) when Olympic Garden and Crazy Horse Too were at the top of the Vegas chain with Cheetah's close behind. I remember visiting Spearmint Rhino back then and it paled in comparison. Now of course, the Rhino is the penultimate Vegas strip club, followed closely if not equaled by the relatively new Sapphire. However in the last two years, I've found (as some reviewers have observed on the Rhino review page) that the sheer crowds and pressure to go to the VIP have greatly influenced the enjoyment factor of the club. There has also been an apparent sharp decline in lap dance quality/mileage recently and that has me concerned for my next trip which I desperately need soon. I'm wondering what Las Vegas locals/regular visitors feel about the current atmosphere of the strip club scene there. Would you agree it has taken a turn for the worse since say 2008-2009? Is it a matter of going at the right time? Will the recent air dance obsession subside or has it perhaps already done so. Interested to hear what other Vegas folks think..... Cheers.

13 comments

I returned to LV for the first time after 15 years this summer and continue to visit 5-6 days per month. The changes are shocking and for the worse. Went back to the OG which I used to really enjoy. I hate what they've done to the place as it was a class act club with only Top Shelf talent. I asked a long time dancer what happened. She said it was a case of over expansion (too many clubs) and the competition amoung clubs was cut throat. At the time she said the SR was out bidding everyone in the taxi kickback trade which may explain the crowds there. Another girl in the OG who was Top Shelf told me she came there from the SR. I asked why she left and she said she couldn't make any money at the SR - too many girls. Another girl at the Palamino told me basically the same thing so I don't think it was just SS. Club wise, the OG is probably the best value for money DURING THE DAY but again not what it was. The saddest part of all the changes is that the girls used to go out and party on the town when they weren't working. I haven't seen that, no doubt due to the economy. Give LV back to the MOB - it was better!!!!
GSWx4
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14 years ago
Last time in Vegas I did visit SR. Since the money goes a whole lot further in Detroit, I grabbed a seat at the main stage and tipped out the $1s. Saw eye candy for 8 hours straight and ran through $200 in $1s. Obviously tipping the waitress well to get $1s for my $20s over the course of the evening was a wise move, and so was saving seats with my neighbors and they mine in return. I think I did as well as anyone could expect on that visit. If you want better, book DTW and head for The Penthouse Club!
CTQWERTY
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14 years ago
In another of my reviews, I concurred that the Spearmint Rhino was way over the top expensive, constant VIP pressure, dark, and crowded. I left after 15 minutes and went to the Palomino, which I enjoyed immensely. My experience there was all the things SO isn't - relaxed, extended and enjoyable conversation with one of the dancers, and then we did do the VIP at my suggestion no less, and it was among the best I've had, including a happy ending in her capable hands for the base VIP rate ($100 for three dances). I'm not sure about lap dances on the main floor, if they're getting better or worse. Like many restaurants/bars in a tourist town, I find customer service in Vegas clubs lacking in any case, because I suppose few of us are steady-stream regulars and there are always new tourists coming in the door behind us. That being said, when I am in Vegas, I make a beeline to the less popular clubs like Palomino (still my fav in Vegas) and Talk of the Town (small and run down, but decent $10 lap dance value).
Rod8432
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14 years ago
Vegas is an unusual economic situation. It is a city whose tourist trade is based on conspicuous consumption. As Robert Venturi pointed out in his book Learning From Las Vegas even stop signs and fast food signs on or near the strip are oversize just so the stand a chance to be noticed. The strip clubs are competing not simply with each other but also with the topless shows at the casinos and taking the drive to Pahrump to the legal brothels. Nobody wants to tell their friends about going to Vegas and stopping buy a personal intimate strip club with a few really gorgeous girls. They won't really feel like they've been to Vegas unless they see a big lavish club with lots of extravagant features. Never mind that they could have gotten better mileage at a club back home, they could have gambled back home at bingo or powerball or scratch-off lotto games. But they didn't. Another factor behind the vegas clubs is that visitors can usually hide the money they spent at the club as having been 'lost at the tables'. Since gambling and losing are so much a part of having made the trip nobody is going to suspect that the money might have been spent someplace else.
inno123
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14 years ago
inno, you make a good point. There's nothing in Vegas that can't be had within a few hours travel of almost anywhere in the U.S., and probably a good deal less expensively. The reputation as "Sin City" may have once been deserved, and may still be with regard to the sheer volume of debauchery, but not, as far as I've been able to determine without actually going there, with regard to the quality.
georgmicrodong
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14 years ago
IMHO Rod is right on the money with respect to the Palomino. For some reason it is often overlooked on here, probably because it is a little more out of the way than some of these other clubs, bit IMO it is the best club in Vegas. Too many of the clubs in Vegas are overpriced and under-delivering tourist traps. Oh, and did I mention that the Palomino is the ONLY club in Vegas that has full nude AND alcohol. It is a very old club and somehow was grandfathered when the laws were changed to prohibit nudity with alcohol sales. The talent can be hit or miss at the club, but with some patience the right mix of willingness and attractiveness can be found.
rickdugan
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14 years ago
Rick mentions "overpriced and underdelivering tourist traps". Here's what Rick's reported yesterday with regard to their Vegas location: "October 29, 2010 04:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time Rick’s Cabaret International, Inc. Says It Will Take an Impairment Charge Primarily Because of Its Las Vegas Nightclub HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rick’s Cabaret International, Inc. (NASDAQ: RICK), the nation’s leading chain of upscale gentlemen’s clubs, said today it will take an impairment charge of between $20 million and $23 million in fiscal 2010, primarily because of the poor performance of the Rick’s Cabaret Las Vegas nightclub it purchased in 2008. The exact amount of the impairment charge, which also will include lesser amounts from two other underperforming properties, will be determined after a final valuation is performed and will be recorded in the quarter ending September 30. It will be reported in December in the company’s Form 10-K. The impairment charges will have no effect on the company’s debt covenants under any existing real estate loan arrangements and will not result in future cash expenditures."
CTQWERTY
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14 years ago
Agree with the comments about the Palomino. Much lower pressure and a more relaxed experience. There is no cover charge for locals so if you drive yourself or take a cab to Jerry's Nugget Casino and walk across the street, they are likely to ask if you are a local. Say yes. Other non-mega club options (dive clubs) are Club Platinum and my favorite Chicas Bonitas. CB is two doors down from the Palomino but it is definitely an acquired taste. If you have limted time stick with the Palomino though CB is a place that has a lower turnover of dancers so you can establish longer term relationships.
GSWx4
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14 years ago
What keeps the sex industry going in LV is all the convention business and the traveling businessmen who have an opportunity to misbehave away from home. It's also easy enough for men to escape from family/friends while on vacation. As others have said, the casinos provide great excuses for missing money and time. So "Sin City" will always be there, but business is way, way down with the economy. I've enjoyed LV clubs for drinks and eye candy and people watching, but the expense is so ridiculous that I don't "partake." What allows prices to be so high is that it's the only opportunity that a lot of men will ever have, so they pay whatever it takes. I can have a much better time near home where the dancers are more relaxed, besides the cost being more realistic. I have no wife/girlfriend to answer to so I can do what I want at home. I don't have to wait for the company to send me to LV.
bumrubber
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14 years ago
LH- Thanks for summary- I haven't been to Vegas in a decade. Perusing the reviews gives me much the same impression as yours- that of exceeding a certain saturation point. Last time I went, OG & CH-T ( with a diversion to Little Darlings for nude fix) seemed to hit the sweet spot. rd- I think the Palomino is outside city limits, thus its ability to offer full nude and alcohol. The last time in Vegas, I'd see some Palomino ads on cabs. At the time, I got around via rental car. Was cabbing it to/from Palomino (those who have done it) user friendly? Whatever, I'm not enthusiastic about the minnow in a pihrrana tank feeling I'd be getting in some of the emporium like clubs there now.
minnow
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14 years ago
Minnow - Palomino is in the seperate city of North Las Vegas. Same county ordinance applies but they were grandfathered which is why no competition has sprung up. Cab fare from the north end of the strip runs about $20 and the driver gets a headhunter fee from the club (like most clubs). So far there has always been at least one cab waiting outside the club late at night when I've left.
GSWx4
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14 years ago
What about the lapdance quality specifically at the Rhino and Sapphire's right now? A few reviews suggested that the Rhino in particular had become a more "hands-off" or "air dance" environment, apparently because of a recent raid......
LapHunt
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14 years ago
"The saddest part of all the changes is that the girls used to go out and party on the town when they weren't working. I haven't seen that, no doubt due to the economy." I travel a lot and date around in my travels. Not P4P but regular girls looking to have fun. I'm not getting the action I used to and it isn't just me getting older. There used to be groups of girls out on the town in every city. No more -- no one can afford it!
bumrubber
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14 years ago
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