Proof that the economy is finally on the upswing

[Condemned 2 HelLA]

Pole positions: Strip club holds job fair

‘Foxy Lady’ club in R.I. looks to fill openings in bad economy


PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Here’s a job opportunity you won’t need to buy a new wardrobe for.

Hoping to take advantage of Rhode Island’s floundering economy, owners of the Foxy Lady strip club in Providence plan to hold a job fair on Saturday.

They say they’re looking to fill around 30 positions, from strippers and waitresses to disc jockeys and bartenders, at that club and two others in Massachusetts.

“I need more managers, I need more competent staff, and I need more attractive waitresses to go along with the ones I have right now,” said co-owner Tom Tsoumas.

The naked truth is that Rhode Island’s economy is among the worst in the nation, with an unemployment rate of 10.3 percent in January.

The Providence club isn’t immune from the recession but is still drawing customers willing to drink and pay for lap dances, said manager Bob Travisono.

“It’s taken a hit,” he said. “It’s not as bad as restaurants and stuff like that. In times like this, they seem to drink their sorrows away.”

Tsoumas said he hopes some who might shun strip clubs when the economy is good might consider shedding their clothes now — or at least working as a floor host or bartender.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29791612/from/ET/?GT1=43001

[Frenzy]

hopefully they have nickel night.

[RandomGuy]

If I could make $100k a year managing a titty bar, I would jump at it.

Hell at that price, even my wife would think it was a good idea.

[Wild Cobra]

The dancers here in the Portland area used to average about $600 a night until about 1998. It has never come back. Now the girls aren't as pretty, some are pathetic. Most are even whores now. Even the good ones only make $100 to $200 a night average now.

As for not needing a wardrobe...

Not true. Most of them buy some real sexy outfits, and they aren't cheap.

[Wild Cobra]

If I could make $100k a year managing a titty bar, I would jump at it.

Hell at that price, even my wife would think it was a good idea.

I never heard on the managers making much. They probably make about $30 k to $40 k, but I really don't know. I think the bartenders in these places are the ones that bank out.

[TDMVPDPOY]

those girls get into porn

[Condemned 2 HelLA]

those girls get into porn

....whch in turn creates jobs, generates revenue and stimulates the economy.
Everyone wins.

[Wild Cobra]

those girls get into porn
As a general fact, no. Most are single mothers working under the table and getting money from the government at the same time. You find a larger percentage of those who prostitute themselves from the general population, but most them are typical women. I've only run into a few that have done porn.

[clambake]

As a general fact, no. Most are single mothers working under the table and getting money from the government at the same time. You find a larger percentage of those who prostitute themselves from the general population, but most them are typical women. I've only run into a few that have done porn.

this part of your life, combined with the stalking part of your life......is a window to your character.

[Oh, Gee!!]

WC knows too much about the inner workings of strip clubs. Kinda creepy IMO

[Wild Cobra]

WC knows too much about the inner workings of strip clubs. Kinda creepy IMO
Yes, I'll admit to that. I was starting to go to them in 1996 as my divorce was coming. I have found many disgusting women, and many good ones. I have gone out and been friends with several dancers over the years. I really like their sexiness, and they like me. I am currently dating a total babe who is a dancer/bartender and turns 31 later this month. Robbing the cradle, but we get along rather well.

Creepy, no. Just have to keep things real.

[TDMVPDPOY]

WC knows too much about the inner workings of strip clubs. Kinda creepy IMO

you know those booths where theres a hole in the wall, i think his the person on the otherside of the wall that the client doesnt know whats suckin them off

[clambake]

i would guess that the ex-mrs.cobra is the happiest woman on earth.

[Wild Cobra]

you know those booths where theres a hole in the wall, i think his the person on the otherside of the wall that the client doesnt know whats suckin them off
I never heard of such places. I guess you are an expert in sucking off to know what happens there...

[Condemned 2 HelLA]

A little something extra here:



More women going from jobless to topless


Psychotherapist: 'Desperate measures are becoming far more acceptable'


CHICAGO - As a bartender and trainer at a national restaurant chain, Rebecca Brown earned a couple thousand dollars in a really good week. Now, as a dancer at Chicago’s Pink Monkey gentleman’s club, she makes almost that much in one good night.

The tough job market is prompting a growing number of women across the country to dance in strip clubs, appear in adult movies or pose for magazines like Hustler.

Employers across the adult entertainment industry say they’re seeing an influx of applications from women who, like Brown, are attracted by the promise of flexible schedules and fast cash. Many have college degrees and held white-collar jobs until the economy soured.

“You’re seeing a lot more beautiful women who are eligible to do so many other things,” said Gus Poulos, general manager of New York City’s Sin City gentleman’s club. He said he got 85 responses in just one day to a recent job posting on Craigslist.

The transition to the nightclub scene isn’t always a smooth one — from learning to dance in five-inch heels to dealing with the jeers of some customers.

Some performers said they were initially so nervous that only alcohol could calm their nerves.

“It is like giving a speech, but instead of imagining everyone naked, you’re the one who’s naked,” Brown, 29, said.

Eva Stone, a 25-year-old dancer at the Pink Monkey, said dealing with occasional verbal abuse from patrons requires “a thick skin.”

Makers of adult films cautioned that women shouldn’t rush into the decision to make adult movies without considering the effect on their lives.

“Once you decide to be an adult actress, it impacts your relationship with everyone,” said Steven Hirsch, co-chairman of adult film giant Vivid Entertainment Group. “Once you make an adult film, it never goes away.”

The women at the Pink Monkey say dancing at a strip club might not have been their first career choice, but they entered the business with their eyes wide open. The job gives them more control and flexibility than sitting in a cubicle, and “it’s easy, it’s fun and all of us girls ... look out for each other,” Brown said.

In this economy, “desperate measures are becoming far more acceptable,” said Jonathan Alpert, a New York City-based psychotherapist who’s had clients who worked in adult entertainment.

For some, dancing is temporary, a way to pay for college loans or other bills. Others say they’ve found their niche.

Dancers at the upscale Rick’s Caberet clubs in New York City and Miami can make $100,000 to $300,000 a year — in cash — even with the economic downturn, club spokesman Allan Priaulx said.

Priaulx said 20 to 30 women a week are applying for jobs at the New York club, double the number of a year ago.

Rhode Island’s Foxy Lady held a job fair Saturday, seeking to fill about 35 positions for dancers, masseuses, bartenders and bouncers. The Providence Journal reported that more than 150 job seekers showed up to apply for work at the strip club. Foxy Lady co-owner Tom Tsoumas said a recent promotion to cut prices helped the club regain business lost due to the bad economy, forcing it to hire more employees.

Still, analysts say, the industry isn’t immune to the economic recession. Business is down an estimated 30 percent across all segments, including adult films, gentleman’s clubs, magazines and novelty shops, said Paul Fishbein, president of AVN Media Network, an adult entertainment company that has a widely distributed trade publication and an award show.

“In the past, people have said this industry is recession-proof,” said Eric Wold, director of research for financial services firm Merriman Curhan Ford. “I definitely don’t see that; maybe recession-resistant.”

Strip club dancers and managers said they’re drawing in the same number of customers, but fewer high rollers.

“They’re not getting the big spenders,” said Angelina Spencer, executive director of the Association of Club Executives, a trade group for adult nightclubs. “They’re not getting the guys who come in and drop $3,000 to $4,000 a night anymore.”

Still, the clubs’ operating structure leaves them with low overhead and profit margins of up to 50 percent, Wold said.

Dancers are independent contractors, paying clubs a nightly flat fee depending on how long they work. At the Pink Monkey, for example, dancers who arrive at 7 p.m. Sunday through Thursday pay a $40 “house fee,” while women who don’t arrive until midnight pay $90. And they keep their tips.

Wold and others say it’s almost impossible to estimate the size of the adult entertainment industry because few companies are publicly traded. He does pay close attention to three that are: Lakewood, Colo.-based VCG Holding and Houston-based Rick’s Caberet, which own clubs, and New Frontier Media, a Boulder, Colo.-based adult film producer and distributor.

All three are profitable.

Rick’s Caberet had $60 million in revenue in its 2008 fiscal year, up from $32 million the year before, Wold said, and he estimates VCG will have $57 million for last year, compared with $40.5 million in FY2007. New Frontier Media generates more than $400 million in consumer buying a year.

Larry Flynt, whose half-billion dollar Hustler empire publishes magazines, produces and distributes films and operates a casino, said he’s continued to do well. But he doesn’t expect those who are solely in the film business to survive.

“A lot of the small studios are out of business now, there’s no doubt about that,” Flynt said.

Adult magazines also are struggling along with the larger publishing industry, and have to cut pages like everyone else.

But the economic realities aren’t keeping jobseekers away.

Vivid Entertainment’s Hirsch said the number of women in his business has doubled in the last couple years, with roughly 800 working as adult actresses. “It is more competitive than I’ve seen it in 25 years,” he said.

That doesn’t mean all the newcomers are planning on lengthy careers in the industry.

Stone, who has a bachelor’s degree in graphic design, took up dancing four years ago to help pay her student loans. She plans to go to graduate school this year to pursue a master’s in education.

Brown, meanwhile, has a ready answer for those critical of her career choice.

“I have job security,” she said.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29824663/?gt1=43001

[clambake]

Yes, I'll admit to that. I was starting to go to them in 1996 as my divorce was coming. I am currently dating a total babe who is a dancer

where are her bullet wounds?

[Oh, Gee!!]

WC is creepy old guy that gives strippers all of his money. lols

[CuckingFunt]

Yes, I'll admit to that. I was starting to go to them in 1996 as my divorce was coming. I have found many disgusting women, and many good ones. I have gone out and been friends with several dancers over the years. I really like their sexiness, and they like me. I am currently dating a total babe who is a dancer/bartender and turns 31 later this month. Robbing the cradle, but we get along rather well.

Creepy, no. Just have to keep things real.

I don't know how accurately people can judge their own creepy factor.

[baseline bum]

If I could make $100k a year managing a titty bar, I would jump at it.

Hell at that price, even my wife would think it was a good idea.

Not a good idea unless this country changes its prostitution laws. Tip security $20 and you can pretty much negotiate anything with the girl in the booth. If those services aren't available from the girls working there, good luck having a successful club.

[J.T.]

Not a good idea unless this country changes its prostitution laws. Tip security $20 and you can pretty much negotiate anything with the girl in the booth. If those services aren't available from the girls working there, good luck having a successful club.

So what gentleman's clubs do you frequent?

[Wild Cobra]

WC is creepy old guy that gives strippers all of his money. lols
You haven't a clue.

Jesus...

I'm trying to have a non heated discussion, and all you can do is interject such things?

One of the dancers I know has a day job as a manager. Another is a Policeman's wife. I could go on. They come in all types. Just because you find more whores than in other jobs, it doesn't make all of them that. The girl I'm dating has a degree as a pharmacist. She makes more money dancing. She put herself through college by dancing, and cant make as much money using her degree.

[peewee's lovechild]

WC got divorced because his ex believed in global warming.