Why are there so many strip clubs in Portland? (homes, buyer)

[AndyAMG]

Originally Posted by Leisesturm

I'm beginning to feel like I might be missing out by not having ever been to a strip club. In any state. Is this true, am I? Is a strip club experience bucket list worthy? I don't come from a strip club appreciating culture that I know of, but I've crossed so many other cultural lines, what's one more? Are strip clubs... erm... diverse? Will a 5'11" 200lb black guy cause any discomfort among the patrons and/or the staff? What is the behavior protocol? Can you just kick back and take in the ... experience, or is one compelled by tradition to belly up to the stage and divest oneself of a thick stack of onsies for each new performer as the price of being present at the spectacle? Inquiring minds want to know...

You'd be the most popular guy there..well at least popular with the ladies, the patrons aren't looking at other patrons. You can sit back, but then they will hound you for either drinks or private dances. Some clubs are better than others. Some are hands off some are gentle normal touching is fine, ususally depends on the girs personal rules or the rules set by the club. In Tucson there was a place called TDs west that was pretty diverse (and crazy) and had a high cover charge, so the girls were not quite as pushy, there was another that was very laid back had a dress code and touching the girls in anyway was not allowed. Bucket list worthy..... depends on the club. In my younger days I went to some clubs in Guam and Korea I would say heeeeeeelllll yeeeeeeeaaaaah! woooooo! But here in the states.... Meh.... If you are looking for black females you may have to go to several clubs. In Portland there is not much diversity in the strip club scene, pretty much chubbier dark haired white girls.

Exotica International or Dancing Bare both in N Portland offer the most diversity.... according to a co-worker of mine who spends half his paycheck on booze and strippers.

Thick stacks of ones are not necessary. In fact, normally they will perform some sort of trick with just one $1 bill. The others just get tossed to the side of the stage. I have found no correlation between making it rain and getting a better dance. One dollar has always done it for me. If you act like a gentleman they are usually pretty cool. You could throw 20 1s up there in one song and you would just be throwing 20 1s up there for no reason. As a matter of fact they would probably hound you more. Strippers are not dumb.

Another problem with strip clubs is the wanna be gangster patrons. Stabbings shootings (I haven't seen but do know it happens frequently) and assault are normal things that go with the strip club territory.

I'd say its not bucket list worth but it is..... an experience...

[urbanlife78]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

I think some of it has to do with the people on the northern side of the state line (Washington) where there are very few strip clubs. State law prevents the sale of alcohol at them, and in Seattle the dancers must stay 4' from the customers.

Washington does have some really weird strip club laws.

[freemkt]

Originally Posted by Yankeemama

The strip club scene here is odd. I can't explain it here as I am uncomfortable talking about my Portland strip club experience on a public forum. You may find the strip clubs here perfectly normal but the one time I went to one here left me feeling kind of sick. Yes, I have been to strip clubs in other cities.

There's reportedly a lot of sex trafficking in and through Portland, perhaps it created an environment and unease you couldn't put your finger on?

[Yankeemama]

Originally Posted by freemkt

There's reportedly a lot of sex trafficking in and through Portland, perhaps it created an environment and unease you couldn't put your finger on?

Interesting point. It was the physical set up of the bar so close to the tiny stage that made the experience feel way too intimate, not in a good way. The patrons did not put me at ease and the location seemed to be sketchy so not an environment that made me comfortable. I was used to going out to strip clubs after drinks and dinner with co-workers in NYC because that's where you ended up showing clients or visitors from out of town "a good time". In S.F., I was still in my 20's so a group of us, women and men, would go to clubs then off to gay dance parties. Yeah, I have no problem with the naked body but there was a scary/ creepy element to the strip bar in Portland that made me want to run and find cover. Oh, and another thing, these dancers may have been the exception to the rule as they had toned bodies, no body hair and were conventionally attractive. I only saw four, however, so maybe things changed after I left. I have heard that strip clubs here have to offer food which I think is interesting.

[urbanlife78]

Originally Posted by Yankeemama

Interesting point. It was the physical set up of the bar so close to the tiny stage that made the experience feel way too intimate, not in a good way. The patrons did not put me at ease and the location seemed to be sketchy so not an environment that made me comfortable. I was used to going out to strip clubs after drinks and dinner with co-workers in NYC because that's where you ended up showing clients or visitors from out of town "a good time". In S.F., I was still in my 20's so a group of us, women and men, would go to clubs then off to gay dance parties. Yeah, I have no problem with the naked body but there was a scary/ creepy element to the strip bar in Portland that made me want to run and find cover. Oh, and another thing, these dancers may have been the exception to the rule as they had toned bodies, no body hair and were conventionally attractive. I only saw four, however, so maybe things changed after I left. I have heard that strip clubs here have to offer food which I think is interesting.

That is actually interesting, I really have no idea what was so unsettling to you with Portland strip clubs, I always had a more comfortable feeling in them. As for the type of girls, that is also what I would see, mostly toned, fit girls with no hair.

The food fact is an OLCC thing, if you serve booze in Oregon, you better be serving hot food. The Acropolis is known for its cheap steaks, and I use to eat at this other club that actually had really good and cheap food. I got to know the chef really well which helped.

[redguard57]

The reason why I think is because of a general lack of regulations in addition to the reasons others have stated, making it cheaper to start one.

I was in the army and have been to my fair share of strip clubs. After a certain age you see what they are - pits that will steal your money if possible. I remember talking to a stripper in one club in Texas and she straight up admitted that if a clients was drunk enough and she was giving them a lap-dance, she'd just pick his pocket. That was about the point where I quit frequenting them. I went to a few of the Portland ones last year.

To me the strip clubs in Portland are not really strip clubs. As others have said, they're dive bars with women who dance naked on stage. I found them quite boring. I'd just as well go to a regular dive bar where the drinks are more reasonable. What surprised me, at least compared to Texas sc's, is the lack of personal attention you get.

In Texas it's all about the private dances. The stage is almost useless, very few guys actually go tip on the stages. Girls come talk to you all the time. Here in Oregon, around the stage is where people hang out and most of the "action" occurs from tipping $1's on stage. The dancers don't initiate, you have to go to them. The upside, I suppose, is that the dancers do far more tricks on-stage than they did in Texas, where I sometimes saw girls do nothing more than hold on to the pole and swing in a circle. Here, there seems to be more effort put into performance.

Another upside is that "normal" women can go into Oregon sc's and be treated like regular patrons. Back in TX it was very odd to see a woman at a sc not a dancer or waitress and she REALLY stuck out if she did go in. Like I said, my experience in Oregon was no different from a dive bar, just a stage with some girls who stripped, so there was more of a gender mix in the patron crowd.

I think every state's rules are different and there are also cultural differences. Ie: I've heard there are huge differences between Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

The Acropolis is known for its cheap steaks,

My cousin of mine (who lives in New York) told me a story about how the NY Times once wrote a piece about the best frugal places to eat in Portland and the Acropolis was on the list.

Her very straight-laced elderly neighbors were about to visit Portland, so she gave them the article.

Here it is:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/10/tr...pagewanted=all

The short paragraph that barely explained that steak was not the "main attraction" there was either not read or fully understood.

They loved a good steak, so they decided to check it out.

Should I go on?

[urbanlife78]

Originally Posted by redguard57

The reason why I think is because of a general lack of regulations in addition to the reasons others have stated, making it cheaper to start one.

I was in the army and have been to my fair share of strip clubs. After a certain age you see what they are - pits that will steal your money if possible. I remember talking to a stripper in one club in Texas and she straight up admitted that if a clients was drunk enough and she was giving them a lap-dance, she'd just pick his pocket. That was about the point where I quit frequenting them. I went to a few of the Portland ones last year.

To me the strip clubs in Portland are not really strip clubs. As others have said, they're dive bars with women who dance naked on stage. I found them quite boring. I'd just as well go to a regular dive bar where the drinks are more reasonable. What surprised me, at least compared to Texas sc's, is the lack of personal attention you get.

In Texas it's all about the private dances. The stage is almost useless, very few guys actually go tip on the stages. Girls come talk to you all the time. Here in Oregon, around the stage is where people hang out and most of the "action" occurs from tipping $1's on stage. The dancers don't initiate, you have to go to them. The upside, I suppose, is that the dancers do far more tricks on-stage than they did in Texas, where I sometimes saw girls do nothing more than hold on to the pole and swing in a circle. Here, there seems to be more effort put into performance.

Another upside is that "normal" women can go into Oregon sc's and be treated like regular patrons. Back in TX it was very odd to see a woman at a sc not a dancer or waitress and she REALLY stuck out if she did go in. Like I said, my experience in Oregon was no different from a dive bar, just a stage with some girls who stripped, so there was more of a gender mix in the patron crowd.

I think every state's rules are different and there are also cultural differences. Ie: I've heard there are huge differences between Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

The performances on stage are probably my most favorite part about strippers in Portland during my bachelor days. I use to know a number of girls that were quite talented with what they could do on stage. Many girls really put on one heck of a show that makes it fun to watch. I was never a fan of lap dances because that is just a waste of money for a girl you aren't even sleeping with.

[urbanlife78]

Originally Posted by pdxMIKEpdx

My cousin of mine (who lives in New York) told me a story about how the NY Times once wrote a piece about the best frugal places to eat in Portland and the Acropolis was on the list.

Her very straight-laced elderly neighbors were about to visit Portland, so she gave them the article.

Here it is:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/10/tr...pagewanted=all

The short paragraph that barely explained that steak was not the "main attraction" there was either not read or fully understood.

They loved a good steak, so they decided to check it out.

Should I go on?

Haha, actually yeah, you should go on. I am sure it was a shock to them when they saw how our famous "steakhouse" functions. But you gotta love the Eastern Oregon beef the owner of the Acropolis has because of his cattle farm.

Though I have hard the quality of the strippers there have really gone down hill since the last time I was there.

[sorupaa]

I'd rather go to a maid caffe. Not really expensive, no flashing lights and girls are nicer