Why are there so many strip clubs in Portland? (Union: sale, unemployment rate)

[karlsch]

Originally Posted by Leisesturm

....... In doing my usual thourough research before I post a rebuttal I came across this tidbit. FWIW.

After reading that I guess you could conclude that Portland and apparently Springfield have a lot of strip clubs because Oregon is the BEAVER STATE.

[urbanlife78]

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.

The only thing I have found odd about strip clubs in Portland is how much people treat them like they are their neighborhood bars that just so happens to have naked girls dancing at them. This is the only city I would ever go to strip clubs in because they don't creep me out here like they do in other cities.

[portlandphi]

Originally Posted by Leisesturm

I doubt that's it. NYC would definitely be in the number one slot in that case. In doing my usual thourough research before I post a rebuttal I came across this tidbit. FWIW.

LOL!I didn't think I would have to debate in this thread. Not really into it tonite. While I am quite sure horny/not horny men is a serious subject, just not up to "playing" .

[tomato&onion]

Originally Posted by Rubi3

How often do you visit one of the clubs?

I actually don't reside in the Portland area and when I was there visiting, I walked into Lucky Devil Lounge. It was a hole in the wall, dead bar. I wasn't impressed. I just ran into an article on Time magazine stating there are more strip clubs per capita in Portland than anywhere in the US, which shocked me. I thought Vegas would be such a place.

[urbanlife78]

Originally Posted by tomato&onion

I actually don't reside in the Portland area and when I was there visiting, I walked into Lucky Devil Lounge. It was a hole in the wall, dead bar. I wasn't impressed. I just ran into an article on Time magazine stating there are more strip clubs per capita in Portland than anywhere in the US, which shocked me. I thought Vegas would be such a place.

Oh funny, you went into one of my favorite bars during my single years. Lucky Devil really depends on the time, most strip clubs are pretty dead until later, also LD is a tiny one compared to other strip clubs. The funny thing with that one bar is you will pull up to the parking lot and it will be packed, then you go in and realize there is a poker tournament going on and almost no one else there. That is when I usually feel bad for the girls working there.

I would always tell people that you can get into a lot more trouble in Portland than you can in Vegas if you know where to look.

[Yankeemama]

The one strip club I went to was what I would call real dive bar... and just feet away from me was a tiny stage with fully naked women. As a woman going to a bar, I want to feel safe, in general, but the added nude women action made the bar feel even less safe. I will point out that I have been to some crazy clubs in S.F. and N.Y.C. in the late 80's- early 2000's, gay and straight, but this strip club in Portland had a beyond creepy vibe to it. Maybe the clubs in downtown are more of what I have been to in other cities but at this point in my life I don't have a desire to party at strip clubs so it's a moot point for me. I do hope the women at all clubs here are over 18 and are safe. Peace.

[urbanlife78]

Originally Posted by Yankeemama

The one strip club I went to was what I would call real dive bar... and just feet away from me was a tiny stage with fully naked women. As a woman going to a bar, I want to feel safe, in general, but the added nude women action made the bar feel even less safe. I will point out that I have been to some crazy clubs in S.F. and N.Y.C. in the late 80's- early 2000's, gay and straight, but this strip club in Portland had a beyond creepy vibe to it. Maybe the clubs in downtown are more of what I have been to in other cities but at this point in my life I don't have a desire to party at strip clubs so it's a moot point for me. I do hope the women at all clubs here are over 18 and are safe. Peace.

Kind of sounds like the Magic Gardens, which is now another Dead Memories Portland.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

You want a guess? The courts have ruled it is freedom of expression and neighborhoods are not allowed to keep them out. There are buildings for rent that are relatively cheap for commercial rentals (one of the differences with NYC- cost of doing business). The mob doesn't take protection money nor control the liquor trade.

Portland is full of entrepreneurs. Good jobs are hard to come by, so people open businesses. It doesn't cost much to open a strip club and they will make some money. The state pays too large a commission on the video poker games, so they make money, but you need a business to place them in. Mark up on booze is hefty. Girls work cheap because they make their money on the tips, not the salary.

[urbanlife78]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

You want a guess? The courts have ruled it is freedom of expression and neighborhoods are not allowed to keep them out. There are buildings for rent that are relatively cheap for commercial rentals (one of the differences with NYC- cost of doing business). The mob doesn't take protection money nor control the liquor trade.

Portland is full of entrepreneurs. Good jobs are hard to come by, so people open businesses. It doesn't cost much to open a strip club and they will make some money. The state pays too large a commission on the video poker games, so they make money, but you need a business to place them in. Mark up on booze is hefty. Girls work cheap because they make their money on the tips, not the salary.

Actually a fun stripper fact, strippers are technically independent contractors and actually pay a fee to the clubs to dance at them. Typically they make more in tips than the fee to dance obviously, but they do have those slow nights where they actually lose money coming in to dance when it is really slow.

So if a strip club you are ever are in is dead, tip nicely because those girls have a dancing fee they still have to pay for.

[bler144]

Originally Posted by urbanlife78

Actually a fun stripper fact, strippers are technically independent contractors and actually pay a fee to the clubs to dance at them. Typically they make more in tips than the fee to dance obviously, but they do have those slow nights where they actually lose money coming in to dance when it is really slow.

While that's how the clubs have operated, that's probably not actually legal. The IRS guidelines state:

"The general rule is that an individual is an independent contractor if the payer has the right to control or direct only the result of the work and not what will be done and how it will be done. "

By and large, the argument in the lawsuit (which I tend to buy in this case) is that the clubs control both what it is done and how it is done. The clubs are defining the dancers as independent contractors, not because they really should be under the law, but because it has been tremendously financially beneficial for the clubs to pay them that way.

The rule has some gray, but by and large it seems a little unlikely the dancers actually get much say in when or how they do their job. In turn, it's arguably less advantageous for the dancers, since their categorization generally excludes them from benefits and other protections due to employees, and their paying the employer share of FICA out of their own income.