See, Strips Clubs Are Good For the Economy

By Robert Wilonsky Sun., Jan. 9 2011 at 9:36 AM

Categories: Biz

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Patrick Michels

Dunno why Mayor Mike Moncrief and the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport board are so stimulated to keep that new Rick's Cabaret from getting its TABC on; don't they know that girls, girls, girls getting that cherry pie hot in herre all night long is good for the coffers? Says so right there in The New York Times, where lawyer-turned-fabulist Ben Fountain -- heretofore tasked with surveying on the paper's behalf the state o' the economy from Highland Park Village and the real estate section -- draws a significantly better assignment: hanging out in The Lodge's Wine Cellar with owner Dawn Rizos.

Long story short: Neither Rizos or manager Michael Precker, the former News-man who moved up in the world, can think of one out of Dallas's some 40 gentleman's joints that has shuttered during the down economy. Then Fountain, who tries to pass himself off as a table-dance "neophyte," asks: How did Dallas become a topless-joint capital, anyhow?

"Because we're in the Bible Belt," said Ms. Rizos. "There's a church on every block, and men just like to sneak around. Most of our customers are married men. They get a little bored with their wives, they can come in here and get some flirtation, our girls make them feel good and special, then they go home and feel so guilty about it that they treat their wives really nicely."

"It's very Baptist," she continued. "If you're going to give up sin, you got to sin."

Then Ben went to The Men's Club to make sure.

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I chose neither staying married, or blowing my wad at Ricks. Actually, I ended my marriage because my wife had a personality disorder compounded by a drug addiction, but the lack of a sex life complaint comes from, well, virtually every married guy I know. They all jump through the hoops they're told (Mars/Venus books, etc), but at the end of the day the result is the same. I think at this point the best way to keep everyone "evaluating" is simply not to get married again. Sadly, being single has a tendency to keep everyone on their game.
You are correct--never have been (or will be) married to another woman. I just believe in keeping things fresh for each other, and a strip class was all I could think of at the time (DOb did a feature on it not so long ago). I hear the same story from my longtime dating or marrieds--s/he doesn't do this or that right and it's been 10 years since we've been happy (as an "us", not with the kids). All I'm saying is evaluate. You do it at your job every month/quarter, etc. Why not where it matters most? And throw 'em back to the dating wild if it isn't working. The "golden circular cage" is no excuse. For anyone. But, if you haven't put in effort to be exciting for each other, you may as well blow your wad at Rick's. And stay married. How boring. And very Dallas.
Perhaps you're not a Sir, but, in fact, a Madam. (Aw cheese it with the jokes already, you crude & pimply demons!) No matter, my predicament remained essentially the same; the same predicament, it hardly needs be said, as makes the world go 'round. And so to "the old sperm-bank upstairs," as one wag had it, I went. I took your advice and did not start my wife off with what I <i>thought</i> she needed. This did not end well.
God damn it, Sir, I thought you were about to embark on an anecdote about a stripper who was short but sweet, a midget, perhaps, or so I fervently prayed. Instead, it was some kind of Socratic demonstration, presumably for Wilonsky's benefit, of the pitfalls inherent to technically flawed and terminally prolix prose. Guess I have no choice now but to go treat my wife really nicely. You cur!
Umm excuse me honey, but dont you have something in the kitchen to bake or some laundry to do. And yes, My statement is short and to the point, unlike yours, now go use and RFPD and shut up
I've got a raging MAHNOGOMY right now!
You haven't been married to a woman before, have you? Their "give a damn" has a tendency to get busted about 6 minutes after you put the wedding ring on her finger. I can't speak for the rest of the fellas here, but enrolling my ex in a stripper class would have had all the effect of whizzing into a hurricane.
Gosh. Bitter much? I'm setting the over/under at number of times a month her husband is at the strip club at 3.
Definitely NOT LaBare. I've had both a woman strip on me and a man (lap dances), and I'll pick the woman any day of the week.
Anyone familiar with the phrase short but sweet? Not you eh ? Just Kidding.
Poorly written? Read your own tripe, ya hack.
<YAWN>
C'mon Lacey, you know why there's 2 ladies clubs and 40 men's clubs. Nobody wants to look at a naked dude, but almost everyone enjoys looking at naked women [women included]. If your new boyfriend said "hey baby, lets go to a strip club tonight", and he let you pick the club, where would you go?
If you're going to call something "poorly written," you might want to run your own comments through a spell-checker first. Your sentence structure is an entirely different conversation.
Pardon my spelling!
This is a pathetic, unfactual and extremely unintelligent way to justify strip clubs. For starters the article is poorly written ad well as boring. Anyone familiar with the phrase short but sweet? Good for the economy huh? I'm just throwing this out there, obviously we know where the cash his coming from or at least we have an idea but how does it get circulated? Drugs? Mafia? Black market weapons? All the above? Sure sounds like a great movie right? After all great fiction is based on fact. Well some what. But in all realty strip clubs are arm pits of cities. I don't care how beautiful the woman are and what ever the excuses they have fir being dancers the same goes for the men that are in the audience, there's no good reason fir them. You want a little naughty? Try actual talking to your wife, compliment her start her off slow, give her what she needs(and not what u think she needs)so you can get what you want. Maybe she us into more sexually then what you have assumed. Let's be honest maybe if people were a little less I want my cake and eat it too the divorce rate would go down. By places like strip clubs growing in popularity an by the encouragment from Hollywood and the media making it seem okay to be loose and descensetizing sexuality people are losing their sense of love and for crying out loud MAHNAGOMY PEOPLE! I am very much for feeling sexy and especially pleasing my husband. It's give and take. Now I'm not saying things need to go back to times when if a woman showed her ankle she's a harlet. I'm just saying we are encouraging the wrong behaviors and let's face a horrible example has already been made even before my generation. To the dancers: some of you come from nothing, some of you come from very priveledged lifes and then there is everything between the two. Regardless what obstacles you have or have had, you can do more with your life. Putting yourself through school? There are other means, look into financial aid, food stamps, wic, what ever it takes. There are truely no excuses for what you are doing. The only reason I'm being so bold is because I have been faced with many an obstacle in my life and have come from a life of having everything to having to pay for school and keep a roof over my head and then some. I could have copped out to even dealing marijuana but instead I worked two jobs 7 days a week got funacial aid never slept shooed at the 99 cents store and dd what ever other crappy thing I needed to just to get by. I'm not a feminist and I'm not just some bitter unattractive woman on a rant. I'm all for beautiful woman feeling great enjoying being sexy. I am also all for men enjoying beautiful woman. Just in the way a strip club combines all those aspects. People will do what ever they want I understand. Just look at the alcohol prohibition. People still made alcohol and people good churn goin people still got drunk. I'm just saying let's encourage husbands, boyfriends lovers etc to encourage their OWN person of fancy. Maybe if that happened more some woman wouldn't be so bitter and bitchy. Believe me we know fellas. You may think your sly but smell it on you. It's a game for some I get it. The whole sneaking around thing. Once again try to implement that into your bedroom with your partner. Who knows maybe sh will even dress up for you or go a bit more wild and take pictures. What ever it is your into don't hide it. Like I already said, start off slow for some... Ladies, strip club owners, so called economists, maybe the economy would get better if those strip clubs turned into plain bars or clubs and made killer profit off of liquor sales or maybe the dancers could start their own business? There truely are options if one wished to do good old fashion hard work and research. It actually can pay off, true story.
Robert, nice work! Ms. Rizos understands our society very well. The Dallas Observer and The Blitz Weekly are my two favorite papers. Keep truckin'....
Thought she was gonna say, "If they're gonna sin, you gotta show 'em some skin." I still say Ms. Rizos has provided my favorite paragraph of the year. But why feel like a guilty dog to your wife? Enroll your wife in a stripper class. Eliminate the middleman. Make her work to maintain her title. Kinda like a yearly job review, if you will. You'd be surprised, we like to step up our game a little, esp if you flirt with us and act like you want it. And, why can't it be easier for women to sneak around? There's like 2 ladies clubs: 40 men's joints. Why do all our dancers have to be gay? The only heteros at LaBare are female.
I wonder if anybody ever took a survey of the wives...
Out of the mouths of babes.
Strip clubs - helping single moms pay the bills since men figured out how to bolt a pole in the floor....
...then they go home and feel so guilty about it that they treat their wives really nicely. Well, that's one way to phrase it.
So true Robert, if you check the monthly TABC Mixed Beverage tax reports you'll see that typically 6 of the top 10 tax remitters are gentlemen's clubs.