Several strippers got into it over the prostitution question one recent night in the locker room. That was after two dancers had already been fired in three weeks. One, the house dominatrix, had told an Asian dancer with imperfect English to "use a dictionary," and they had had it out. The dominatrix was fired.
When the prostitution question came up, everyone had a story. Several Las Vegas clubs have been under scrutiny recently for illegal activity; prostitution is legal in much of Nevada, but not here in Clark County.
"I say keep the whores in the whorehouse and the strippers in the stripper house," said one dancer, a seven-year veteran whose stage name is Dolce. "You got to tell people that at the Palomino, there is no sex in the champagne room."
It was 1am, and they were all getting tipsy except Trixie, who had decided not to drink for a few days. One dancer said she had once taken US$5,000 to accompany a customer to Hawaii and have sex with him.
"A lot of girls say, `I would never do this, I would never do that,'" she said. But she expressed the opinion that all the girls had engaged in prostitution to some extent.
Dolce said no. "I've taken their money, gone out with them, met them somewhere, taken cabs and met them at a casino or wherever they are. But I am not selling it."
As the two dancers starting arguing, the DJ announced, "Dolce, Stage 1! Tamara, Stage 2!"
"This is one of the stickiest subjects in all of stripping," Dolce said.
"I have God in my life, so it goes beyond that," the dancer arguing with Dolce said.
"God can't save you from the devil," Dolce said. "Can I get a witness, Trixie?"
Another stripper walked in, flustered. "I'm hyper tonight," she said. "No one wants me."
Trixie was silent, trying to stay out of the argument. But finally she said: "I don't believe in God. Don't ask me."
At that point, Dolce and Tamara were up on stage. Trixie had not made much money that night, maybe a few hundred dollars. She had an hour to go, but she was tired, she said, and starting to burn out.
April is the worst month for stripping, she said. It's tax time, so no one wants to spend. And all those spring bachelor parties take a lot of work on one guy, for a small stack of bills.
A few nights later, she was sipping champagne at a hotel bar, debating whether to work that night or go home and take care of her boyfriend, who had had his wisdom teeth out a few days earlier. She was on the schedule, but Mr. H would let her switch if she wanted to.
"I told myself I would do five years when I got in the business," she said. "The catchphrase is: Get in, take advantage of what you have while you have it, maximize your earning potential, make a tonne of money, keep your head clear of drugs and alcohol, put all your money away, and get the hell out of Dodge when the ride's over."
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