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Clubs in Reno
This is in response to Candice's Reno inquiry in the "where's everyone from" topic. I thought it would be more appropriate to answer here.
There are 5 clubs here of which I have only worked at one so far since moving from Seattle but I have friends at the others.
Insofar as how the Reno "scene" goes, I keep running into girls from the Bay area and Sacramento who feel that it is worthwhile to make the trip to Reno in the summer because the money is better here. February and March appear to be the slowest months with the spring ski season picking things back up again. I've had a pretty good summer even with the economy being pretty wacky... better than what my friends say they are doing in Seattle.
Of the 5 clubs here, the one to definately stay away from is the Empire Club. It is a total dive and I've never even known anyone who worked there more than one night. Wild Orchid and The Men's Club are the biggest money clubs but both leave a lot of girls complaining about management issues. Fantasy Girls is a place where a girl can make good money and have fun but it isn't as consistantly busy. Spice House has its ups and downs where it is either really good or overrun by college guys who just want to drink beer and watch the show.
House fees are generally low ($25-80/night) and all the clubs are topless and serve alcohol. The only gown club is the Men's Club.
All Reno clubs do contact lap dancing with Fantasy and Spice probably being marginally higher contact than the others.
I hope that helps with anyone wondering about Reno. Feel free to ask me if you want to know anything else.
~Veronika
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Business License
From what I understand, don't you need to obtain as a sole-proprietorship business license in order to dance in Reno?
A friend of mine just went through the process for the Men's Club. Apparently it's much more difficult than getting the Vegas Sheriff's card: you have to go from the police station, to the new business office and then to the city record's clerk.
Did you find this was the case or was the whole ordeal over-exagerated???
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Re: Clubs in Reno
Yes, you do need the business license as well as the card, but it only took an afternoon and about $135 which didn't seem like that big of a deal to me. Just come prepared with the information you need for the police card and license and it'll be quick. Also, you only need to get licensed once for all the clubs in town unlike some other places. Really pretty easy. Just allow yourself a couple of hours in case there are lines and you'll be able to work that night.
You go down to the business license office and get the temporay business license and a background check form to fill out. It asks you things like information about jobs, banks, last few places you lived and references (like a friend or two). You bring your temporary license, receipt and the filled out form to the police department, they punch in your info, fingerprint you and snap a picture. Your real license will arrive about a million years later (took mine 6 months) but you never get a real copy of the police card. Keep your photocopy. I only had to go to two places and they are less than a mile apart.
In Reno, they do this sort of thing to everyone who works in the casinos or drives a cab so it doesn't carry any weird stigma. And for all the information they ask for, not a single person that I listed was called so I think it was just a formality. I also lacked 100% perfect information since they ask for things that go back 5 years but the lady at the police station said that what I had was good enough. Everyone at the police station was very nice too. I never had to got to the city clerk's office.
One more thing I should add is that you need all of this before you even audition. At the police station, they ask you what club you'll be working at so they can put it on your card but that doesn't need to be where you actually end up working.
Hope my long-winded answer helps!
~Veronika
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Re: Clubs in Reno
Hi Veronika, I was curious about what kind of money an average dancer can make in Reno. Is there a big difference between sun-thur and weekends. Are the clubs fairly busy during Dec-Feb? Thanks in advance.
Jamie ;)
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Re: Clubs in Reno
Here's my observations: average dancer money varies from club to club (of course :)!) with the last month ranging around $150-$300/night depending on where you are at. I say average because there have really been some bad nights lately. November is supposed to be the worst month of the year here, though, and I would have to say that for me it was true. I personally have never ever left without money in my pocket in Reno, however.
December to February is slowish here until the ski season picks up so I wouldn't recommend a commute to Reno just to dance right now unless you are really close (like Sacramento) and have a cheap place to stay. That said, the resorts have opened early this year and we may pick up sooner because of that. Like the weather, conditions could change. Since I came in at the beginning of this year from Seattle, I am going by other dancers' and the house mom's opinions on December. I did really well with the pro snowboarders and the bay area skiers last season myself, but that was later in the season.
I don't think weeknights and weekends are hugely different money-wise. Weekends draw a huge crowd at my club (Spicehouse) and at Fantasy Girls but they tend to be the younger crowd who don't spend huge amounts so you make more money churning out lap dances (usually) than in VIP. Weeknights I spend more time with one customer. Probably the norm in any mid-size market.
We've had a lot of girls from Men's Club coming over lately and the impression I'm getting is that the money is down over there. When I went to check out the Wild Orchid (which is a beautiful club, btw) the girls were giving me the impression that things were only marginally better over there but there are more drama and management issues to deal with. But, you know how honest an impression a dancer usually gives another dancer face to face in a club. They are on the "strip" and bring in features so it might be the best to check out if you are just hitting town occasionally. My one good friend who danced there loved it and made good money, but she was there pre-9/11.
I hope that helps :) I have a lot of trouble providing short answers.
~V
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Re: Clubs in Reno
What's the most effective way to get a nude club in the Reno area? There are 5 topless clubs in town (2 upscale, 2 midscale and 1 dive), but there are no nude clubs. The closest nude club is two hours away on the other side of a big mountain range. I don’t recall a nude club ever opening, but during the last decade, plenty of small topless clubs have attained all the necessary licenses, opened for business and eventually closed. What’s the best way to induce a nude chain like DejaVu or Spearmint Rhino to open shop in the Reno area.
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Re: Clubs in Reno
I think it has to do with the liquor licensing like it does in many other places. I've been asked that a lot casually and one thing I *do* know is that there is a moratoreum on caberet licensing so no new strip clubs of any stripe opening for a while unless you can snag the permits from where they already exist (I am not totally sure whether you would have to keep said permits with the club they are attached to). The last new license was given out about 7(?) years ago. Every other one that seems new (like before-mentioned dive hut) is actually just a new version of an older club in the same place. One of the *upscale* clubs is rumoured to be about to declare bankruptcy so who knows, maybe someone could take over the building.
Another issue in the nude club thing is that Washoe County is bordered by counties that allow legalized brothels which may make the local government skittish in granting permission. I know that that has played a part in allowing other adult type businesses. Southern and Northern Nevada are very different in this regard.
As far as a chain moving in (the Men's Club here isn't really a "Men's Club" anymore from what I understand... ) I personally wouldn't want one. But that is me.
Gawd, and reading the below... I am *so* glad November is over, lol!
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Re: Clubs in Reno
I believe the last license was given to The Ore House back in 1999. The club ran as a topless bar for a few months, then eventually closed and became a regular bar. I think that the Reno area is a viable market for an upscale nude club. Based on the 2000 census, the Reno/Sparks/Carson area has a combine population of 298,000. Lake Tahoe is also near by. The local University has about 18,000 students, so there are plenty of 18-20 y/o in that regard. Granted these aren’t the prime customer demographics for dancers, but to the club, each customer that walks thru the door still pays for admission and drinks. Also, there are plenty of locals as well as weekend tourist to attract. It would be beneficial for a city, which thrives on tourism to provide a mix of topless and nude entertainment. The city has the topless side covered; now they just need to acquire that token nude club.
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Re: Clubs in Reno
Actually, the valley figures, pop. wise are higher than that. I run other club nights and promotions around town so I get a few angles on this, not just as a dancer.
My main concern would mostly be the real tourism draw as this area has really been having a hard time diversifying in that department. Aside from the ski areas/Tahoe, our main tourism draw is the casino industry and they only recently have started to work together with other local agencies to actively market the area as a destination. Same for conventions. Not too many high end conventions, mostly mid-sized, mid income. They just built a new convention center so we'll see how that does.
Like I mentioned earlier, high end club... rumoured to be closing (one of the two "upscale") and that is the one that all the money was put into. Girls and secondary workers from there have been complaining about how slow it was on most nights. This is a club that advertises well and buys the "best of" contest every year. Bad management? The other upscale club is about to be relocated because of a major downtown redevelopement and building campaign.
Ore Club? Only heard of it once, don't think it was in Reno City limits. Sparks (also in Washoe County) has outlawed nudity/partial nudity right down to thong swimsuit coverage at the water park! Just as an FYI
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Re: Clubs in Reno
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Re: Clubs in Reno
I'm pretty sure the OP who posted this around 12 years ago doesn't post here anymore...
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Re: Clubs in Reno
I've posted numerous info on Reno. I worked there 2 years ago...