Back in the '80's I used to attend seminars at the LA Convention Center and I would drive past some of these places on my way home. While curious, I never ventured inside one because I had the preconceived notion that only immigrants and old geezers went to those places and that the women were mostly overweight and over-30 transplants from Tijuana.

Actually, during their heyday in the 20’s, '30's and '40's they were quite respectable and were frequently depicted in the movies of that era. They were very big back east, particularly in New York. The men, who typically wore suits, would buy tickets, which they would give to the hostesses in exchange for a dance. The tickets were 10 cents each; hence they were called "dime-a-dance" clubs. Sometime in the post war era they began a slow, gradual decline. Now they've virtually disappeared from the scene, with the exception of Honolulu, New York City, Detroit, Oakland (which as recently as ten years ago still had a couple of clubs), Dallas, Houston, and the border towns of Texas, and LA, where they continue to thrive.

My perception of these places changed when I read an article in the L. A. Times Magazine (July, 1990 I believe) entitled "Taxi Dancers." It featured excerpts of interviews with dancers, customers, and then current and former club owners. The article mentioned about four or five clubs but mainly focused on the recently closed Club Flamingo, which was then the most popular club. It said that you could dance with 19 and 20 year old girls and that some heavy petting took place there.

When I finally went several months later I was pleasantly surprised to find a lot of young, attractive girls working there, most of who were Caucasian. A lot of the customers did look like they may have been immigrants, but they were mostly middle class Asians instead of the working class Latinos I had expected. There were only a few old geezers and a surprising number of men in their 20's and 30's.

The popular notion used to be that most men go to these places because they’re lonely and can't otherwise get a pretty girl to pay attention to them. That’s true in many cases, and some of these men even go seeking "romance." I’ll say more about this later. From communicating with some of the OG’s (old guys), I’ve learned that things have changed in the last 15 years or so. Until the mid-80’s the HC scene was essentially an older man’s game. Most of the patrons had at least 20 years living experience. Since then there has been a greater influx of younger guys, and the patron base has been getting younger and younger. Many of these younger guys go for the same reason I do, which is to have fun. Then there is a surprisingly high number of guys who are just looky-loos. I am at a loss to explain this phenomenon, which seems to be peculiar to these clubs. Some of the guys could be waiting for a certain girl to come in or finish dancing with another customer, or a girl with a certain "look," or just want to hang out with their friends and maybe play some pool. Or it could simply be that they have nothing better to do.

Why do I prefer hostess clubs to strip clubs? First of all the cost is much less for the same or better mileage. If you go to a club like the Jet Strip or Bare Elegance during the specials when the dances are "only" $20, the songs are cut at 3-1/2 minutes or less, which works out to $5.71/minute. If you get several dances from the same dancer you’ll be expected to add a tip also. Most clubs (officially at least) have a "no touching" rule. Even the high mileage clubs like Hawaii Theatre or Tropical Lei, which are noted for their debauchery, are not as cost effective as an HC. IMO, the only California club that even comes close in terms of value for your dollar is Mitchell Brothers in San Francisco. Now on any given day it is certainly possible to have a higher mileage experience in clubs like HT and TL than in an HC, but consider this: In a SC you can easily blow $100 or more in less than a half-hour. For the same amount of money in an HC you can have a girl all to yourself for two hours, usually with a greater degree of privacy. Also, there is no "buy the lady a drink?" hustle to deal with. Secondly, the degree of physical intimacy is usually much higher. The bottom line is I get more "bang for my buck" in a HC. Having said that, I don't mean to create the impression that HC's are nothing more than seamy dens of iniquity, although at one time that would have been true about a couple of clubs. The caveat is that you have to get the right girl.

Some guys have posted on ZBone’s board that they find the HC scene kind of "weird." If that’s your experience, stay away from the Latino clubs as you’ll probably feel out of place there and stick with Fantasy instead. Forget about feeling like you’re at a high school dance! Forget about wanting them to approach you! The only place that happens is a Latino club. Forget about fear of rejection! Remember that it’s the girls’ job to dance with you! They’re not supposed to say "no," and unless you’re filthy, reek from not having bathed for a week, or look like Quasimodo, they probably won’t. The one exception to this is if a girl is a "sharkette" who only likes to dance with "suits" or guys who look "money." In that case you’re probably better off anyway because she’ll just try to hustle you for $$.

The format is basically the same at all clubs. Instead of buying tickets, when you ask a girl to dance, she'll take a card from a rack and punch a time clock. For $.40 a minute, which works out to $24 an hour (there's a 10 min. minimum), you can dance and/or sit and talk on couches with the girl(s) of your choice. The standard tip in the "mixed" clubs is to match the bill. For simplicity's sake, I round off to the nearest multiple of $5. There's no nudity, but many of the girls wear minis and micro-minis, in a few cases barely covering their asses. Some of them also show generous amounts of cleavage. At Dreamland some of them even wear see-through outfits. The clubs are dry, so the girls can be as young as 18. Most are in their early to mid 20's, a few in their early 30's, very few over 35.

For $24 an hour plus a comparable tip, you can typically (depending on the club) expect light to moderate touching and stand-up grinding, although some girls don't grind much at all and others will do fairly heavy grinding for the same rate. At clubs noted for grinding like Dreamland and LA Grand, rubbers are a must. Many girls will let you touch as much as you want, and in some cases, where you want. YMMV. Depending on the girl, you can get "extras." "Extras" covers a sliding scale of activity from 008, to 005, 004, 003, 002, and 001. The most common form of extra is a 005. To find out what the codes mean, see the "FAQs about Z Bone and Web Site." Hint: after clicking on the right link, you’ll have to scroll down to another link that will take you to the codes.

The clubs pay the girls either minimum wage or on a sliding scale based on how many minutes they dance per week, but, as in the strip clubs, they rely mainly on tips. Unlike strip clubs, these aren't the kind of places girls generally seek out for employment. For one thing they don't advertise, so most people don't even know they exist. Some do so because it's convenient (shorter hours, easy money, etc.). Some do it to help pay their way through college. It's certainly more lucrative than working at McDonald's or Home Depot. Most of the girls have limited marketable skills, and, outside of stripping, where else can they make $25 an hour? Due to the nature of the business the girls have to "go along in order to get along" to a certain extent, which may at least partially explain why they are generally more willing to provide extra service than strippers. What exactly does that mean? Unless a girl is a real babe and reasonably intelligent and a good conversationalist, she will probably have to put up with at least a certain amount of touching and fondling in order to do well. That doesn't necessarily mean she has to let men "feel her up," but if she can't handle even gentle caressing she probably won't last long.

Most of the girls average about $125 or so in tips per night, the more popular ones (not necessarily the nastiest) may average up to $200. On a good night, they may make as much as $300. Some of the more popular ones have regulars who may tip as much as $100 per hour, and I've even heard of $200 tippers. These "high rollers" are usually Asian, or in some cases, middle easterners.

I personally like to match the bill for light to moderate touching and grinding, and I have frequently tipped 1-1/2 times the bill for heavy-duty touching and grinding, including feeding and other comparable extras. That probably doesn't sound like a lot compared to what you'd spend for comparable service in a strip club, but most of the girls seem satisfied with it. Unless a girl actually has sex with you (the dance floor is the most common location for this activity), you shouldn't need to tip more than $60 an hour. It’s not absolutely necessary, but a long coat may help disguise what you’re doing.

I have since found out from some of the "sharks" out there that I've been tipping too much. They feel that the tip should be predicated solely on the nature of the service, and if the girl doesn’t provide extras you shouldn’t tip her at all. As they so colorfully like to put it, "no honey, no money." I agree that the service rendered should be the primary determinant, but I also believe in treating the girls fairly and that the amount of time a girl spends with you should be taken into account, particularly if you keep her more than a half hour. They have their opportunity cost (what they could have made dancing with someone else) to consider, after all. The girls have an effective grapevine. If you make a habit of keeping a girl a half-hour, an hour, or even more and stiffing them on the tip, the word will spread that you’re a bad tipper and they won’t want to dance with you. IMO the mind set that playing the "no honey, no money" game will cause the girls to "eventually get the message and start putting out" isn’t practical, at least not in the "mixed" clubs like Dreamland, Fantasy, and Starlight. For one thing, most of the girls do not provide extras. For another, there are simply too many guys who willingly tip the bill or a multiple of the bill for just sitting and talking and light touching.

So what to do when it becomes apparent a girl isn’t going to provide what you’re looking for? Cut your losses. Remember that there's only a ten-minute minimum, so don't be reluctant to clock a girl out. If you only spent ten minutes with her it is not inappropriate to not give a tip. But if you spend a half-hour with her (which normally should be sufficient time to determine if she's a "player" or not) then I feel at least a token tip is called for…usually half the bill unless she has an attitude problem. Some girls like to maximize the volume of customers as much as possible and will usually restrict a first-timer (with them) to a half hour unless you tip them up front, which I do not recommend. They usually have to be very popular to successfully employ this practice. In this case if she's someone you’re sure you want to see again and you have reason to believe she’s a high mileage girl, tip her $20. This will create the impression that you’re someone who would be worthwhile dancing with again. You should dance her with again soon, i.e., within a couple of weeks, to make sure she doesn’t forget you. This time try to keep her at least an hour, and tip her no more than 1.5 times the bill, depending on the service.

There are some "sharkettes" in the clubs who will try to claim they're used to making anywhere from $60 to $100 an hour. If they try this ploy on you just good-naturedly laugh in their faces and say something like "do I look like I just fell off the turnip truck?" This will let them know you're not a sucker like the "suits" who throw money around like it's nothing for little or no service. You will probably have to do some negotiating with the sharkettes for extra services. If they quote a price you’re not willing to pay and refuse to budge, don’t argue, just clock them out.

Now I’m well aware that some men just seek companionship and conversation. If all they want is for someone to listen to their problems, hold their hand, and hug them, fine. But to pay $40, $50, $60, or even $100 an hour for such service when there’s simply no need to is ridiculous. This spoils the girls and jacks up the price of action for everyone else.

The girls can be divided into three broad categories, four if you count the "ice princesses"…although they are in the minority. The largest group is the "sit and cuddle" girls, who basically do just that and permit only moderate touching. Then there are the "clutch and grab" girls, who will permit a pretty good amount of touching and fondling. If they like you and/or find you attractive, they may let you take more liberties. The last group is the "bad girls," who usually provide 005’s 008’s, 006’s, and sometimes more. Of course the breakdown between these categories varies from club to club.

If you have particular preferences, like a certain "look," I advise putting them aside if you’re looking for mileage. The Latina girls, both US and foreign born, are generally "friendlier" than girls of other ethnicities, followed by the black girls and European girls, then the Anglo girls. I don't know about Asian girls since my experience with them is too limited to make any generalizations about them. As the saying goes, YMMV. Note: you won’t find many black or Asian girls in these clubs, with the exception of Starlight, which had several Asians as recently as a couple of months ago. Right now Fantasy has a handful of Asians and blacks. They come and go.

There's no surefire way to pick a girl who's a player. In general look for bare legs, short skirts, and cleavage, although than can often be just a come-on. When you're dancing or seated with a girl, try to observe which of the girls around you are "friendly." Notice if they're touching their customers and how they're touching them. Also notice how your girl dances with you. Does she put her arms around you and dance close, or does she keep you at a bit of a distance (the "ice princess" routine)? Is she touching you a lot with some semblance of feeling in it, or is she just going through the motions? Although it's not a sure thing, this will give you some idea of what may or may not follow on the couches. As far as knowing when to escalate the level of contact, the phrase "use the Force" applies. Trust your instincts. The vibes you receive from her will usually tell you if it’s permissible to let your hands roam a bit. One trick I like to use to determine what kind of underwear she has on is to caress the small of the girl’s back for a while. Then I let a finger or two slip a little lower along the hem of her undies to see if she has on a T-back or regular panties. Some girls will be cautious the first time dancing with you, because they don't know if you're LE or not. If you encounter a girl like this and you see her giving it up to someone else or your instincts tell you your mileage could improve over time, don't write her off. Give her at least one more chance, you may be glad you did.

When dancing with a girl I don't know, unless I know she's a player from having observed her with other customers, I like to talk with her for a while to establish some kind of rapport and get her to feel comfortable with me. I don’t ask if she'll do such-and-such. Rather, once she seems sufficiently relaxed, I prefer to test her by letting my hands "explore" to see how far she'll let me go. If she lets me slip my hands underneath her skirt and place them on her ass or if she starts grinding me heavily right away, it's a pretty good but not necessarily sure sign that she may be amenable to other "extracurricular activities." Keep in mind this is the MO that I feel most comfortable with, and it works for me. So what if you just want to cut to the chase? Well, you can always just ask the girl what her rules are. Or, if a girl isn’t a player, you might ask her (once she’s satisfied you’re not LE) to introduce you to one who is. Sometimes you’ll encounter a girl who will ask you what you want to do. That used to throw me because I wasn’t expecting it, but now I just turn it back on them and ask, "what’s on the menu?" In the "mixed" clubs the girls rarely ask for the tip up front. If one does, tell her you usually pay with your ATM or credit card. Or, if that fails, negotiate with her until you agree on a price and service, then show her the money and tell her she'll just have to trust you to pay her when the deal is consummated. If she won't go for it, clock her out.

There are more than 10 clubs, most located in downtown LA. Most of them are listed in the Yellow Pages under either "Ballrooms" or "Night Clubs", but only three or four of them are really worth going to, IMO. There are really two distinct genres of hostess clubs, the "mixed" clubs (those that draw a racially mixed crowd) and the Latino clubs, which cater primarily to working class Latinos. I didn't include this latter group in previous versions of my "FAQ" because my experience them with is rather limited and, frankly, I didn't think they would appeal to most of the readers of this site. Nevertheless, to accommodate those who like Latinas I will list them here.  

Recommended "Mixed Clubs"

Club Fantasy
307 W 4th St
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 620-9572
Cover charge: $5.
Hours: 4:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m., every day.
Food: Snack bar w/light snacks, candy, soft drinks, etc.
Security parking: $3.00 after 4:00 PM, free after 8:00 PM.

If you dance for at least an hour, they will refund half the parking fee. Be sure to show them your parking stub before leaving the club. VISA, MC, and ATM check cards’ bearing the VISA/MC symbol, video/pinball games, no pool tables. $24 minimum on credit/ATM cards.

Located across the street from the Bunker Hill project, it has a somewhat better locale than most clubs. This is actually a fairly classy looking club as these clubs go, and the clientele as well as the girls are a cut above most clubs. The quality of the girls used to be second only to Starlight, but now I’d say they have the best looking girls. Most are 7's and up, there are several 8's, and a handful of 9's. There are more Anglos, too, although probably 50% are Latinas. Some of the girls even wear long gowns or pants (yawn). You'll just have to go by instinct in picking a girl. They have picked up a lot of ex-Flamingo girls, so they may have as many as 80-90 girls on the busiest nights (usually Tues. through Fri.) The girls get their pick of three shifts to work: 4-10, 6-12, and 8-2. They have to be there within a half-hour after the shift starting time or they don’t get paid for their minutes. Weekends are slow before 8:00, especially before 6:30. During the week there may be anywhere from 8 to 12 girls by 4:30, and up to maybe 20 by 6:30. You can tell how many girls are working by counting the cards in the rack behind the clock stand. A colored card means the girl is there and not clocked in. A white card in front of the colored card means she’s there and clocked in with a customer. You can always call ahead and ask if a particular girl is working before you make the trip down to the club, but be prepared to be asked if you know her clock number. This applies to all clubs. With so many girls, they can’t possibly know them all by name.

The club has recently instituted a policy of requiring all girls to average 120 minutes dancing per night. If they don’t meet this quota during a three-week period, they will be suspended. I’m not sure how long the suspensions are; at Flamingo, which had a similar requirement, they were of two weeks duration. It may have subsided by now, but I’ve heard there was palpable tension between the girls that were already at Fantasy and the new arrivals from Flamingo. Some of the Flamingo girls brought their heavy grind along with them, which I believe accounts for the increased grinding you see there now. There have been a lot of new hires recently, resulting in a glut of girls. I hear most of the customers have been going for the new faces, so there is a "buyers’ advantage" atmosphere in the club right now.

The dance floor action is not as nasty as Dreamland, but the couch action is better. At one time I would have said only about 10% of the girls provided extras; now I'd say that figure is closer to 20%, maybe even as high as 25-30%. Still, that means that two-thirds to 70% of them don't. Security doesn't come around as frequently as at Dreamland, but until 4-1/2 months ago they hardly came around at all. Then, about three weeks after the Danceland raid, a girl was busted for solicitation of prostitution. Within a week they hired new security guards on the evening shift that brought with them a much more aggressive security regimen. Now they make regular sweeps about every half-hour, sometimes even more frequently. They also turned up the lighting in the TV room, although the brightness seems to vary from day to day and week to week. You've got to watch out for not only security, but also the waitresses as well (especially Michelle, the heavy set, longhaired brunette who works Wednesday and Thursday nights and usually has, shall we say, a very "casual" appearance). They have been instructed to report any improprieties they see to management. Also, signs have been put up in the restrooms advising "lewd conduct is against the law." Reportedly the girls are now being required to sign some sort of "probation notice" on the first offense, with the understanding they'll be fired if caught again.

There used to be very minimal grinding, but ever since Flamingo closed I've noticed some of the girls have gotten a little more aggressive. Still, nothing like at Dreamland. There are no cameras. Rumor has it that this club will be the next to go. The City has big plans for the Pershing Square area, just one block away, and the club is in the redevelopment area. I don’t expect anything to happen for the next few years though.

Nasty factor: two and a-half stars. One of the girls told that there is illegal activity that occurs after hours. I assume she was referring to girls going home or to motels with customers. I understand there is a hotel on Sunset and Beaudry (north of Danceland) that charges $35 and sometimes you can pay by the hour. There are also a number of inexpensive motels on Olympic between Figueroa and the 110 Freeway.

Dreamland
833 S Spring St
Los Angeles, CA 90014
(213) 689-1280
Cover Charge: $5 after 8:00 P.M.
Hours: 7:00 P.M. to 2:00 A.M., every day
Food: Snack bar w/light snacks, candy, soft drinks, etc.
Security parking, VISA, MC, and ATM check cards bearing the VISA/MC symbol, video/pinball games, pool tables, free buffet on Tuesdays around 11:00 P.M. The credit card slips say "Muir Field Productions," a nice, discreet touch. $24 minimum on credit/ATM cards.

This is the only club with two dance floors and two TV rooms, one each downstairs and upstairs. For a while from roughly the middle of '94 to spring '96, before the cops tried to shut them down and they had to install cameras, they were off the nasty factor scale. Used to be I could go there on just about any night knowing there would be about five or six girls who would let me feed to my heart's content. One night I danced with three girls (one at a time) and, um, digitally stimulated all three of them. There were beaucoup 005’s going on, too. At one point the place was more popular than Flamingo, and, rather than bother dancing first, I just grabbed the first available couch. Management made a token effort to enforce the rules, but because it was good for business they often looked the other way.

Those days are gone, but this is still the place to go for a good grinding, and if you get the right girl you may get a good clutch and grab session and maybe even a discreet 005 as well. Again, YMMV. Upstairs is more popular than downstairs, especially for grinding. You shouldn't have to tip extra just for grinding since most girls there do it anyway.

The TV rooms are just off the dance floors and have large, overstuffed leather couches that are long enough to lie down on. For the last few months the freaking atmosphere has been really poor because of oppressive surveillance by security. I’m not sure why, but I noticed it started around the same time as the influx of the ex-Flamingo girls and was further exacerbated by the Danceland raid (see below). They come around every 5-10 minutes and sometimes linger near the dance floors observing the couples. This has caused quite a bit of grumbling among the customers.

I'd say about 60-70 percent of the girls are Latinas (a fair number of them from south of the border), there's a fair number of Anglos, a few Asians and Blacks. Most are at least reasonably attractive, several 7's, a fair number of 8's, and even one or two 9's. Because of the high turnover in this business I can't recommend any specific girls. Some of the girls (under risk of suspension if caught) will grind with their backs to you.

Nasty factor: two and a-half stars (used to be four, **sigh! **) They also have a lingerie contest Wednesday night around 11:45, with members of the audience serving as judges. This is a good opportunity to get a feel (literally as well as figuratively) for how nasty some of the girls are. It seems like the nastiest ones often win, although some girls claim that management rigs the contests.

With the closing of Flamingo the number of girls has nearly doubled (to about 60 on the busiest nights). The girls are required to be there by 9:00; I’d say just before 9:00 is a good time to go. Best nights to go besides Wednesday are Tuesdays (payday and buffet night) and Fridays. Note: Dreamland is not to be confused with Danceland, the Latino club on Figueroa across the street from the Convention Center.

Club Starlight
1224 S Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90015
(213) 747-7653
Cover charge: $5.
Hours: Most likely 7:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.
Food: Unknown, they do serve soft drinks, so they probably have a snack bar.
VISA, MC, and ATM check cards bearing the VISA/MC symbol

I’ve only been to this club twice. It costs $26 an hour to dance with a girl. This is the plushest and most expensive club in LA, and the only one that has valet parking. It caters predominantly to affluent Asian men. Unlike the other clubs, you don't select the girls. When a group of customers comes in (they usually come in small groups, although don't feel shy about going by yourself), there are a couple of "mama-sans" wandering around who will go and pick girls to go over to their table. The girls sit behind a glass partition that allows you to see them, but they can't see you. If you see a girl you like, call one of the mama-sans over and tell her which girl you want. Most of the girls are very attractive. They used to be mostly Caucasian, but when I was there two months ago I noticed they were predominately Asian.

Nasty factor? It’s very dark in the booth area, but its also pretty open so about the only thing that’s available is a 005. There is a couch area on the other side of the bar where you may be able to do some feeding and groping. You have to watch out for the waiters coming through, though. I've met several girls who used to work there who've told me they quit because management, shall we say, strongly encourages the girls to "date" the customers, if you get my drift. I've recently been told that the dates occur during club hours, although most clubs prohibit dancers from leaving with customers during working hours. The dates are set up by the club and are not cheap, about three Ben Franklins for one hour, with the girl keeping two.

Other "Mixed" Clubs

VIP Club
15455 E. Valley Boulevard
Industry, CA 91746-3342
Hours: 4PM to 2AM.
(562) 943-9915
VISA/MC

The club is located in the same strip mall as the Spearmint Rhino. There is a Pho Hoa (Vietnamese noodle place), a massage parlor, a bar owned by the same owner as the Spearmint Rhino called Mahoney's where a lot of the Rhino dancers hang out before their shifts; a Wells Fargo ATM and a Denny's within walking distance.

I visited this club once, on their grand opening to the pubic night (it used to be a private club that served alcohol). It's $24/hr. to dance with girl, with a $20 minimum tip. The cover charge was $5. The minimum dance time is 15 minutes. I asked whether the $20 minimum tip was absolutely required regardless of how long you danced and was told no, but it was recommended. They prefer that you let the hostess or the "maitre’d" know who you want to dance with and they will get her for you.

The interior has more of a gentlemen's lounge look and feel than a hostess club. There was a small table with complementary appetizers to the left of the bar. Drinks are $4 and they do permit smoking, although I didn't see too many smokers while I was there.

It did not look like there were too many nooks and crannies for total privacy. Although the lighting is dim, the place doesn't have much high mileage potential. The girls can't stretch their legs across your lap, and once when the waiter came by while I had my hand on my girl’s thigh just below her skirt, she placed her hand on it to keep it from moving any higher. I'd say your best bet for some mileage would be to get there early (they open at 4:00 PM) and get a spot in the TV room.

By the time I left at 9:45 there were about 25-30 girls there. Most of them were Latinas in their early 20's. There were a few whites and Asians and one black. This looks like a club that the high rollers would frequent. I observed the owner, Bill, entertaining a group of old cronies at one of the tables, and there was a limo parked outside as I left.

Club Signature
1235 N. Vine St.
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 962-8825
VISA/MC

It's just south of Fountain on the west side of the street. The sign outside simply says "Signature Night Club." You have to submit to a pat down search before they let you in. They serve beer and wine. They have Bud, Bud Light, Corona Extra, and Heineken. Drinks are $5, and they have complimentary peanuts and pretzels. This is a very small club. The bar, seating, and DJ area are all enclosed in a long, rectangular room, with the restrooms at the very end. There are three rows of about three tables each, with four chairs per table. At the end of the long room in another small room off to the left is a dance floor and about five or six overstuffed couches around the perimeter of the room. Most of the couches are in clear view of the tables at the far end of the club. I'd say the freaking potential here is very limited.

While I was there, there were two other customers at the bar and one guy who I assumed was a customer sitting at a table with three girls. I saw 11 girls in total. Most of the girls were Latina; there were a couple of whites and Asians. A sign on the wall says, "dancing with hostess based on 1/2 hr. minimum," or something like that. The guy behind the counter told me the minimum tip is $20, although the sign simply says, "tips are strongly recommended." I'll be surprised if this place does good business, but you never know.

Unlisted Clubs  

Some of you may have heard of two other clubs I haven’t mentioned here. Both have the same ownership. One is on the West Side and is a private club. So even if I told you about it, it wouldn’t do you any good unless you know someone who’s already a "member" or one of the girls who works there. The other club is on the East Side and the owner has asked me not to publicize it on the ‘net. All I can say is that it’s a brand new club that is still feeling its way and going through growing pains, but it has a lot of potential. It just needs to establish a sufficient customer base and a more stable roster.  

Currently Closed Clubs

Club Flamingo

This club recently closed, and most of the girls relocated to Dreamland and Fantasy. They are supposed to re-open at a new location near 17th and Los Angeles St. sometime this summer. I heard they are having trouble obtaining a permit, so it’s problematic as to whether that will actually happen. They have an information hotline at (213) 748-2512 and a web site at http://clubflamingo.com

Latino Clubs

The "rules" for tipping in these clubs are entirely different (see the discussion under Las Palmas below). The girls are more likely to ask for the tip up front, because they don't expect that much just for dancing. Some girls will grind you without asking and touch you in an intimate way, then ask if you will tip them. In this case, start the negotiations at $20. Once you've agreed on a price and service, do not pay her in advance! Many will take your $$, then find an excuse why the services can't be provided (they may say security is watching you now or something like that) and it will be difficult for you to get your $$ back. If a girl won't accept that you will tip her when you pay the bill, walk off of the floor, pay your bill, and try another. Don't be embarrassed; the only word that will get around is that you are not a sucker. Don't be surprised if a girl lets you walk off of the floor if you can't agree on a price. There is so much free $$ going around it's hard to say how flexible the girls are at the moment. They probably won't stick around for a tip because they won't be expecting one. Generally you can tip about half what you would for the same service at Dreamland and Fantasy.

Danceland
1324 S. Figueroa St., Suite 100
Los Angeles, CA 90015
(213) 745-6076
VISA/MC

I don't care for Danceland that much myself (the place is a dump). This used to be the Mecca for mileage, including boinking on the dance floor during the day shift (12:30-6:30), ever since Dreamland installed cameras. This is the only club that opens that early. Things have changed drastically since they were raided back in April. The raid was a multi-agency operation involving the LAPD, INS, Dept. of Building and Safety, and the State labor board. Several couples were taken away in handcuffs, and the club was closed for five days due to "electrical problems." There is no question that it was politically motivated. With the Staples Center set to open in the fall and host the Democratic National Convention next year, the powers that be decided they didn’t want a "sleazy hostess club" right across the street from what will be the showcase facility for the revitalization of downtown. The club is just outside the redevelopment area, so the City couldn’t force them to move. When owner ship declined the City’s request to move they decided to put the heat on. Now all rules, such as both of the hostess’ feet must be on the floor at all times, are strictly enforced and the place has been a virtual ghost town ever since. I expect it will be months before it recovers, if ever. The raid also had a ripple effect on the other clubs, particularly Dreamland and Fantasy as I have alluded to above, although I think it was more a case of Danceland being singled out for special attention rather than part of a general crackdown on the clubs.

L A Grand Club
1040 S Grand Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90015
(213) 746-9200
VISA/MC

This club is not to be confused with the Grand Avenue Club, the regular dance club formerly known as The Shark Club, just a few doors up the street. When it opened about seven years ago it was actually very nice. It had a state-of-the-art lighting system and a kitchen from where you could order food. The kitchen has long since been closed and they have allowed the place to get run down. This is just about the only Latino club where you will find girls of other ethnicities. The reason for this is management can’t seem to make up their mind if they want it to be a traditional, dance intensive Latino club or a more tip intensive, moderate mileage club like Flamingo used to be (more on this later). The club recently did some remodeling that was supposed to be more conducive to mileage and I hear it has become more popular recently, but I haven’t heard anything specific as to what’s available there. When and if Fantasy ever closes, it has the potential to become a gold mine.

Galaxy Ballroom
902 S. Olive St.
Los Angeles, CA 90015
(213) 489-2944
No credit cards accepted

I have only been here a couple of times. They have a lot of girls, including several of the barely 18 types, but only a handful that I found appealing. There did not appear to be a lot of good freaking real estate.

Las Palmas Ballroom
950 S. Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90015
(213) 623-4408
No credit cards accepted

The club opens at 6:30 PM every day and the real window of opportunity for mileage is 6:30 PM until about 8:00 PM (maybe a little longer on Monday/Tuesday). You will be searched (with a wand metal detector) at the door. The main (first) floor is for non-dancing patrons and where the girls not dancing stand around. The club has a mezzanine that overlooks the main floor, a second floor and a third floor. All of these areas offer lots of places to hide. There are no cameras. The guards rarely if ever come up from the main floor. Your only concern is keeping the waitress from sneaking up on you. You can usually solve this problem by getting your drinks on the main floor and then telling the waitress that you have a drink and will not need any more service. The action is on the couches (sitting down). A sign on the wall downstairs indicates the various types of music they play, but most of it is that "dance around your hat music." Many of the girls speak very little English, but everyone understands "dinero."

The girls at this club work 95% for minutes only. That is what I mean by dance intensive. They get a share of the dance fee, either $10 an hour or half the fee. I think the same applies to the other Latino clubs, with the exception of LA Grand. There the girls do expect a tip. A club owner told me a story of how he once tried to tip a girl $20 at Danceland but she asked him if he would buy another hour of dance time instead. He told me the clubs have the girls "brainwashed" into emphasizing the accumulation of dance minutes. If you find a girl that does something extra of course tip her; but if all she does is grind or let you grab a little there is no need. Their regular Latino customers do that anyway without tipping. These guys typically keep girls several hours, do what they can, and don't tip. It is the way it works in this club; the girls are basically working for minutes only.

I hear that many veterans are very pissed about the way prices skyrocketed after the latest (pre-raid) newbie invasion at Danceland. So what, you say? If you go frequently you will be able to spot them, since most of them aren’t Latino. It used to be that you could strike up a conversation with them (since you would be one of the few other English speaking patrons in the club), get to know them a bit, and exchange inside information with them. Now, many of them are reluctant to share information with newbies; they blame them for overpaying and making the girls overly greedy, which they feel resulted in vice being able to easily catch girls willing to do extra.

If you keep a girl 2 hours she is not expecting a $40 tip. She is happy to have made the 120 minutes. If you get a girl who provides extras be reasonable with your tip. $10 here is good, $20 makes you a king! Live by these rules and you will find that 1) you can have a good time there, 2) the girls will like you, 3) the club will not attract unwanted heat from LE, and 4) some of the veterans will lose the chip on their shoulders and start sharing their inside info with you.

Nine Zero Seven Club
907 S. Hill St.
Los Angeles, CA 90015
(213) 489-7620
VISA/MC

I visited this place once a few years ago and didn’t care for it much. I hear it has a "ton of young beauties" and that it’s good for grinding.

El Gaucho
425 W. 8^th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90015
(213) 623-4607
No credit cards accepted

This is the bottom of the barrel. It’s a small club with only two or three girls on the entire roster worth seeing. I hear mileage is good.

The LA Weekly did a cover story on these clubs back in January. You can find it on the 'net at http://www.laweekly.com/ink/99/09/news-wright.shtml

I heard a lot of the girls at Flamingo, Fantasy, and Dreamland were upset about the comment by one Flamingo hostess that "most customers feel comfortable tipping us at least 50 percent of the bill." Also, the Paradise Club is now closed. There are a number of points in the article that I disagreed with (too many to address here), but the one I most vigorously disagreed with is that guys go to these clubs "to fall in love." A few girls have subsequently told me that some guys do in fact go to the clubs looking for "romance."

I’m sure you’re aware of the potential pitfalls of becoming attached to a stripper. Due to the nature of the fantasy that the hostess girl is selling, i.e., affection, emotional/physical intimacy, and the illusion of romance, the unwary or naïve customer is even more vulnerable to being exploited than the average SC customer is. Realizing this, a lot of the girls try to "work" the men for as much as they can get out of them, especially if they’re a "suit." They try this tactic on everyone basically, but in particular middle-aged men. Some of these men sit with the girls for hours, tipping $40 for nothing, take them out to dinner, romance them with flowers and gifts, and take it slow in the usually futile hope that something will develop between them. What they often don’t realize is that some of these same girls were the ones who used to provide extras for considerably less until they found a "mark" like them.

Is it possible to date hostesses? Yes, and it’s also a bit easier to find HC girls who will see you outside the club, both for regular dates and "private sessions" than it is to go out with a stripper. I can’t give you any tips on how to go about asking a girl if she does private sessions. I would just wait until you determine whether she does extras first. Elsewhere on this site, "Mistress Xena" has covered the subject of customers dating strippers. I won’t rehash that here, except to say that everything she says can be applied to hostess girls as well. Now if you think strippers can be flakey, hostess girls are even worse, especially the younger ones. Whatever you do, don’t fall for their sob stories and give or lend them money because you "feel sorry" for them. You’ll be better off adopting a cynical attitude and assuming that these girls are only pretending to like you until they prove otherwise. No matter how "normal" your encounter with a girl in the club may seem the bottom line is that it is a business transaction. You need to deal with the HC scene the way that it is, not the way that you would like to idealize it to be. Yes, there have been those rare instances where a customer/hostess relationship has even lead to marriage. But if you are looking for that intellectual/spiritual soul mate, that special someone, that E-Ticket ride to Nirvana, you would be better served to look elsewhere because it is extremely unlikely you will find that person in a hostess club.

Other Sources of Information

With the demise of the Dreamland page on TUSCL and the change in format of Desperado’s LAISFUN discussion board to a password-entry site (if you’re not on the invite list you’re SOL), the only other place I know that has a (so far very short) hostess club thread is The Big Dog’s board at http://www.bigdoggie.com/la/

Dave in Phoenix has a review at http://www.libchrist.com/sexwork/dancers/lahostessclubs.html

For those interested, a more clinical analysis of hostess clubs can be found at http://members.aol.com/MMeckel2/index.html

Acknowledgements

Finally, I would like to thank Old Smoker, Big Daddy Freak, and Jaaymz for all the information they have shared with me (even though they didn’t know it was going to wind up here... ), especially concerning the Latino clubs.

For questions, post a message on the bulletin board or email TenFree directly.