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BBC MUNDO RADIO
It's time Las Vegas lost its title as "stripper capital of the universe" to Williston, North Dakota. The little oil boomtown in the Great Plains might only have two strip clubs—Whispers and Heartbreakers—but the exotic dancers there make more money than some doctors.
In fact, rumors are swirling that Williston strippers earn up to $3,000 a night, reports CNN Money. The competition has gotten so aggressive that Whispers is receiving applications from all over the world—Hawaii, Alaska, the Czech Republic and Germany—said Melissa Slapnicka, one of the owners.
"We used to have to beg people to come, and now we have to turn them away because we don't have room for all the people who want to dance," she told CNN. And unlike Vegas, Williston doesn't have special events or vacation seasons so they're busy everyday, year-round.
So what's the source behind the big paychecks?
In recent years, thousands of men have relocated to Williston for high-paying jobs in the oil industry, leaving behind their families. They are alone and work long, demanding hours - sometimes four days on, four days off, 24-hours a day - and there is little time for fun. But when they do have time, these men visit one out of the two strip clubs and throw down wads of cash for some female companionship. According to one stripper, nightly tips in Williston earn her the same amount that she used to make in an entire week in Sin City.
But exotic dancers aren't the only ones benefiting. One bartender said she's making four times as much as she used to since the oil boom.
Strippers In Williston, North Dakota Raking In $2,000 Per Night In Tips
First Posted: 10/25/11 02:02 PM ET Updated: 10/26/11 11:23 AM ET
An oil boomtown in the middle of North Dakota is proving that the laws of supply and demand apply to everything -- even stripper salaries.
As thousands of men move to Williston, North Dakota seeking high-paying jobs working for oil companies, area strippers have seen their salaries skyrocket, CNNMoney reports. Strippers claim that they can make $2,000 to $3,000 per night in tips -- more than in typical strip club hot spots like Las Vegas -- dancing for the oil rig workers, many of whom moved to the town without their families.
(Read the entire story at CNNMoney.)
Word of their success has spread and now applications are pouring in to the town's strip clubs from women working as far away as Hawaii and Germany, according to CNNMoney. North Dakota has weathered the recession particularly well, with an unemployment rate of only 3.5 percent as of September, in comparison to the national rate of 9.1 percent.
Though the stripper economy in Williston may seem particularly extreme, women are flocking to jobs dancing in strip clubs and posing in adult magazines elsewhere as well. Employers in the adult entertainment industry told the Associated Press in 2009 that they were seeing an influx in job applicants thanks to the down economy.
Still, the down economy hasn't hurt the strip club industry in many locations. On some nights in British Columbia, strippers pull in less than half of what they used to make thanks in large part to the economic downturn and the rise of internet porn, according to The Vancouver Sun. In Tampa some strip club owners reported in 2008 that their business dropped 25 percent as potential patrons had less money to spend in a down economy.
In more extreme cases, the recession has pushed some into prostitution, especially in Portugal, where many women have struggled to feed their families, according to IPS. The Independent reported at the height of the recession that in Germany, where prostitution is legal, brothels attempted to overcome the financial downturn by offering free promotions and cutting prices.
Watch CNN's video here:
