Serra Paylin — the topless doppleganger of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and star of the porn flick “Who’s Nailin’ Paylin?” — took the stage Sunday night in Tampa, Fla. just in time to ring in the start of the Republican National Convention.
Other dancers at Thee DollHouse were decked out in red, white and blue outfits (before they were removed) to welcome the drove of convention-goers, which rivals the number of out-of-towners during the 2009 Super Bowl, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Tampa’s strip clubs have been ramping up preparations for convention week for months by renovating and hiring extra dancers.
2001 Odyssey even put a selection of its dancers in online chat rooms so travelers could get to know the talent before arriving in Tampa.
The main goal among the city’s topless bars is to attract big-time Washington types to their clubs. And according to DollHouse ID-checker Tiffany Mitchell, the majority of customers over the past few days have indeed come from the Beltway.
“The main people I’m seeing is Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.,” Mitchell told the Times. “They are dressed nicer, more conservative. Business casual for the men and Ann Taylor Loft for the women, for sure.”
But despite the RNC theme and a gyrating Palin lookalike, the strip club business hasn’t been booming as expected.
The Gold Club built a private VIP entrance for high-profile Republicans, but as of Sunday it had not been used.
At Tampa’s top adult entertainment venue, Mons Venus, the ladies turned in well before closing time.
A Mons Venus dancer told the Times that her colleagues are frustrated by the slow weekend, and blamed the impending arrival of Hurricane Isaac.
“When you come to Tampa, everyone knows the Mons Venus is the number one strip club,” said “Jill.” “So where is everyone? What is everyone doing? Are they sleeping? Republicans have money.”