Plan to arrive in Las Vegas on a Monday through Friday as you won’t be able to do the necessary paperwork on the weekend. Also get started early in the morning, even though it’s Vegas, these government offices are only open during normal business hours.
When you come to Las Vegas make sure that you bring the following with you: 2 forms of Identification (driver’s license, state issued I.D., social security card, military I.D., DD214, U.S. passport, naturalization certificate, baptismal certificate, and Alien I.D. card) If you are under 25, a state issued birth certificate is also required. This is not negotiable, you will not get a Sheriffs Card without it. If you were not born in the United States, then you must bring one of the following: Naturalization Certificate; U.S. Passport, U.S. birth certificate; or Alien I.D. Card.
Research clubs online and make a list of places you would like to work. If you are over 21, you can work in any club in Las Vegas. If you are between the ages of 18-20, don’t despair! You can still work, but you are limited to the full nude clubs that do not serve alcohol.
When you arrive in Las Vegas, you will need to go to any club and get a signed referral slip. You will need this referral slip to get what is called the Las Vegas Sheriff’s Card. Basically it is just a state issued ID card for people who work in the casino and entertainment industry. The club where you get the referral doesn’t have to be where you plan to work; you just need the paperwork. Just walk in and tell them that you are a dancer looking for a job and you want a referral slip for a Sheriff’s Card. They hear this often, and some places will even have a packet right there ready to give you with all of the information. Don’t be discouraged if the first club doesn’t give you the paperwork. Strippers are a dime a dozen in Las Vegas, and often times the person you ask for the paperwork is just too lazy to get up and look for it. Just move on to the next club. Allow an hour or two if you are not familiar with the city of Las Vegas and where the clubs are located, to drive around and get this referral slip.
Keep in mind it doesn’t matter what club you get the referral slip from. You don’t have to work there! Once you have your Sheriff’s card, you can audition at any club you want. For many years, Cheetah’s was known for being the easiest club to get the referral slip. The door girl had a stack of them and they would hand out hundreds a day. Over time it became too well known that Cheetah’s would hand out the referral slips… so everyone went there first and then never came back to work there! As a result, they stopped handing out the referrals at the door and you now have to speak to a manager.
Take your two forms of ID, birth/naturalization certificate if needed, signed referral slip, and $45 to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Fingerprinting Office. It is in the suburbs west of Mandalay Bay off Russell Road between 8 am and 4pm, Monday-Friday. The address is: 5880 Cameron St Las Vegas, NV (702) 828-3271
Bring a book or magazine and prepare to wait at least an hour and a half for the fingerprinting and background check. If you have outstanding warrants or an extensive criminal history, your Sheriff’s Card will most likely be denied. If you are approved, you will not have to do this process again for another five years.
Now that you have your work card, you’ll need a business license. You can get your Nevada state business license at the Department of Taxation.
The two locations are:
Grant Sawyer Office Building 555 E. Washington Ave Suite 1300 Las Vegas, Nevada
or
2550 Paseo Verde Suite 180 Henderson, Nevada 89074
You can go to either location. The cost for a business license is $200 and it is valid for one year. You will be given a temporary license that can be used immediately and a permanent copy will be sent to you in the mail.
Take the work card, and temporary business license to the club where you want to work. Most Las Vegas strip clubs are open twenty four hours. The prime night shifts start at 9pm, so go to the club at that time to get hired. Since there are so many girls showing up daily to get hired, many of the clubs do not make you change out of your street clothes to audition. Rather they evaluate you based on your appearance in your street clothes, so look sexy! Most of the clubs have their own rules as to dress code, and they will let you know what those rules are. Some are gown clubs, others you can wear whatever costume you like.
The club will make a copy of your business license, and want to see your Sheriff’s Card. You will need to show your Sheriff’s Card every time you show up for work. Some clubs will add a sticker with a bar code on the back of the card, other clubs use fingerprint recognition software to identify you when you walk in the club. You should also keep a copy of your business license in your purse, just in case. Be sure to renew your business license every year. You will get paperwork in the mail reminding you to do so.
Stripping in Las Vegas is a completely different experience than stripping in other metropolitan cities. The supply and demand of this industry is somewhat unique in Vegas. Because the clubs are bigger and have more staff means that you have more bad dancers. It’s just the Pareto Principle (80/20 Rule) exemplified through larger numbers. It’s more difficult to see the effects of this in a club with 20 dancers, but in a club with 250, it’s more obvious. THIS is why you have guys who waive dancers away or turn their back to the tip-rail. It’s because in a club with 200 dancers in it, you have 160 of them who haven’t got a clue what to do correctly to make the customers want to buy. As a result, you have guys who have been badgered by seven or eight “Wanna dance” girls before you show up. As a result they tend to be pickier and sometimes more standoffish to find the right girl to spend their money.
Unlike your home club, you will not get to choose the music for your stage set. In fact, many entertainers opt to pay extra to NOT have to go onstage. There are different philosophies for why this could be beneficial. In some clubs there are so many girls, that not very many customers are watching the stages. For every song you are onstage, you could be selling a lapdance. In other clubs, the stage tipping is very good; so it worth being on the rotation. Use your best judgment.
Many of the clubs post a schedule of conventions in the dressing room. You can access this schedule online. Some of the biggest conventions of the year are Consumer Electronic Show and The Adult Video Network in January, World of Concrete and MagicOnline in February, March Madness and ConExpo every 3 years in March, NAB in April, ICS in May, Gentlemen’s Club Expo in August, and SEMA in November.
Also, cross reference hotel room rates for the higher priced casinos like Bellagio, Wynn, and Venetian. Anytime there is an abnormal spike in room rates reflects an increased demand for hotel rooms.
