Couple thoughts.

Every man you have ever met has been to a strip club. So, Mr. Right may have tried to hit on you when you were bartending and you thought he was a scumbag cuz he came into the place you worked.

They didnt have lap dances? And girls wanted to work at a place they couldn't make real money? Even at a dump club, the girls have to spin around the pole a lot of times to make the $25/dance they get in the back. In fact, the high-end ("classy", whatever your preferred adjective to define a better strip club) strip clubs generally are the ones that have crazy multi-song couches in the back for astronomically expensive ($250 for 15 mins or whatever) dances the girls can con drunk guys into getting.

A former neighbor of mine (I live in an overpriced beach community in LA) had worked at the same "club" for years. She was 38 and owned her house. Only worked weekdays from 11-6.

She worked less and made more than I did.