TAMPA, Fl. (CNN)--Tampa is getting ready to welcome the Grand Old Party for its national convention.
And the city expects to cash in on all of its attractions, especially the adult-oriented nightlife.
The waitresses are in red, white and blue. So is the vodka bottle. Here at Thee Dollhouse in Tampa, they've spruced the place up, put in a 225-inch video wall. They're bringing in a Sarah Palin look-alike too. No kidding.
"What did you put into it?"
"I bet the bottom line will be close to a million five inside, outside,” Warren Colazzo , nightclub owner , said.
Yep. Tampa's strip cubs are dressing up, before undressing. There's an excitement in the air like going to the polls on Election Day. But going to the poles has a different meaning here.
"You know, I've been in this business thirty years, and I'm telling you, I get goose bumps. I've got them right now, just thinking about this. To answer your question, I've never been so excited in all my life. I can't wait for it,” Colazzo, said.
Colazzo even had these T-shirts made up that read Thee DollHouse, RNC Headquarters. Certainly a must-have for any conventioneer.
So, why all this anticipation? Well, an adult industry trade organization says Republicans spend the money.
An informal survey by the association of club executives found that during their conventions in Minnesota and New York, Republicans spent $150-dollars per person at adult clubs.
The Democrats, on the other hand, spent only fifty dollars per person in Boston and Denver. The RNC told us it's focused on having a great convention, and nominating Mitt Romney.
Club dancers are counting on the supposed big dollar Republicans to make it rain dollars. One stripper, Go-go, thinks this will be bigger than the Super Bowls she's worked.
"A thousand dollars an hour. That would be, I'm really optimistic...,” said Go-Go.
At a thousand an hour, she said, "I’ll work for as long as my body can take."
For the most part, the city tolerates the clubs, but won't let them cross the line. Police have already raided a few, and charged sixteen women with prostitution. The mayor says the clubs are the least of his worries.
"Are we going to be running around strip clubs and checking IDs? Probably not,” Mayor Bob Buckhorn, said.
"We added this VIP section up here,” Don Kleinhans, Nightclub Owner, said.
Kleinhans owns the 2001 Odyssey Club. The VIP room is shaped like a flying saucer. The way up is known as the stairway to heaven. Kleinhans says there's so much money to be made, dancers are calling from everywhere to work the convention.
"We had five different calls from girls from Las Vegas, Chicago, New Orleans, and New York."
So the word has spread; when the elephant's in the room, the money's good.
