The Business Trip

I had an interesting conversation recently.

 

A man and I were talking about our jobs and other interests. The man said that he frequently makes business trips. He goes out of town for two or three days, sometimes longer. That's certainly not unusual. Every day, millions of business travelers jet around the country.

 

What makes this man different from most frequent flyers is that when he's out of town, he enjoys playing poker in his free time. His interest was fueled, he said, by poker "road trips" that I've written about and posted on the Internet. The man complimented my reports and said they gave him the idea that -- when forced to be away from home -- playing ufa (where legal) was preferable to other alternatives.

 

For example, if the man visits Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, San Diego, Chicago, New Orleans, or Seattle, he has plenty of poker rooms from which to chose. Of course, the primary purpose of his travel is business. So, the man (who shall remain unidentified) limits his playing to evening hours. It's a proper balance, mixing business with pleasure. He works during the day and plays poker at night.

 

It was a typical conversation, until the man abruptly changed the subject with a startling revelation. He divulged that his colleagues -- all respectable businessmen -- have other interests in mind when they're out of town. It seems that many businessmen have a regular habit of visiting "gentlemen's clubs" in the evening hours. In case you don't understand the scene I'm describing, a gentlemen's club is a euphemism for topless dancing and nude female entertainment. Naturally, the customers are overwhelmingly male.

 

He described a typical evening this way: At the end of the workday, the men are in a strange city. They're away from their wives and families with little to do and nowhere to go. So, faced with the grim prospect of watching television in the hotel room, they frequently go out to a gentlemen's club. Presumably, it's all "normal" fun. (Note: At the risk of seeming chauvinistic, there are similar nightclubs for women.)

 

In some professions, entertaining male clients in such places is now a standard business practice. Want to make a good impression? Take the client out to a gentlemen's club. Want to lock up the deal? Order a round of drinks and get the dollar bills handy. It's not exactly the kind of marketing technique that Zig Ziglar recommends in "The Secrets to Closing the Sale," but whatever works -- works.

 

I have nothing against these clubs, and I hesitate coming across here as the high guardian of moral Puritanism. But, frankly, after you've seen the inside of one of these joints -- you've pretty much seen them all. The last time I visited a gentlemen's club was about three years ago (I was gathering research for an article, you see). After two pitchers of beer and three and a half hours of careful observation, I finally stormed out in disgust.

 

Sex sells -- does it ever. It's a multibillion dollar industry. The Economist recently published a cover story that claims that the sex trade is actually the world's largest industry. Not computers. Not steel. Not oil. Sex. However, since much of the sex trade is underground, "official" statistics can neither confirm nor deny this (perhaps I should do more research).

 

Look on the streets of any large city in America. Go to Dallas or Atlanta, for instance -- two relatively conservative cities where gambling activity is strictly forbidden. There, you can visit sections of town that look like the Glitter Gulch of the sex industry. Flashing lights. Naked bodies. Cash. Booze. It's all perfectly legal. Never mind the correlation between public drunkenness, DWIs, prostitution, and other crimes linked to this trade; they operate freely and openly -- from Palo Alto to Poughkeepsie.

 

Every city of any size seems to have at least one topless joint. Some cities have hundreds of such places. According to one national survey, there are an estimated 6,000 gentlemen's clubs scattered across the United States. It goes without saying that there are far more gentlemen's clubs than poker rooms -- probably six times as many. It's a simple formula for success that's as old as mankind and profits by taking advantage of basic human instinct. The object: to separate the customer from as much money as possible. It's the old-fashioned way of doing business, only in this case, it is done with the allure of sex and alcohol.

 

Now, I agree that these places should be legal. In a democratic society, we are blessed with the freedom to make up our own minds about such things. If you want to spend your paycheck in a topless joint, I couldn't care less, frankly. If a man (or woman) wants to blow his money on sex, booze, sporting events, gambling, or eating ice cream cones -- that's his right. It's called freedom of choice. Sure, laws are needed to protect society from abuses, but we don't need the government and a bunch of moral crusaders deciding what's right for the rest of us. I think that most poker players would agree with that philosophy.

 

Now, getting back to the story.

 

While traveling on business, the man usually is invited to go out for a night on the town with his colleagues. Sometimes, it's just for dinner and drinks, but more often, it's something else -- something more. The destination usually is a gentlemen's club.

 

The man stated, when asked, that he politely declines the invitation. It's not that he's against such things. Instead, he prefers to visit a local casino or cardroom. He relaxes for a few hours by unwinding at the poker table. He said that poker takes his mind away from daily pressures. He even plays well enough sometimes to make a few dollars. The important thing is -- he enjoys the game. Instead of leering at naked women in a dark nightclub, he gets enjoyment from socializing at the poker table.

 

So, what's the problem?

 

The man made a staggering disclosure that epitomizes the moral impasse in many communities and social circles, one that illustrates one of the most ridiculous double standards of American society. The man said that a few of his colleagues are concerned that he's (brace yourselves, folks) a "compulsive gambler."

 

"Every time we go out of town, you want to play poker," one colleague remarked. "Are you sure you don't have a gambling problem?"

 

Somehow, reports of the man's activities reached his superiors in the company. He explained that he's now in an awkward position. He's forced to defend his actions, causing some measure of embarrassment, and even shame.

 

Isn't that odd? A man goes out of town and indulges in his hobby on his own free time by his own free will. He acts responsibly. He doesn't let it affect his job performance. His wife and family approve of his activities. He's not out getting drunk, carousing, or whistling at naked women parading across a stage. He's at a poker table -- a place that is safe and secure. Yet, his behavior is perceived as being odd? He's the one who is a social outcast?

 

This example of twisted logic convinces me that many mainstream morals and perceptions are turned completely upside down. I'm not talking about a few social deviants here. I'm talking about common, everyday people -- people who are your next door neighbors, or who run the hardware store, or who play on your softball team -- many of whom think that going to a topless joint is normal, but wouldn't dare support legalized gambling in their communities.

 

Of the 25 largest cities in America I find it a disgrace that only seven have legalized poker within their boundaries or surrounding suburbs. That means that 18 of the largest cities do not have a single card club. But almost every city allows topless joints to operate, mostly void of any oversight or restriction. It's absolute hypocrisy at its worst and outright discrimination that denies many citizens their Constitutional rights to do as they please.

 

Why has there never been a "National Commission on the Sex Industry." The federal government has investigated gambling -- always the convenient scapegoat -- not once, but twice in the last 21 years. It has spent millions of your tax dollars peeking under rocks and seeing imaginary demons in a two-year dog and pony show, coming up with absolutely no new conclusions that already weren't plainly obvious. Is it because the sex industry is more powerful than the gambling industry? Probably not. The reality is that there is an ominous disinformation campaign waged in many cities against gambling (and poker, by association). One of the very worst examples is in San Jose. The local newspaper, the San Jose Mercury-Press has run a ceaseless barrage of anti-gambling stories and editorials against public cardrooms. Never mind that many of it's arguments are hopelessly outdated -- that gambling causes crime, diabetes, cancer, and Mad Cow Disease -- they're still effective. I wonder if the good moral guardians in the San Jose press also will suggest that the topless joints should be shut down.

 

At least San Jose has poker rooms, which is more than can be said for most cities. What kind of mixed-up laws do we have when 160 million Americans are forbidden to gamble legally in their own communities but are free to go out on a sex hunt any night of the week and no one blinks an eye?

 

Of course, morality cannot and should not be legislated. That's the whole point. The government tried to ban drinking once and prohibition was a disaster. The government can't ban the sex trade. That probably would start a revolution. Some even suggest that drug use should be decriminalized because the "war on drugs" has been lost. Yet, gambling remains the only activity that is stigmatized by draconian restrictions. The proof is that, despite poker's expansion, the majority of poker players in this country still must drive hours away from their homes or get on airplanes to play poker legally. But they're certainly free to blow a couple of hundred dollars at the neighborhood topless joint. What kind of society is this?

 

As our conversation neared its end, I could see the man struggling with his dilemma. The next time that he goes out of town on business, what will he tell suspicious colleagues? How can he explain to an empty-headed boss that playing poker for a few hours at night is acceptable behavior?

 

I wonder what these men's wives would think? Where would they prefer their husbands to be-- out at a topless club or playing poker in a public cardroom?

 

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