When I was in the gambling business, the guys most dangerous to my income were the so-called "gaming writers". Not the John Patricks and Rob Singers of the world, what they write is mostly fiction and for suckers. The guys in my peer group who have the most hate for are Stanford Wong (Blackjack) and Bob Dancer (Video Poker). These guys could never be honest with themselves thast what they wrote could never help a true professional, yet served as a primer for your basic casino executive how to protect the house bankroll from guys like me. It set my career, and it's low to mid 6-figure income that went with it, short by a good 5 years. At least Dancer made more playing than writing, but he found a good spot and ran very lucky to it. But after he got bounced, since he couldn't play anymore, he apprently took the position that no one else should be able to either, and wrote his how-to book, which only led to virtually every profitable machine situation in Vegas being rolled up.

I've written about Amy here enough, and since she is unable to respond, it's unfair to me to rehash the past, but it seems to be she's making more writing or "producing" than actually working. Like Wong and Dancer, if you're that good, you probably know more than they do anyway. The escort business has become too much gloss and not enough substance*. At some point in time, I hope the ladies who subscribe to such advice will wake up and realize how empowering what they do for a living really is for a woman, and ignore the fluff of what classy ladies do and do not do, or should I say allegedly?

As for Ms. St. Claire, I remember her several years ago when she was Lana of SF on Lovings, and she was most worthy then, even at $350/$400 for the hour. My take is, if you're quoting that kind of money and still have to work the boards, something must be wrong with the picture. I hope I'm in error.




*There's a great billboard ad for the Mandalay-owned Gold Strike and Nevada Landing casinos in Jean, NV, about 25 mi south of Vegas. The tag line is "remember when gambling was about winning?" So true...my first thought when seeing that is, "remember when the escort business was about fucking?"

Frankly I don't have a problem with a provider charging whatever the market will bear.  However I know of a number of providers in Southern California that insist upon charging a high rate with multi hour minimums, complain about the lack of business and then because there is not enough demand they are trying to borrow money from clients and friends rather than adopt a more realistic pricing policy.  One lady that charges $700 per hour is homeless or claims to be.  Another provider that charges $400 per hour is now pregnant and is trying to have potential clients pay in advance for dates because she has no money.  Based upon what she has said her car has already benn reposessed.  She lives in a very nice and rather expensive part of orange county.  Apparently despite what she was charging there was not enough business for her to put any money away to cover her living expenses during her pregnancy.  

In many cases new providers try to start out at higher than average rates under the theory that "my ass is as good as hers".  

Normally I feel sympathy for people with problems but considering the attitude that many providers have on pricing I find it difficult to show in these cases.  You have the right to set your prices at any level but you should be willing to starve without complaining or begging if you guess wrong and are unwilling to adjust your rates to the market.