LOS ANGELES—The Spearmint Rhino 2010 Entertainer of the Year competition will get underway tonight at the Rhino’s Torrance, Calif., gentlemen’s club.
The top dancers from Spearmint Rhino locations across the country will compete for more than $27,500 in cash and prizes and a one-year feature contract during the contest which will culminate with the finals on Oct. 29.
The first of five preliminary rounds begins at 9 p.m. today with the top two girls from each week advancing to the final field of 10. The Entertainer of the Year winner will earn $5,000 cash, a custom diamond and gold Spearmint Rhino pendant valued at over $5,000, a portfolio photo shoot and a $1500 gift certificate to the Spearmint Rhino Superstore in City of Industry. She will also travel the U.S. to headline several Spearmint Rhino clubs in 2010 as the featured entertainer.
“And that doesn’t count the money she'll make when she goes on the road,” said Erick Sikkenga, executive vice president of Spearmint Rhino Consulting Worldwide. “Some of the girls get really creative with new ideas and new themes that surprise me. Last year we had a girl use a miniature trampoline on stage and she was jumping up and down. ... What pleases me is the effort everyone puts in year in and year out.”
Sikkenga said that since the competition began in 2004 that support from the individual clubs has grown as they rally behind their girls and help them prepare for the contest. If a dancer travels from out of state to compete, one of the local Rhinos will sponsor her visit, he added. This year’s competition will include one girl coming from the Rhino’s Toronto, Ontario club.
Week 2 on Oct. 1 will feature a Dallas contestant; Week 3 includes an entry from Lexington, Ky.; Week 4 will include two Boise, Idaho dancers and a girl from West Palm Beach, Fla., will enter the field in the fifth round on Thursday, Oct. 22.
The 2009 Spearmint Rhino Entertainer of the Year, Christina Aguchi, tonight begins a three-night feature engagement at one of the Rhino’s sister clubs, the Blue Zebra in North Hollywood. Sikkenga said that Aguchi’s reign has been nothing short of spectacular.
“We do a report card for every feature entertainer we have at every location and I’ve never, ever seen anything close to the high marks that Christina Aguchi got from all my managers at all the clubs,” he said. “She’s gotten the best scores I’ve ever seen at every single one. She’s knocking everybody dead. They love her."
Sikkenga said that at some of the clubs he’ll receive report cards from two different managers, one from Friday night and one from Saturday. “At first I thought they were just proud of her because she’s our Entertainer of the Year, but they all say the same damn thing, ‘Her show is awesome, she’s beautiful. She’s got great costumes, and she’s great with the staff and other entertainers...'”
Sikkenga revealed that Aguchi would be performing at The Finals on Oct. 29. Meanwhile, the intermission performer at Round 2 on Oct. 1 will be AVN Hall of Famer Sunset Thomas.
The first round and the finals of this year’s competition will be covered by KJLA TV's “Poor Man’s Bikini Beach,” which airs daily at 11 p.m. Their coverage of tonight is expected to air in three weeks.
The Torrance location is at 19900 Normandie Ave., in Torrance, 90502.
Check spearmintrhino.com for more information.
