As most eyes tune in to see the San Francisco 49ers face the Kansas City Chiefs, or watch Usher take the stage during the halftime show, the real winners this Sunday might not even be on the field.

It’s a major weekend for the adult entertainment industry, with strip clubs preparing to cater to the influx of customers they typically receive during large events like the Super Bowl, and dancers gearing up in hopes of earning big.

Content creator and stripper Ashley Meraz’s video posted last February now has over 337,000 views. “We all know Superbowl is coming to Arizona next week so if you’re debating on dancing or making some extra money, this is your sign,” she says as the clip switches to her and two others holding five stacks of rubber-banded bills in their hands.

In a comment under that video someone asked “only 600?” to which Meraz replied “It’s 1k in 30 mins babe. Lol.”

CBS News estimates that half a million fans are heading to Las Vegas for Super Bowl 58, causing Harry Reid International Airport to add an extra 60 flights to the schedule. Last year, the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport recorded its busiest travel day on record following Super Bowl 57 in Glendale, AZ.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority anticipates more than $500 million economic boost from direct spending, tax generation, hotel rooms and new job creation, with the influx of visitors expected to spend $215 million on food, drinks and other Super Bowl-related items – this does not even account for on-the-ground travel, money that will be spent at casinos or other entertainment  travelers might indulge in while on the Strip, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

These large crowds will be spending money to watch, gamble, or indulge in Sin City’s other vices.

Keila Ortega is a stripper in Las Vegas who’s been documenting her experience navigating the industry on Tik Tok since 2019. Her video “Work Super Bowl with a Vegas Stripper,” gained 1.2 million views since it was posted last February. In it, viewers see her placing her belongings in a locker, watching pregnant Rihanna’s halftime performance, interacting with clients, working a champagne room, and after 8 hours Ortega says she made $1,935.

News of celebrities spending big money on exotic dancers has already dropped. TMZ reported this morning that rapper Too Short cashed in $15,000 in singles at Crazy Horse III Wednesday night, a gentlemen’s club located across the street from Allegiant Stadium, where the Super Bowl will be hosted in two days. Rapper Tech N9ne reportedly spent $20,000 on performers on Thursday at the same club.

Crazy Horse owner Nando Sostilio told OutKick that 300 dancers will be working at the club this weekend, which is open for 24 hours and can accommodate 1,000 patrons at a time.

But how much do strippers normally make?

In 2019, BET reported that dancers at Magic City, one of the most famous strip clubs in the country, can earn around $100,000 a year. According to BedBible’s March 2023 findings, dancers’ earnings can range from $40,000 to $100,000 annually.

#Striptok has become a popular side of Tik Tok in which strippers from around the world have found community and share glimpses of their day-to-day life. “Money Count”, in which dancers total up the amount they earned during a shift or over the week, and “Come to Work with Me” videos garner thousands of views.

Sex blogger Hiedi Sweet shared on Medium how watching these videos inspired her to try her hand at stripping.

“As a professional stripper, you can enjoy the perks of a flexible schedule, high earnings, and an exciting and dynamic work environment. I’ve done it, and while it isn’t for everyone, it definitely doesn’t suck. The money can be VERY good,” she wrote.

But videos in this genre can be misleading without the full context. Dancers don’t make an hourly or standard rate, and the amount an individual brings home each night is dependent on many factors including location, how busy the club is, if customers are paying, and the house fees required by the club.So while you can make hundreds, or even thousands in a night, some dancers make way less, as one Australian dancer showed she only made $15 on a slow night.

Dancers at the Star Garden Topless Dive Bar in North Hollywood participated in a work stoppage, shutting down the club in December 2023, citing concerns about work conditions. The action comes amid broader efforts by dancers to organize and advocate for improved workplace protections. The group has been seeking union recognition to join the Actors’ Equity Association, which represents 51,000 workers in the entertainment industry, according to the Associated Press.

Washington dancers are also fighting for a “Stripper bill of rights,” legislation that would require security standards and training for strip club employees to reduce sexual harassment. Strippers Are Workers, a dancer-led organization, has been advocating for these bills for six years.

Anessa Rossi is a former stripper, now full-time content creator. In July, she posted a video breaking down the cost it takes to work one night in a strip club, including a $200 house fee, $100 tip out to the bottle server, $20 tip out to management, and other fees which accounted for $460 of the $1460 she made that night.

“You do have to pay every single night, just like think about it like a hairstylist and booth rental,” she said in the video.

When it comes to the Super Bowl weekend, the competition goes into overdrive as hundreds more girls are vying for the attention (and the money) of clients. Ortega described the amount of women working during Super Bowl weekend last year as “insane,” in a video about what to expect as a stripper working in Vegas and said that it wasn’t necessarily a big win for every dancer.

“Some girls made a lot of money, some girls didn’t make any money. Last year I made $3,000 in one night which is pretty good but for such a big event I wish I would have made a little bit more money,” she said. “Just because we’re having [the] Super Bowl in Vegas, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to make a bag.”