SCs filled a niche that MPs and SPs did not. MPs filled a nice that SCs and SPs did not. SPs filled a nice that neither SCs or MPs couldn’t. Lines are often so blurred between all of them now that SCs make less sense. I think for many of us, SCs not only provided a place to watch hot naked chicks, they also stimulated the same part of our reptilian brains that is activated when we are at a bar / club looking to pick up. A bit of a thrill of the chase with the possibility but not guarantee of some extra fun in the VIP. In their heyday in the late 90s/ early 2000s it helped that extra fun (especially for activities at the lower end of the scale) could often be included in the basic $20 per song, as it would keep you in the VIP for more songs.
The downtown ones might be dying / being replaced by condos and office buildings. But the Trinity in the west end and still going pretty strong. There is an appeal to hanging out with a group of friends, laughing chatting, watching the game, and having a nice rotation of beautiful girls take their clothes off for you. A $10 beer, might sound expensive but that same beer might be $8 at Moxies, and while the waitresses are probably just as pretty, you won't be seeing them without clothes on in 8 mins. Also on this past Saturday night there were 53 girls working at Cafe Atlantis.
I have not been to a strip club in many years, evidently they have mostly died out in Montreal. It was only within the last 5-7 years that the famous Sex Tuple closed up. My guess is that the strip clubs have priced themselves out of the market. Young guys get to see puzzy much earlier age than we did. For us old goatsters, just seeing a puzzy does not do much anymore.