Super Bowl attracts fewer private jets

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: rich people feel pain, too. Super Bowl weekend is usually a big one for private jet rental, but a fierce recession is forcing more to take airlines or … dare I say it … watch the game at home.

Around 750 private jets are expected to touch down in Tampa for Super Bowl XLIII, down 25 percent from last year’s 1,000. The last time the Super Bowl was played in Tampa – eight years ago – 1,250 of these chariots of privilege came to town.

The sting is quite real for Jets.com, a Quincy, MA company in the chartering business. Last year, the company sold 55 Super Bowl charters. This year, only 18 have been booked. And, let’s be realistic. With only a day left, I just don’t believe another 37 will be nailed down at the last minute.

Meanwhile, there is no shortage of stupidity at the destination. Ed Cooley, a senior director at Tampa International who oversees aviation planning for the Super Bowl, says, “We just don’t know” the reason for the private jet drop-off.

Seriously?

[Via St. Petersburg Times]

Strippers abound in Tampa, as expected, for big game

There won’t be many lonely nights in Tampa this Super Bowl weekend. Prostitutes, it seems, will be widely available. As one of these sex workers remarked, “Pimps see the Super Bowl as a moneymaking opportunity sent by God.” So, if you’re making the trek down to Florida for the biggest sporting event of the year, know that you won’t be alone.

Now, if street-corner encounters are not for you, remember that Tampa is the world’s lap dance capital. Strippers will be out in force, with memories of their financial success from Super Bowl XXXV. Bernie Notte, for example, remembers pulling down $6,000 in four days and dancing even after her feet bled. Liquored up football fans were willing to drop $100 for a $25 dance.

Why focus on strip clubs gentlemen’s clubs? Tampa has 43 of them. “Trampa,” as some call it, has what everyone wants: “Football and naked girls.”

Interestingly, local authorities expect, to a certain extent, that patrons will be on the “honor system,” as they are not stepping up enforcement for the weekend. So, it is up to you to maintain the six-foot distance from a stripper that is required by law. Obviously, local strip club owners are happy about this.

Not that you have any chance of getting that close anyway …

Approximately 7,000 journalists from 500 media organizations have received credentials for the Super Bowl, and they’ll all be pushing up against the main stage when the game is over. Don’t worry, though. The media industry is in crisis, and these guys will run out of singles in less time than it takes to pound an $8 beer.

[Photo of Carmen Luvana thanks to Adam & Eve]