The Money Week

Ex Chronicle reporter stripper Sarah Tressler gives OTC strippers tips, hints atbook deal

Sarah Tressler is back — with tips for OTC strippers.
Photo by © Michelle Watson/CatchLightGroup.com
On her @AngryStripper account, Tressler has been tweeting words of encouragementto her fellow adult entertainers as OTC week kicks off.
AngryStripper/Twitter
Journalist Sarah Tressler was fired from The Houston Chronicle after her secondjob as an erotic dancer was outted by a Houston Press writer in March.
The Angry Stripper/Facebook
With more than 50,000 attendees each year, the Offshore Technology Conferenceone of the most lucrative times of year for Houston strippers.
Photo by Tyler Rudick

This week's Offshore Technology Conference marks what is perhaps the most lucrative time of year for Houston's adult entertainment industry, one important enough to merit its own entry in the vocabulary section of former Houston Chronicle reporter-slash-erotic-dancer Sarah Tressler's infamous Diary of an Angry Stripper blog.

OTC: (n.) Offshore Technology Conference. It’s an early May oil-and-gas-related convention wherein some 50,000 oil-and-gas industry employees, executives, owners, and all-around big shots descend upon Houston . . . [A]ny stripper within a 100-mile radius of Houston, Tex. is sure to show up while OTC is going on.

With an opening day that featured video games and Hooters Girls, the OTC booths on the trade floor at Reliant Park unapologetically cater to the dude-heavy demographic of the conference.

In the evenings, the city's adult entertainment community keeps the party going — remember when Caroline Gallay scouted for hookers one OTC? — and for the past week, Tressler's been posting words of encouragement to her fellow entertainers on her @AngryStripper Twitter feed.

"#OTCHouston officially starts tomorrow, but those oil and gas dudes are probably in town tonight," she tweeted Sunday. "Houston strippers, START YOUR ENGINES."

On Monday, it was down to brass tacks — music selections. "Can anyone think of any #OTCHOUSTON appropriate songs?" Tressler asked. "I mean, besides Smoke on the Water?"

Suggestions from Tressler's nearly 7,000 followers ranged to rock classics like ZZ Top's "Heaven, Hell, or Houston" and the Stone's "Paint It Black" to a number of new metal tracks like "Gasoline" by South Africa's Seether and System of a Down's "Toxicity."

Tressler's top pick, thus far? Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire."

While she kindly told CultureMap she wasn't doing interviews at this time, Tressler's tweets reveal several projects on the horizon including a mobile app. If we read into Friday's tweet, "Finalizing the cover for the Diary of an Angry Stripper :)" it also appears a book deal is already in the works.

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santa's favorite city

Houston makes the nice list of top 5 most festive U.S. cities in 2024

Photo courtesy of City Lights

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Houston's unending love for the winter holidays is shining bright this year, as the city was just declared the No. 4 most festive city in America for 2024.

Home services provider Thumbtack's recently released report compiled data from millions of holiday light installation requests across all 50 states between October 2023 to October 2024 to reveal its list of the most festive cities in the nation.

Houston previously held the coveted No. 3 spot in 2023 before slipping to No. 4 this year. The city previously ranked No. 4 in 2022.

Houstonians have plenty of citywide light displays to pull inspiration from for their own homes, including the new Coca Cola Classic Christmas, Memorial Park's Holiday Lights, and many more.

Texas cities are far merrier than many other places in the country, with Austin leading the nation as the No.1 most festive city for the third year in a row, and Dallas ranking just one spot behind as No. 2. San Antonio ranked No. 10 this year, after previously ranking No. 5 in the 2023 report.

Houstonians will have to get creative when it comes to their holiday decorating, as the weather doesn't always cooperate with the classic "White Christmas" theme. But that's to be expected from one of the top 10 best warm-weather travel destinations nationwide.

"In the milder climates, you probably won’t find a winter wonderland, but you might see plenty of twinkling lights, tinsel, and bold colors outside the traditional red, green, and white palette," the report's author wrote. "Neon baubles, vintage plastic Santa molds, and playful LED lights keep properties festive and bright. Native eucalyptus, olive branches, and succulents are used as greenery in place of traditional pine and fir."

Outsourcing that outdoor holiday decorating will cost a pretty penny, according to Thumbtack's analysts. The study said the average cost to hire a holiday lighting specialist can range from $168-$300, depending on the scope of the project and home size. Thumbtack also recommends Houstonians avoid hiring a lighting specialist during Thanksgiving weekend, which is the time period that sees the highest demand.

Thumbtack's top 10 most festive U.S. cities in 2024 are:

No. 1 – Austin, Texas
No. 2 – Dallas, Texas
No. 3 – Seattle, Washington
No. 4 – Houston, Texas
No. 5 – San Francisco, California
No. 6 – Atlanta, Georgia
No. 7 – Sacramento, California
No. 8 – Charlotte, North Carolina
No. 9 – Raleigh, North Carolina
No. 10 – San Antonio, Texas

austin dallas houston san antonio rankings holidays christmas reports