Fellas,

I'll be in Rio again next month and I've just read on 2 other forums that my beloved Help will apparently be closing a few days before I touch down! First, is this really happening? In my many years of mongering I never have, and likely never will, experienced anything like 'Helpee'.

Second, if Help's run is really coming to an end, is there any word yet on whether there is a late-night replacement in the works? Help always served that essential purpose of being the go-to spot for action after the Termas closed. I can't imagine that all of the Help action is going to migrate to Mab's/Balkony. Any news on a new spot that will fill the void?

Third, assuming that Help will be gone next month, is it still preferable to stay in Posto 5 anymore? I've been going to Rio for 5 years and every single time I stayed within walking distance of 'ground zero', i.e., Help/TA/MP/Pro beach. With Help and TA gone, will it still be business as usual at MP and the beach in front of Rio Othon Palace? Even if MP and the Pro beach will still be there, do you think there'll still be enough action to make it ideal to stay in that area?

If the Help-era is really coming to an end, I will really miss it, but the show must go on and I'm looking to have as much fun as possible in the post-Help Copa. The game's got to go somewhere, right?

Thanks in advance for any guidance you can provide.

Cheers,

ElJ1

Jaguar told me today that all the Help employees got thier notice of the closing today! Its done!

Jag called me tonight on his way to Rio and told me the same thing, thus confirming the news.
FYI, I believe the employees, not Jag, therefore it's a 'done deal'.....

For a final view [it's the first box under the ctr/+]
http://wikimapia.org/#lat=-22.9779622&lon=-43.1897503&z=18&l=0&m=a&v=2

(Message edited by copperfieldkid on April 24, 2009)

CFK, Jag also text me, that you blew him off again tonight! Is that true?

Is May 15 the last night that it will be open?

(Message edited by copperfieldkid on April 25, 2009)

Mitch, sounds like we may have to change our plans for the Friday night.

Help has already closed, say it ain't so! So what now? Any word yet on where the late night scene will move to? I'd assume that alot of the Help/TA gdps will now work Mabs & Balkoney, but those places can only absrob a fraction of these girls.

Also, in terms of lodging, does is still make the most sense to stay in Posto 5 without Help & TA? Might it be as good or better now to stay in the Prada Junior area (Mabs/Balkony/Barb/nightclubs) or perhaps near Monte Carlo?

This is a sad day indeed, but hopefully the new after-hours scene will develop by the time I land in GIG in a few weeks.

I'm arriving on the 15th. If this is indeed the end for Help, I'll actually go inside.

I should be in Rio a few days in May, but will be gone by the 15th (Bwana, feel free to visit me in POA if you have the time).

May have to visit Help for the last chance.

Perhaps TA will remain a hook-up place? Lots of people hang out there and never go inside Help.

Broman
It is my understanding its all gone, T.A., Help and most of the block!

This has been one long closing....they have been closing for years now. Last year the employees were also supposedly give their notices (I asked several of them, which concurred). It was all the buzz with the girls as well, again over one year ago they are still there.

I believe it when I see it.....

By the way, there is a forum on the help website ->
http://www.discoteca-help.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=376&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15

Since there have been about 500 false stories about the imminent closing of Help, I'm curious whether anyone on the ground in Rio can give better information. It's not that I don't trust Jag (I don't trust Jag, just to be clear), but who spoke with Help employees? Is Jag getting intelligence from his Help favoritas? Is there anyone here on CH who's in Rio and can offer some information?

I just raise this because I was catting on-line with a Help puta who dismissed this as a total rumor.

Well, it is a topic of conversation, the general consensus from Brasileros is it isn't closing. They're like me, if they drive/walk by and the the place is closed, then they'll believe that it's closed.

BD, is "catting on-line" some variation of a flirtatious, sexually charged chat, or were you having a spat? Either way, I like the term.

Exactly, Murasaki...both! If teens can "sext," my putas and I can "cat" on-line.

So here is the latest that I gathered and probably the source of the rumor. The plastic surgeon that hangs out at Help was telling guys that the employees got termination notices for the 15th. I talked to the doorman who is the son of the manager Saturday night and he said that the foreclosure has been approved but the dollar amount has not been agreed on yet.

So if the foreclosure has been granted, then how long will it take for the dollar amounted compensation to be actually paid out????

Also,I find it odd that these Help closing rumors have been spread around at specifically the time time period for the past couple of years now.

...inquiring minds NEED TO KNOW!

peace bredren.

-Le Marocain

Which is exactly where it supposedly was a few months ago when the 13 million Real (or was it dollar?) amount was thrown around.

Will all the ladies out of work get their health insurance continuied under COBRA?

Will they get unemployment insurance?

Will they have seniority rights under the next owner?

This could be a social disaster.

My goodness.

Nah, no need for sarcastic remarks.

My questions relate directly to the closure of Helpee and how it will affect the GDP scene in Copa. From my point of view nobody is sure what's going to happen yet. Some guys may want to get down there before the place supposedly closes, and that was the purpose of my previous question.

-LM

Don't take it that I was being sarcastic with you Superion187. It was not meant that way.

Just meant as a joke. Nothing personal.

Sorry if I offended you.

MM

Superion187,

First, welcome to CH. Second, there is a lot of humor, sarcasm, etc expressed here as it is another form of sharing what is sometimes repetitive [yawn] information in an entertaining way. As you become familiar with the various members and their styles of writing and self-expression it will become clear when you have been "flamed", rebuked, or whatever- I could simply think 'oh no, another newbie' and write something to the effect that you're as welcome as a tampon at an orgy, but I prefer to say that to Catocony(Cat)!! If I had a dollar for every time I was criticized I could buy another apartment in Rio.
Your questions can only be answered by the principals involved, the rest of us can only guess Fact is the rumors have been around for years, always the same rumor for the most part. It appears that it is going to finally happen, it's just a matter of working out the few details [money], and when the current owners must vacate as per the terms. Cat has the only crystal ball known to exist for these matters and he's not sharing!
Here's a couple of 'coupons for you when you go to Rio' .....accepted at all the finer establishments!

No problem fellas. I've just started posting here, but I've been lurking for years. I've actually enjoyed everyone's posts....but now I've figured that it's time for me to contribute to this forum in some way.


What's funny about the whole Brazil section on these certain message boards outside of CH is that I can actually remember back to the late 90's when Bwana Dik and maybe a couple other were posting about Rio(on some other nameless sites), but other than him there weren't many other reporters out there. After I made my maiden voyage there around 2000,along with Grownd Zero.....there was all of a sudden a Brazil EXPLOSION by 2003 where almost everyone and their grandma was posting pics and writing about Brazil. It's probably no coincidence that this was around the same time that the dollar was VERY strong against the Real.

I don't even know what my point is, but I can remember the days when the only account that I had of Rio was from Bwana Dik's reports. He was one of the first....that's for sure!

CooperF...


I suppose that only time will accurately answer the Help question.

Nonetheless, I will make it my purpose to use the "coupon" that you've attached to your post as this is the most respected type of coupon that one can have in Brazil and is accepted at ALL fine establishments, more than American Express in fact!

CFK is really underestimating the "few details". This is Brasil, where they pass a hard no-smoking law that is overturned in the blink of an eye because some unimportant judge somewhere said to. Remember the fingerprinting bullshit, where some jackass judge in bumfuck Mato Grasso with a huge inferiority complex about Americans summarily ordered the Federal Police to fingerprint all arriving Americans?

Think about how hard it is in the US to shut down a strip club or some other business that some people deem undesirable. Expand that to just about every recent example of eminent domain where it takes forever to make it happen. Now, if it's that tough in the US, where we actually have rule of law, think about the Brasilian process where corruption is more common than not and there are lot more mechanisms to clog up the plans.

My bet is these "few details" will drag on until whatever project is supposedly in the works is scrapped. Help will be open for years to come, it's as simple as that. It makes way too much money for it to close. If the government actually does order them to sell and close, I'm sure there's a long line of judges and politicians somewhere salivating to step in and "save" the owners, who will gladly pay some dough to keep the Golden Goose laying her eggs.

Catocony,

Excellent breakdown if I say so myself.......

Let the debates begin!

Cat,

your assessment is basically correct, but flawed. This has been ongoing for years, not just a recent decision, therefore using your analogy: 'forever to happen', well forever is fast approaching!
Superion187, see I told you he had a crystal ball!
Cat, thanks for sharing

CFK

Dude, you haven't been down here for a year so any and all info you get is at best 4th-hand. My assessment is from what I see and what I'm told by GdPs, taxi drivers, etc. The general assessment by those people is that the place isn't going anywhere, and I'll take their word over anyone else since they live with the system every day.

Until someone comes up with a really viable reason for closing the place and turning that small block into something else, then there's no positive incentive to knock it down. The block is too small for a high-rise mall or anything, so other than a dozen or two floors of oceanfront condos - which does make economic sense - nothing is going to happen.

And a smart developer would put a dance club on one of those dozen or two floors of oceanfront condos (either the top or the bottom), with a restaurant out in front.

Museum doesn't make sense, it couldn't provide the payoffs that Help does.

"If I had a dollar for every time I was criticized I could buy another apartment in Rio."

I don't think CFK really meant "could"; he meant "would.".

Now I for one am hoping CFK goes platonically gay, so he starts buying apartments for members of this site. I'm first in line though, and already agreed to sacrifice and only ask for a one-bedroom so he has enough left over to buy Catocony and a few other deserving souls apartments as well.

You guys are Hilarious!

Apartments are for his "special Number One" peeps but hey, I'll settle for the consolation-prize R$10,000 shopping trip in Barra. Shit, with him, you don't even have to finish in the top 10 to make out well, all participants in CFK's exploits get free Pringles and Red Bulls for life.

Superion187 ,

this is all your fucking fault! Please continue to be a lurker and use a 'magic 8 ball' as it answers all questions correctly.

Cat, the only regular exercise you get is stretching the truth. My wingmen and other contacts [inc. you!] keep me posted almost weekly. The only thing that has changed since my last visit is the entrance fee to the termas! I'm going down again in a couple of months, just to confirm everything!

Laguy, you are correct, I would buy another apartment, stock it with the hottest Garotas in Rio, and rent it out nightly to CH members. Can you imagine how fast it would pay for itself! I wouldn't rent it to Jag because he would need a hall pass from Lucy, but everyone else is eligible.



CFK

(Message edited by copperfieldkid on April 28, 2009)

(Message edited by copperfieldkid on April 28, 2009)

So which event is more likely to happen first?

Help closes?

CFK gets laid?

Sounds like a new poll....

Welcome, Superion187. So you've seen my really old stuff. I think I posted my first Rio report (not from my first Rio trip) in 1995 on the old newsgroup alt.sex.prostitution.

CFK in preparation for your upcoming trip below is a link to apartments you can consider for the Garotas. Thanks for the notification of your trip. I have notified the Garota network and they are mucho feliz! Barra Shopping is adding additional employees also for your shopping convenience. - Hemp

CFK potential apartment purchases?:
http://www.homesinrio.com/apartments-copacabana.htm

Bwana,

it's too close to call

Hemp, that link will save me hours, thanks

CFK

The idea that a museum would go where Help does sound pretty absurd on the surface. Beachfront property on Copacabana has got way too much commercial value to be appropriated for public use for no good reason. A casino…a hotel…a restaurant…even another type of club…I can see it being replaced by something like that. But a museum would be as out of place there as a library or a church.

If they’re serious about pushing ahead with it, they’d better make the museum rollerblade and flip-flops accessible.

I'm not a big fan of Help (I was in last Saturday, and it might be my last time - whether it stays open or not), but I would be very sad to see the scene outside at TA go away. The circus comes to town every night, and admission is free.

I'm with Cat on this one - I find it hard to believe that whoever is raking in all that money can't find a fissure in the bureaucracy to drizzle a taste to an official who could stall any action, perhaps indefinitely.

This is Brazil, after all.

If Help was transformed into a Museum of Prostitution I'd pay to go in. They could have video clips of termas action, festas at VIPs, and such. I could see one section recreating a termas, with guests changing into robes to walk through. Another exhibit would feature street hookers. Still another would be a recreation of a section of VM, complete with a food stall. They'd need a "wax museum" with figures of all our favorite termas, agency, and freelancer stars: Camila, Bia, Thaiza, Rebecca, Layla, Claudinha, Tatiana, Gleice and all the other "Hall of Famers." A special display on Help would feature Jag and MBL.

Anything else I'll boycott.

Bwana,

That's a funny joke, but it also has some substance. If Rio city officials were really honest with themselves instead of being almost pathologically insecure, they would embrace that aspect of their city and culture and memorialize it in a museum - no bullshit or joke intended.

Maybe the current location of Help isn't the right place, but the city deserves a museum dedicated to prostitution and its contribution to international tourism. Anyone who thinks that would be too crass or tacky should consider that there are several tour shops in Copacabana that offer tours of the favellas.

If unplanned development of rudimentary housing in a semi-lawless confederation of independent municipalities isn't an embarrassment to city officials, why should the businesses spawned by legal prostitution be?

Guys,

As much as I want to believe that somehow good ole Help will still be open when I arrive in a few weeks, numerous sources have provided concrete info on why this is for real this time.

This is what Kenn from EZ Rio Rentals wrote me the other day: "Are you aware that according to the newspapers the courts have issued a closing date of May.15 for Help?". Note that this statement was unsolicited.

Does anyone on the board have any convincing intel suggesting that the May 15th date will get pushed back, other than the general expectation for 3rd world corruption to save the day?

Yeah, it's Brasil. Nothing ever happens when it supposedly is.

I won't believe Help is closing until someone tells me they walked by and it was boarded up, been hearing this since 2001.

I highly doubt the owners are business geniuses in any stretch of the imagination, but if you owned Help and were definitely closing in 2 weeks, don't you think you would let it be known. I sure know I would have a huge sign on the door and raise prices (at least for Men) another $R10.

I heard they have agreed on a number and are putting in a mixed use development...ground floor high end retail with Prada, LV, Gucci and I heard Barbarella's was relocating there as well.
Second floor will be condos. The sales office will be in the back of Barbarella's.

The concept is that you can pick a garota, take her shopping and close escrow on a condo in her name all in the time it takes for a program.

In all seriousness, foreclosure is the easy part...agreeing on price could take years.

Copabrasil thank you for the information and update. This will make it very easy and convenient for CFK. Since he is in his later years this one stop shopping convenience is fantastic for him. Once again thanks for this current information for our buddy. Great reporting! - Hemp

Copa-

I assume this is the CFK Mall we've been hearing so much about? You left out the bank of ATMs sitting out front.

Hemp,

you'd betray Wally on Leave It to Beaver wouldn't you!!

Wally? Leave it to Beaver? - Sorry CFK that was way before my time! I'm just a simple middle aged guy trying to get laid every now and then. Thanks Hemp -

Bwana - CFK Mall has a nice ring to it! Thanks

And just to help out Diversity, Nokia and Motorola will also open up stores there.

(Message edited by catocony on April 30, 2009)

I have a hunch this whole thread will probably cave in soon......may the germ gods smile upon all of you

will there be a stall where we can hand in garotas mobile numbers,that we think deserves to be the owner of the next apartment cfk buys?

Yes CFK to answer your private email last night there will be Salons, ATM Machines and Jewelry stores for your added convenience and the Condo's will be 2 and 3 bedrooms with a few Penthouses for that special Garota if you wish! Oh you lucky guy! - Hemp

CFK Technologies and CFK Properties are always up for any task! The real problem will be greeter selection for the Help museum!

What about the Pringles?

BT,
Pringles are always complimentary, we want everyone to feel welcome. The expensive rent has to be compensated somehow.

I spoke to two garcons and a security guard at Help last night. All 3 said that help is not closing anytime soon, they are pushing the closing date till september. Which means not until the new years, which means after carnival. etc.......

So, this means there's still a possibility--slim, but real--that CFK may get laid before Help closes.

I doubt it, although I guess miracles do happen?

Hemp

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a can of Pringles!

(Message edited by copperfieldkid on May 02, 2009)

At this rate, CFK will be lucky to get a hummer before the polar icecaps melt.

It will happen, trust me..........

(Message edited by copperfieldkid on May 02, 2009)

Sure, it'll happen, but it'll cost him an apartment at minimum.

Maybe not. I hear CFK is consulting with Jag on garota compensation, he may be able to get away with a couple of microwaves.

I spoke to a garota inside of help this past friday night and she said in perfect english that they have just signed an agrrement to keep it open for 2 more years. Take it for whats it worth.

It's as good (and as bad) as any other intel offered here. But it does bring to mind the old Rio joke:

Q: How can you tell when a garota de programa is lying?
A: Her lips are moving.

As the old cliché goes: only time will tell.

Well, it looks like all of you vet naysayers were right. I've seen on another board that it was business as usual at Help this weekend. Can anyone here confirm what the atmosphere at Help was this weekend and if there's any more news about the legal situation of the club (i.e., the eminent domain process)?

Atmosphere? I hear it smelled like a combination of puke and animal feces by the back bar area and the perfume from the favela hookers was mixing with the gallons of cologne from the Eurotrash guys to create a small toxic cloud on the right side of the main dance floor.

Help Disco, turning ordinary Garotas into tit flashing women and GDP's since 1984. A wise career choice! [...and what the HELL IS THAT SMELL?]

The Help/TA addicts [guilty as charged] are the majority of the membership. Witness:

Help closing.
Poll created 03/29/09 by Latinalover
Will you miss help if it closes?

Yes
69% (45 votes)
No
30% (20 votes)

The majority have spoken, batshit crazy women or not you would still fuck them.

Cat, maybe when someone names a ship after you things will get better!

OK - now this is getting more serious!

Two days ago on Globo Televison they presented the architect's drawing that had WON the competition for the MUSEUM that will replace Help.

And no - it will not be a pussy museum!

The winning bid was uglier than any Help garota you have ever seen - guaranteed (and I am including the blonde "veteran" with the dark roots and the chicklets witch on Terraco Atlantico).

And yes - I will miss Helpee, like all of you, admit it!

so it might still be there next time one comes to rio,how long before all the i told you so stars rolling in?

So we are taking this thread down the same path once again (and again, and again).

I think by just looking at the history, it has become obvious not to believe anything anymore.

'Help' is open (I was there last night). If ever it does close it will be posted right here hot of the presses on CH.

I am sure we can all once again post our rumors regarding dates, but those dates mean nothing!!!

I have heard many things as well - that the group that own's 'Help' bought the closed down high rise Hotel in Leme (Close to the Balcony Bar) and will eventually open the hotel again alongside a disco. This disco is rumored to be a hooker club, just like 'Help'. The thought being that the girls will naturally migrate from 'Help' to this new place. I have no idea if this is true, but it sounds good .... it should would be nice to have everything concentrated in one area close to each other.

But again, rumors, and more rumors....I believe nothing anymore!

'Help' was hoping along just fine last night...that is the only thing I can believe.

I had heard that the old Le Meridian cannot be reopened due to some sort of issue with the complete lack of emergency stairs or something? The place has been empty for a few years and for it to go from an ultra-lux hotel to vacant seems really strange.

Artist's rendering of the new museum.



Nothing in Brazil happens on time. Don't put too much stock in the "two months" closing time. I have been told by a friend in Rio that mediators are still trying to set fair compensation for the owners of the property.

(Message edited by BWana_dik on August 14, 2009)

Thanks, Bwana, for the picture! It hurts to look at, where are those strangely bent legs??

I was at Help also last night, and it was just fine, and I didn't say anything about 2 months. Only that the contest result on Globo news is a little more serious, in my opinion, than just rumors from a garota or waiter at Terraco.

First time I was in Rio was in 1984, 2 years before Help opened, so there IS life before and after Help.

Skisandy,

First time I was in Rio was March, 1981, 3 years before Help opened. I'm living proof there IS life before and after Help. First trip I stayed at Le Meridian as a matter of fact. I reserved a king, got a room with twin beds! I was pissed...however I 'tied' them together [supposedly no other rooms available]and it worked out. Thirty minutes later after 'fixing' the room and putting my stuff away I walked outside, stood on the sidewalk for about a minute and a girl walks up and starts taking to me, and within another two minutes asks if I like making love! What a wonderful opening line, welcome to Rio!! That's when I became an avocational gynecologist.

CFK

"I had heard that the old Le Meridian cannot be reopened due to some sort of issue with the complete lack of emergency stairs or something? The place has been empty for a few years and for it to go from an ultra-lux hotel to vacant seems really strange."

It's going to be another hotel in the Windsor chain, they bought it from PREVI, the Banco do Brasil’s staff pension fund, so I guess that le Meridian was leasing the property. PREVI has been trying to sell the property for a number of years.

Here is the blog-> http://avenidacopacabana.blogspot.com/?widgetType=BlogArchive&widgetId=BlogArchive1&action=toggle&dir=open&toggle=MONTHLY-1201831200000&toggleopen=MONTHLY-1249095600000

Here is what one part of the blog says:

As obras devem começar no início de 2010, mas muito dificilmente as coisas aqui acontecem exatamente conforme as previsões.

A expectativa é de que o museu fique pronto dois anos e meio após a demolição do prédio em que hoje funciona a principal atração do turismo sexual no Rio de Janeiro, a Boate Help, o piranhódromo da Avenida Atlântica.

Translating to:

Work should begin in the beginning of 2010, but very rarely do things happen here exactly like forecasted. The expectation is that museum will open two years after demolition of the building that today has the main appeal for sexual tourism in Rio de Janeiro, the Nightclub Help, the piranhódromo of the Atlantic Avenue.

So, lets see what happens - again, once they close I will actually believe it. The key part being "very rarely do things happen here exactly like forecasted".

It will be interesting if another club will take up the slack or where the girls will disburse to. I personally think the Balcony Bar will explode. I have already seen a huge number of Help girls going there before Help opens.

MUL1261213-5606%2C00-PROJETO+AMERICANO+GANHA+CONCURSO+DO+NOVO+MUSEU+EM+COPACABANA.html,http://g1.globo.com/Noticias/Rio/0,,MUL1261213-5606,00-PROJETO+AMERICANO+GANHA+CONCURSO+DO+NOVO+MUSEU+EM+COPACABANA.html

Here's the link to the O Globo story about the architectural competition for the museum building to replace Help. The winner is a US firm. If you go to that firm's website you can see more detailed pictures, for what that's worth.

http://www.dillerscofidio.com/

On some local discussion boards in Rio, guys are debating whether this will make Copa more or less safe. Some think the favelado putas will move on elsewhere and the banditos will go other places in search of easy prey. Others think that the favelados will just become more desperate because the putas and their boyfriends will have lost the easiest source of money.

Time will tell.

According to the article, work on the museum will begin in early 2010. It says nothing about a closing date for Help.

As nothing happens according to plans or on schedule in Brazil, I see no reason why this project would.

Bwana just posted in a different thread he believes it will close when a GDP buys ME an apartment!
I have no need to state or say anything more...next topical issue please.

CFK

Tonight is supposed to be the last night??
End of a 25 year run, R.I.P

I was able to pay my last respects, homage, and reminisce all the great times I had there last Sunday nite.

I asked the head suit, the bald headed guy with specs named Begnino when it would close, and he didn't know either?

Personally, the best times there was last had in 1997. The garotas were less mercenary, and I was on the prowl for once or twice a month GdP. And a more favorable exchange rate/cambio also "Helped".

Life go's on, the GdP's will still need to work. And us Hombres will still cum to Rio and score:-) sf4dfish