TAMPA – Local strip clubs are making big-time preparations for Super Bowl fans to test the community’s reputation as the lap dance capital of the world.

Dancers from around the nation are arriving daily to audition for work from now until the end of the Feb. 1 Super Bowl at Raymond James Stadium.

Many establishments, like the landmark Mons Venus, plan to be open 24 hours a day during at least part of the week leading up to the game.

In the world of strip clubs, few weeks are as lucrative as the one leading up to the Super Bowl. And perhaps no host community is more prepared to reap the financial rewards than Tampa.

The Tampa Bay area has 44 strip clubs, according data compiled by The Tampa Tribune. That’s more than the states of Oklahoma, Kentucky and Tennessee, according to the Ultimate Strip Club List, which bills itself as the nation’s authority on the subject.

“It’s going to be a huge economic boon,” said Monica Fox, general manager of Secrets Cabaret, a club on Adamo Drive that promises an “unforgettable experience.”

Secrets will bring in about 20 extra dancers and extend hours during Super Bowl week, Fox said.

Clubs have updated their bars, lighting and sound systems to capitalize on their share of the 100,000 people expected to visit Tampa Bay for the game.

Some clubs are finishing new VIP rooms where customers spend hundreds of dollars an hour for private dances and a bottle of champagne. A few establishments have held contests for months that will culminate during Super Bowl week when visitors choose the winners.

Many clubs will offer specials, including coupons on their Web sites and free or discounted admission before busy evening hours.

The Penthouse Club, Tampa’s upscale steakhouse and strip club, is putting up a 2,400- square-foot tent for expanded operations.

The club has 40 dancers on a normal night. During Super Bowl week, it will have up to 100 dancers at any given time

“It’s going to be ridiculous,” said Jim Sparks, a manager.

The establishment is bringing in motor homes where the dancers can get ready, along with additional make-up artists and hairstylists, Sparks said. Additional kitchen staff will be added, as well.

“We’ve been preparing for months,” he said. “We’ll have extra everything.”

Mons Venus along Dale Mabry Highway is among a cluster of strip clubs within walking distance of Raymond James Stadium and many of the of the Super Bowl activities.

Mons Venus staff is auditioning girls from strip clubs around the nation who want to work there during the Super Bowl.

Dancers at the club could make $100 to $200 an hour, said Lorry Kasner, a manager. The girls are free to work as much as they want during the week.

Dancers at most clubs, like Mons Venus, are contractors who pay to work at the establishments.

“People are calling all the time for tryouts,” Kasner said.

The tryouts are simple.

The candidate can come in whenever she wants during business hours and dance on stage to three songs. She must be naked by the last song.

“You can talk to people on the phone, but you’ve really got to look at them,” Kasner said. “You’ve got to see them.”

The staff decides immediately whether the candidate is hired.

“Our girls are all 8s, 9s and 10s,” Kasner said.