Jenna: After dad resigned from the force, we moved to Peppertree, right?

Tony: No, we moved to Elko.

Larry: We moved to Elko because I had a girlfriend in the sheriff’s department who wanted me to come up there. But my girlfriend turned out to be such a shit that I packed you guys up one day and returned to Vegas. If you don’t love my kids, to hell with you.

Jenna: Elko was where I began my pageants.

Tony: Dad had always taken her to dance class and tap and all that. She had always been a good ballet dancer. Not too many ballet dancers can do toe. But you were on pointe. You picked it up right away. So when you went into pageants, I thought it was a natural progression.

Jenna: What happened was I joined the cheerleading squad again in Elko and I was really good. I was the captain. I put the whole cheerleading team together, I taught everyone dance routines and cheers. We’d have fund-raisers to get the uniforms and everything. That’s how I started to get a little bit popular for the first time in my life. Then I started doing pageants because one of the popular girls did them. I was like, “I can shred these people.”

All the other girls had their mothers supporting them, and I was alone. Dad really didn’t have any money and it wasn’t something he was into, so I did everything by myself. When they would do bake sales for fundraisers, I would make these pathetic brownies. I bought my own dress. I got all the sponsorships for my modeling sportswear.

Larry: I remember your first pageant in Elko.

Tony: All the other girls had these pageant moms and choreographers, and Jenna had just choreographed her whole routine in the backyard the day earlier. And she won overall.

Jenna: It was to “In the Navy.” I shredded. There are a lot of titles you can win for the different events, but the best one is the overall title because you’re competing with girls from ages three to eighteen.

Tony: And she kept going and going after that.

Jenna: I never lost a pageant. From the local pageant, I had to go to state, which is a big thing because there are probably one hundred to two hundred girls competing. To win a state title is huge, and I went in there and won for best interview, most photogenic, and modeling. I didn’t win overall. There were girls who were just so stupidly talented. Besides, singers always win over dancers.

Larry: But you were probably the only one who did the whole thing by yourself.

Jenna: Trying to raise the money for nationals was insane. They are in Arkansas. And I had to pay for a cross-country trip and hotel. You have to have a certain kind of dress and makeup and everything.

I met this girl Amy at state. And we would put our crowns and sashes on, and walk around to all the businesses in Las Vegas looking for sponsors. Oh my God, I can’t believe I did this. We’d go into car dealerships and ask for money. We were shameless. We would do car washes. You name it. We scrounged. I remember selling my old pageant dress.

Larry: I do remember Tony and I going down and hawking all of our guns.

Tony: That was for state. We made two thousand dollars. The only thing that paid for was the entrance fee. It’s a big scam.

Jenna: I was psycho about getting the money I needed for everything else. We got turned away from places a lot. Amy would never want to go back, but I would keep going. Remember, I’d beg you to drive me by Fletcher Jones? I went in there every day. They were like, “Oh, for the love of God, she’s back.” And I’d say, “I’m back. Are you ready to sponsor me? It’s only fifteen more days until nationals. I really need you guys. I’m going to be famous.” I was like the girl who never stopped. And I got those fuckers to sponsor me for $150. Yes! That was one of my biggest sponsors.

Tony: And then after she won a pageant, Jenna would go back and tell them, “You are the reason I won this. Do you want to sponsor me again?”

Jenna: I was a hustler. I would network all the different pageants. At the time I didn’t think it was anything weird. But for someone who was so shy, it was crazy. When I wanted something I would go to any length to get it. I knew I had the talent; I just needed the money. I was so determined.

My interview capabilities were psychotic; I was able to turn it on even back then. When they asked me these generic questions, I would make each one my own. But I would always score low on my beauty because I looked super young for my age.

Tony: It gave you great stage presence and lots of practice dancing and competing. That’s why you worked great at Crazy Horse. Most girls who become strippers are usually really hot but don’t know how to dance and entertain. Well, Jenna went up there and did full choreographed performances. Remember when I took you to that bike run when you were sixteen?

Jenna: Yeah, and there was that wet T-shirt contest. I was crazy about winning any contest, so I did a couple shots and went up there. I got totally naked onstage and won.

Tony: You got a trophy and five hundred bucks.

Larry: I had never seen her perform outside of the pageants. The only time I saw you perform was your show…

Jenna:… at the strip club that my uncle owned.

Larry: Of course I walked out. But I was absolutely stunned at how wonderful you were. Stunned.

Tony: Even when she danced at Crazy Horse I would go in…

Larry: I was so proud, man. That was so fucked up but I kept saying, “God, isn’t she great? She’s great!” I’ll tell you what: you’ve got a cast-iron constitution. I don’t know how you do it. You have to deal with all those different kinds of guys. Twenty minutes of that and I would start stabbing people in the eye with a fork.