IT may be called Kings Cross but The Daily Telegraph’s test of who is more likely to get a free ride at Sydney’s most famous nightclub strip has found mostly women receive the royal treatment.

Journalists Ian Walker and Tanya Smart hit the town recently in a battle of the sexes that clearly became a one-sided battle. Read their experiences below.

media_camera Tanya Smart and Ian Walker inside Hugo's in Kings Cross.

THE HIGH PRICE OF BEING A NICE GUY

IAN WALKER

AFTER visiting a few clubs in the Cross my wallet is $69 lighter.

I’ve been charged or rejected at every place I’ve been to — and, being a guy, it’s no surprise.

The night isn’t off to a good start when I notice the doorman at The Club scoping my freshly bought black Vans shoes out of the corner of his eye.

“Sorry mate, we have a dress code and your shoes are too casual,” he said.

He was nice, he was friendly, but I wasn’t getting in without leather lace ups.

“No worries,” I said before Tanya left the place and joined me in the Hugo’s line upstairs.

It begs the question, how

many women leave a club for the same reason?

We’re side by side on the steps for a few seconds before I’m alone again. Tanya waves and smiles at the doorman and in an instant he ushers her past two groups of people. When I reach the summit the friendly door girl tells me it will be $20 for entry.

Hugo’s is where I have my only victory of the night, beating Tanya at the bar in getting the first drink.

She’s served by a guy, I’m served by a girl — it’s an equal playing field.

Next we go to Beach Haus on Roslyn St. I’m asked if I’m on the list, I’m not, but that’s no problem, $20 and I’m in.

I run into a high-school friend at the bar and the club owner offers me a free drink. It isn’t so bad being a guy after all.

media_camera Ian Walker and Tanya Smart ready for a night out in Kings Cross. Picture: Damian Shaw

FLUTTER THE EYELIDS AND STEP INSIDE

TANYA SMART

THEY call it Lady Luck. And during a night out on the streets of Sydney, where a boozy knees-up cost this young woman just $9, it seemed as if Lady Luck’s face was smiling from every bar, nightclub queue and cash register.

Only once was I forced to dive into my purse for a beverage but in all other cases a confident attitude, a fluttering of my eyelids and a friendly smile was all I needed to become the Queen of Kings Cross.

In the party epicentre of Australia, gender is the hottest ticket in town. I felt like nightclub royalty as I jumped queues and sidestepped entry fees.

As I walked into The Club on Bayswater Rd it didn’t take long for the doorman to ask me If I was alone. “Yes,” I smiled, and trotted in free.

Ian was rejected because of his shoes so we walked upstairs to Hugo’s. Once again, with a smile and a wave, I managed to skip 10 places and was among the fun.

As I jigged and jived, Ian was shown to the side where I watched him pay, and wait.

We left Hugo’s and took a stroll to a popular nightclub strip on Roslyn St. It was much the same here, I greeted the security guard and door girl and walked in as Ian forked out more cash. Once inside, I was treated to seemingly endless alcohol by the club’s owner.

Cashed-up and content, I left Kings Cross before midnight knowing I had milked it for less than it was worth.

THE CLUB: Ian: rejected; Tanya: free entry

HUGO’S: Ian: charged entry and left to wait; Tanya: free entry and waved in

BEACH HAUS: Ian: $20 entry; Tanya: free entry and skipped the queue

THE BACKROOM: Ian: $20 entry; Tanya: free entry and waved in

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FREEBIES FUEL DRINK FEARS Naomi White

KINGS Cross clubs resorting to free or discounted drink promotions and free entry to beat dwindling patron numbers are fuelling new fears club-hopping punters are getting dangerously drunk while taking up the freebies.

Since the introduction of lock-outs in the nightclub strip, peak Friday and Saturday night crowds have been as low as 6000 since February — down from 20,000 two years ago.

Clubs in the area have been using drink promotions and waiving entry fees in a bid to get people in clubs earlier in the night.

But patrons are reportedly using the offers to visit various venues with free drinks.

Friends Nina Gabriella, 19, Siena Armati, Mani Houston and Katelin Gregg, all 18, said it was a common trend among their friends.

When The Daily Telegraph spoke with them on Friday night, they had been offered four flyers containing drink offers in just a few hundred metres.

“They’re offering you a drink so you go ‘OK, we’ve had a drink and it’s free entry somewhere else so we’ll go there’,” Miss Gregg said.

“Definitely, lots of people do it, clubs think they’re attracting people to then stay, but then everyone’s like ‘let’s just go to another place’,” Miss Houston added.

A spokesman for the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing said while there were no restrictions on clubs offering promotions, the office didn’t encourage heavy drinking.

In the 12 months to May 2014, OLGR issued “show cause” notices to 93 liquor promotions or activities, banning 67 of them.

“Careful management of the number of free drinks provided to each individual is important to reduce the risk of rapid consumption and intoxication,” he said.

However, Ms Gregg said the free-drink-club-hop trail was leading to people drinking more, resulting in some of them getting drunk and being shown the door.

“A lot of my friends have been getting a lot drunker, a couple have been getting kicked out,” she said.

Kings Cross Liquor Accord Co-ordinator Doug Grand said the accord was currently reviewing whether promotional activity should be considered on a precinct-wide basis instead of an individual venue promotion.

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