Prostitution in Vegas is illegal, but that’s okay. For a little jiggle, you can check out the innumerable gentlemen’s clubs and strip shows. Even many of the ritzy hotels often have their own “tantalizing topless revues.” Freemont Street, the heart of old Vegas and one of the city’s largest attractions, is home to more than one strip club.
But a short drive will get you more than jiggle. Fifty miles west of Las Vegas on Highway 160, just accross the Clark county line in Nye county you’ll find the sleepy town of Pahrump — “heart of the new Old West” according to the welcome sign at the town line. There you’ll find more casinos and at least four bordellos: the Chicken Ranch (named from The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas), Sheri’s, the Venus Bath and Massage Salon, and Madamme Butterfly’s.
Much of the rest of this story owes a great debt to an anonymous Internet user who calls himself The Scientist. He has taken it upon himself to explain whorehouse etiquette.
So how much does it cost? According to The Scientist, price is by negotiation with the girls. However, he does say that the girls he likes often charge $200 to $300 for their normal services. His favorite girl is Honey at The Mustang Ranch, just outside Reno and far North of Las Vegas. He describes her as a tall brunette with flawless skin and ‘supermodel’ figure. Most important to The Scientist during his yearly vists with Honey is the conversation they have afterwards: “Honey remembers me, even though we only see each other once a year. She remembers what we talked about before, including what I’ve shared about my personal life. …Honey travels a lot and she tells me what her trip was like (she’s traveled in Egypt, along the Amazon River, etc.).”
The Scientist tells us that the women he finds at the ranches “are of all religious faiths; lots of Southern Baptists and Catholics, and I’ve met just about all other denominations including Lutherans, Mormons (very sensual), and one very wild Jehovah’s Witness. Then there was the lady whose mother was a Russian Jew, and the Thai girl (Buddhist) who gave me a massage by walking on my back. But I have yet to knowingly boing an atheist; none of the ladies have professed being one.”
But not all the women are attractive. “It’s often hard to tell what a lady’s figure is really like in the lineup because of the loose gowns and lingerie that they sometimes wear. Relatively few of the ladies are what I would call slender.” Loose gowns aren’t the only trick, though: “the lighting isn’t always all that good when the ladies are lined up, and sometimes I pick one out, go to her room and change my mind once I’ve gotten a closer look.” “It is hard to be nice and not hurt her feelings and be honest; try to be nice to the lady” mr. Scientist admonishes us.
Pahrump isn’t all brothels and ladies ranches; a winery in town defies the desert by growing grapes and producing a fair table wine. Further West, tourists too timid for the real thing can safely introduce themselves to the whorehouse experience at the Brothel Art Museum in Crystal, Nevada.
Travelers’ Aid:
Best Cat Houses in Nevada by J.R. Schwartz, from Straight Arrow Publishing Company