NBA Staff

 (Mound House, NV) – More than a year after closing because of a series of emergency orders issued by Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak, Lyon County’s legal brothels will reopen for business.

“It’s official,” wrote Madame Suzette, owner of four legal brothels in Lyon County.  “After 14 months the Moonlite Bunny Ranch and the Sagebrush Ranch will be opening their doors Saturday, May 1st.”

Cole said reopening plans for the other two legal brothels, the Kit Kat Ranch and Love Ranch, have not yet been finalized.

Beginning May 1, Nevada’s counties will regain regulatory control over business openings.  At a special meeting on April 14, Lyon County voted in favor of a reopening plan that has been approved by the state COVID task force.

“The Board of Commissioners approved the plan that removes limitations to large, indoor or outdoor gatherings, opened businesses up to 100 percent occupancy and authorizes that brothels can open May 1, 2021,” said County Manager Jeff Page.

While the governor’s mask mandate will remain in place, Kiki Lover, a legal sex worker at the Sagebrush Ranch, doesn’t foresee any problem with compliance.

“Just let us reopen,” Lover said.  “We can definitely do our jobs with a mask on. It’s not that hard.”

The Lyon County brothels have prepared safety and health protocols related to COVID-19 that meet or exceed all CDC and state guidelines.  You can read them here.

Cole noted that over 500 employees and independent contractors have been sidelined for over a year as a result of the governor’s March 2020 shutdown order, many of whom have been unable to access unemployment and other relief benefits due to ongoing stigma about the industry.

“This has been a long, painful and, frankly, unfair wait for our industry,” Cole concluded.  “But all of us are excited to finally be able to jump back in the saddle.  Love is in the air.”

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On January 28, 2021, the Lyon County Board of County Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution declaring an “economic emergency” that has developed due to COVID-19 directives issued by the governor which has put “restaurants, bars, casinos, brothels and other dining and entertainment industry businesses in danger of permanent closure.”

In an effort “to avoid irreparable economic damage” to the county, the commission urges Lyon County businesses to “continue to operate within the Governor’s ‘emergency directives’ in good faith” while allowing them “to determine how and if to implement those directives relative to their business model.”

In his comments, Commissioner Wes Henderson thanked Commissioner Ken Gray and Commissioner Vida Keller for “including brothels in the resolution.”

“Our brothels are a legal industry in Lyon County,” the commissioner continued, “and they have been unfairly singled out by the governor.  If I want to go get a tattoo today, I can go get a tattoo.  If someone wanted to go get a body piercing today, they can go get their body pierced.  But they can’t visit a brothel.  And that’s just not right and it is hurting this county financially.”

In response, Suzette Cole, owner and CEO of Lyon County’s four legal brothels, issued the following statement…

“Despite having agreed to implement a comprehensive plan of COVID-related health and safety protocols that meet or exceed those recommended by the governor, Lyon County’s brothels continue to be the only businesses in the county that remain completely and totally shut down by the governor’s directives.

“We are enormously grateful to the Lyon County Board of Commissioners for recognizing that legal brothels are an essential business that provide a valuable service, employment for hundreds of workers, and tax revenue for the county.

“We are reviewing today’s declaration of emergency with legal counsel and will be making a decision on reopening for business in a safe and responsible manner in the future.”

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