In the News

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The world famous Mustang Ranch east of Sparks has been closed since March because of COVID-19 and the working women there say they are being forced to make money in what they call dangerous, scary and illegal ways. Several of them are opening up to News 4 about what they’ve gone through since the closure.

Some of them admit to illegal activity like prostituting which has led to being raped and attacked, according to the women. For their safety, we have concealed their identity for this story.

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(Kelly Gilblom | Bloomberg) – The coronavirus may have stopped most of American life, but one pastime promises to persist. Nevada’s legal brothels say they are there for it.

The largest houses say they are still open, though they are taking precautions. For example, Chicken Ranch, in Pahrump said it will require brothel workers and staff to “wash their hands regularly and use hand sanitizers as needed,” according to a letter from its general manager. It’s also having staff take their temperatures daily.

The Nevada Brothel Association said workers are already subjected to weekly health tests, according to a blog post on its website. Still, it has asked businesses to turn away ill visitors and is encouraging “‘virtual happy hours’ with clients and friends to maintain human connections and social interactions during this stressful period of time,” according to a statement posted on its website.

The group also recommends brothels turn away clients who have been overseas during the past two weeks and reduce the number of stools in bars by half to encourage social distancing.

“Health and safety is, and always has been, our primary concern,” Suzette Cole, the owner of four brothels in Lyon County and head of the trade group’s political action committee, wrote in the blog post.

— With assistance by Christopher Palmeri

(James DeHaven | Reno Gazette-Journal) – Nevada’s oldest brothel has released a new mini-documentary touting the benefits of legalized sex work, landing the latest blow in a years-long battle between sex workers and anti-prostitution activists.

The slickly produced 8-minute short film — commissioned by the Mustang Ranch and debuted at the Storey County brothel on Thursday — features interviews with sex workers interspersed with romantic, dimly lit shots of a male brothel guest undressing. …

The film concludes with a title card encouraging viewers to keep brothels legal in Nevada — by far the movie’s most explicit nod to the ongoing spat over Nevada’s prostitution industry. …

Reno attorney Jason Guinasso and other brothel ban proponents have long pledged to keep up the fight against legalized sex work, and are expected to continue pushing the issue when the Nevada Legislature reconvenes early next year.

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(Amy Alonzo | Reno Gazette-Journal) – Lyon County sex worker Alice Little was the highest paid courtesan within in the state for 2019 and was named “Companion of the Year” for the third consecutive year.

Little, 29, works at the Moontlite Bunny Ranch in Mound House.

The title of “Companion of the Year” is awarded to the highest-earning courtesan from the company’s network of Nevada bordellos, making Little the most financially successful licensed prostitute in the United States.

Little brought in about $1.2 million in 2019, more than twice that of the second-highest earning sex worker. …

“If I can do it, anybody can do it. I’m a 4-foot 8-inch redhead. I’m not a supermodel … I’m proud of the work that I do and I’m honored to be publicly recognized as a successful prostitute.”

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(Robin Hebrock | Pahrump Valley Times) – When the initial draft of the most recent changes to Nye County Code Title 9 was proposed late last year, the inclusion of an expanded “lock-down” rule for the courtesans elicited instant indignation among those who work in and support the brothel industry.

Sex workers and brothel advocates took a firm public stance against what they felt to be overly-restrictive limitations of the courtesans’ personal time, and in response, Nye County decided to scrap the proposed expanded “lock-down” policy which called for the sex workers to be allowed off brothel premise for just six hours every 10-day period.

Going even further, the Nye County Commission has now officially removed all references to restrictions of the courtesans’ ability to leave brothel property, voting to delete the existing section that calls for medical testing any time a courtesan is away from the brothel for more than 24 hours.

The brothel code amendments went before the the Nye County Commission at its Dec. 17 meeting, where several representatives of the brothel industry were present.

Courtesan Kourtney Chase started off by detailing that she works at the Chicken Ranch. She focused her comments on the existing portion of the code calling for medical testing whenever a courtesan leaves the brothel for more than 24 hours.

“Today is Dec. 17, which actually happens to be International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, which I feel is the perfect day to stand up and try to make work conditions better for my peers,” Chase stated. “What other legal type of workers in the United States have to be locked away because of the risks of their job? None of them. Just look at porn stars, who have been statistically shown to have a higher rate of STD transmission than legal brothel workers.”

Using protection, Chase asserted, is the only way to prevent sexually transmitted diseases. Testing, she stated, is merely a way to monitor a courtesan’s health and does nothing to stop the courtesan from getting a sexually transmitted disease or transmitting it, because certain STDs can take weeks or even months to show up in medical testing results.

“The 24-hour lock-down policy is based on the stigma of sex workers being dirty and irresponsible, not scientific facts. I urge you to repeal the 24-hour lock-down policy in the Nye County brothel ordinance so that courtesans may go home to their families at night and be able to live normal lives,” Chase stated.

Well-known political consultant Chuck Muth, who worked with famed brothel owner Dennis Hof on his campaign for the Nevada Assembly District 36 seat in 2018, a campaign Hof posthumously won, was also present.

“I had no involvement in the brothel industry until three years ago,” Muth explained for the commission. “And one thing I have gotten to know, from their standpoint, is, the terrible stigma that goes with this legal business in Nevada and I just want to commend this commission for the language changes you have in this proposal, referring to these professional women as courtesans and as brothels rather than houses of prostitution. I don’t know that you really fully appreciate how much that means to the women in this industry so I want to thank you.”

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