The Nevada Sagebrush

Ladies and gentlemen, be proud, be embarrassed, be disgusted, be aroused, but know that you are living in one of only two states in the country that maintains legalized brothels.

As a Nevadan, especially if you’re from Las Vegas, you may have encountered wondering, wide-eyed people asking you, “Do you ever see hookers walking down the street?”The answer is most likely, “Yes, I have seen hookers walking down the street – at least they looked like hookers to me!”

While there are many prostitutes who walk the streets to do their business (or maybe they’re just tourists walking back to their hotels from clubs who’re mistaken as prostitutes), this is not legal in Nevada. Prostitutes must work at licensed brothels. Brothels are only legal in counties of less than 400,000 citizens, so Clark and Washoe counties are not eligible, but anyone who’s made the drive from Las Vegas to Reno knows there are plenty to be enjoyed along the way. And if you’re anything like me, you’ve counted them, paid close attention and kept an eye out for any glimpses of the local harlots.

So besides bought sex, what goes on in these brothels? What kinds of standards are maintained in the world of legalized prostitution?

To run a brothel, fees must be paid ranging from $200 per year in Lander County all the way to $100,000 per year in Storey County. Prostitutes must be at least 21-years-old (or 18 in Storey and Lyon counties) and must be checked weekly for STDs. Condoms are mandatory at all brothels and prostitutes are tested monthly for HIV.

Since mandatory HIV tests began in 1986, no prostitute from a brothel has ever tested positive for HIV. That’s good for the customer and the brothel because according to Nevada state law, brothels are held liable if any of their customers become HIV positive.

Brothels don’t typically have set prices, but the cheapest you’ll find is about $100 per half hour. Once a customer enters a brothel, the prostitutes introduce themselves and the customer chooses which one he wants, much like buying a car or a brand of toilet cleaner. Before he gets into her panties, the lady and gentleman negotiate the price they will pay and then they get on with it. The prostitute usually keeps half of the money she receives and the rest goes to the brothel.

So if we’re the only ones in the country who do this, what does it say about us? Are we open-minded, backwards and immoral, or just out of our minds?

If anything, we definitely like to keep our traditions alive. Brothels have been a part of this state since the eighteenth century and from the looks of it, they’re not going away anytime soon.

Maybe this makes women feel a little excluded, not having the privilege to pay for sex and all. But fear not, ladies, right as we speak madam Heidi Fleiss is saving up to create a “Stud Farm,”a place for women to get a massage, a pedicure and a shag. Maybe Fleiss is as crazy as the rest of them or maybe she’s using Nevada’s laws to switch things up and start objectifying and selling men. So we all get a piece of the pie, right?

Rock on with the traditions, Nevada.

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