Nevada brothel owners are brainstorming ways to re-open their businesses, even as the state says there are no decisions on when their businesses can resume operations.
With some extensive modifications in services, “we can open safely, we know that,” said Mustang Ranch owner Lance Gilman.
Gilman and Storey County officials have drafted letters petitioning for re-opening the Mustang Ranch, Storey County's only brothel, to state offices and officials including the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) and Assemblywoman Lesley Cohen (D, Dist. 29).
Gilman is requesting the brothels be allowed to open in Phase 2, but with safety modifications and limited services.
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In a letter to GOED Executive Director Michael Brown, Gilman outlined plans for re-opening, including:
- Temperature checks of anyone entering the brothel;
- Customers could enter one at a time to choose a sex worker from a lineup. The sex workers would be spaced six feet apart during the lineup;
- Customers and their chosen sex worker would go to her room for conversation, a meal or entertainment, but no physical contact;
- Sex workers and other employees would wear gloves and masks at all times. Customers would also wear masks at all times;
- The bar will remain closed.
In an email, Brown said despite Gilman’s pleas, there are no immediate plans to re-open the brothels.
“There has been no decision on (the) brothels,” Brown said. “The matter is under review by the LEAP (Local Empowerment Advisory Panel) as we plan for the future phases.”
Brothel safety relies on sex worker compliance
Gilman said the brothel’s operations already lend themselves to social distancing protocols.
Brothel workers use condoms and dental dams during regular business activities, and “Most ladies won’t kiss – the masks will actually help them,” Gilman said. “It’s not a very hard leap to go from condoms and dental dams to wearing a mask ... We’ve been protecting against infectious diseases since we opened."
Related: Legal sex workers in Nevada struggling during coronavirus closures
Gilman said the effectiveness of the safety protocols would rely on the workers.
“We have to rely on the integrity of the ladies. But what I would point you to is condom use. They have to be used in brothels. And there has never been a reported STD case at a brothel. They love that. It keeps them safe,” he said. “The ladies value their health as much as their customers."
A boon to business
Gilman said his business, located in Storey County east of Reno, receives about 30 phone calls per day from people asking when the Mustang Ranch will re-open.
Gilman said he could safely re-open “non-contact interactions” that account for about 50 percent of normal business.
Even opening at 50 percent would be a boon to the county of about 4,100 people. The Mustang Ranch employs about 200 people, including sex workers, bartenders, security guards and accountants.
“Two hundred people is a lot,” Storey County Manager Austin Osborne said. “One thing about his business people forget is it’s not just brothel. It’s a resort. It’s a restaurant. A lot of people will go there and have lunch and dinner and not having anything to do with the brothel activity.
“If they followed CDC guidelines and continued communicating with the governor’s office I think they would be able to open and operate safely. They are a heavily regulated industry.”
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Lyon County brothel owner Madame Suzette Cole did not return emails to the Mason Valley News, nor did anyone from the Wildcat Ranch in Mina, outside Hawthorne.
Lyon County Sheriff Frank Hunewill said he spoke with Madam Suzette about a week ago and she had outlined “quite a game plan for when they open, but she’s going to stick with Sisolak’s phase plan.”
Amy Alonzo covers Mason Valley and rural Nevada. Reach her at aalonzo@masonvalleynews.com or (775) 741-8588. Here's how you can support ongoing coverage and local journalism.
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