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Valentine's Day at Chicken Ranch

On Valentine's Day I drove to Pahrump to spend some time at the Chicken Ranch brothel. While prostitution is illegal in Las Vegas, outside the borders of Clark County, Nevada is the only state in the nation with legalized brothels. In addition to its famous name (imported from Texas), The Chicken Ranch has the distinction of being the closest brothel to Las Vegas. I figured the place would be packed; Vegas is overflowing this weekend because of the NBA weekend, the MAGIC fashion convention, Chinese New Year, and, of course, a three day weekend on the horizon. In terms of story possibilities, a packed brothel on Valentine's Day, seemed like fishing in an overstocked lake.

This was my first time back at the Chicken Ranch since I lived there for a week to write a cover story for Las Vegas Weekly in June, 2005. It was also my first drive back to Pahrump, and I noticed the Vegas housing boom, now cooling, has had an impact on Pahrump. During my previous visit the town was still centered around people buying individual empty lots and filling them (with a strong preference for manufactured homes). Pahrump was known to be affordable. The 45 mile or so road to Vegas winds through difficult terrain and is poorly lit, too narrow, and locally known for its lethal accidents. That road is now receiving an upgrade and people in Vegas are more willing to cast an eye to Pahrump in order to buy a home. So, after pulling across the county line, the area around Pahrump that used to be empty now boasts under construction sub-developments, and as in Vegas, you see signs saying: "Starting in the low 200's." It will be interesting to see when these newcomers become voters if they are still comfortable with Nevada's tradition of legal brothels or choose to end the practice. This has not happened in the face of the growth, albeit less explosive, to the brothels up north. In fact, the brothels near Reno have never had a higher profile thanks to owners like Dennis Hof.

The brothels in the south have always been more press shy. In fact, when I arrived in 2005 I was the first reporter allowed such access to the brothel in living memory. The primary reason I was allowed to do the story is that the Chicken Ranch was for sale and the owner wanted to be open in showing the professional way the general manager, Debbie, runs the place in order to encourage buyers. Back then I had a long list of rules printed out to follow and there was a lot of nervousness among some of the working girls about my visit. In this area, too, things have changed. Debbie, told me when I arrived at the Chicken Ranch that a documentary was currently being filmed following some of the women who work there. There is a core group of the licensed prostitutes willing to do press and those who won't. Of the 10-12 working during this recent visit 4 were willing to be interviewed.

Besides Debbie the only lady familiar from my previous visit was Meow-Meow, the brothel cat.

"I guess this is a night people want to spend with their wives and girlfriends," Saphire said. She said this about 6 hours after I arrived. The place was dead and had been all night. There had, maybe, been 6 customers during the entire time.

After being buzzed through the gate the customers can choose either a traditional line-up in the parlor or to go to hang out in the sports bar with the juke box for a more informal meet and greet called a barlor. Both take about 5 minutes. Other than that and dinner most everyone kept to her room. I spent most of the night hanging out with Saphire, 26, and her friend Kittie, also 26. The two women spent the time drinking (charged to their accounts) and playing pool in the bar.

After six years as a stay at home mom, Kittie started working at the Chicken Ranch in September. Her husband is in sales and the family was sick of being dependant on the vagaries of commissions. They were already swingers. "I was popular in swingers clubs because I could smell on someone if they are bad in bed. When a new couple arrived everyone would tell me to go smell the guy to see if he was okay." I tried to keep out of smell range.

Saphire used to do adult films and has been working at the Chicken Ranch for two years. "I didn't want to do porn anymore, because I was sick of being the only one on set crocheting." She is serious about her crocheting. She plans to crochet patters from M.C. Escher. She is from a farm in Montana and was raised a bohemian free spirit adding her own eccentric streak.

As with my last visit, what I enjoyed most were the strong personalities drawn to the profession. Sometimes too strong. Saphire is getting ready to take a court ordered impulse control class for an incident with her ex-husband. I asked her twice if she regretted her behavior. "He started it," she said. When I asked her if that meant he started the physical part of the fight she was first vague before elaborating on his sleazy behavior with another woman. That relationship was on her mind most of the night. She explained, "My first date with my ex-husband was on Valentine's Day."

Kittie on the other hand, despite once serving in the military, is a mellow person who enjoys going to comic book conventions in her spare time. "I am a dork." Neither woman has any regrets about her work beyond saying they wish they had gone to college to be able to earn the same money doing something else.

Both women are participating in the documentary, too. I found it interesting that the term used by Saphire and Kittie was documentary when the stories made it seem more like the rules that apply for a reality show. For example, tonight a few of the prostitutes are going to be appearing with the cameras at the Palomino Club, a fully nude bar in North Las Vegas. This in itself is revealing, because the truth is that the most striking thing about life in a brothel is the routine and boredom. The sex workers at the Chicken Ranch are under lock down and unable to leave the property except for one day a week for a little shopping in Pahrump and a mandatory medical exam.

Shortly before I returned to Las Vegas, we went to the kitchen where Saphire made us a salad and dressing. All night she described food. She spent two years in culinary school, but did not quite finish ("I was sick of being in a cooking cult") and dedicates much of her earnings to paying off student loans. "My sauces take three days," she said. She then lovingly began to describe her process.

In the kitchen Rose joined us. I had seen her earlier saying goodbye to a customer in a wheel chair. In our interview, she had told me that she took pride in working with the physically and mentally disabled. She also shared a funny and sad story about a customer with a brain injury who could not remember the sex right afterwards. "I bought him a Chicken Ranch T-shirt so he could remember," she said.

As we finished eating she turned to me and said: "I told you I would find my Valentine." She had said that. But I thought she was referring to true love and her private life. I tell her that. "No. Whoever I with tonight is my Valentine." That is the job.

On Valentine's Day I drove to Pahrump to spend some time at the Chicken Ranch brothel. While prostitution is illegal in Las Vegas, outside the borders of Clark County, Nevada is the only state in the nation with legalized brothels....
Read more at: http://vegasblog.latimes.com/vegas/2007/02/valentines_day_.html.

Topless bars and Taxi cars

Say you are in Las Vegas and you decide to hop into a taxi on the Strip with some friends and go to a topless bar. You pay your cab fare, you (being good guys) tip the taxi driver. Then you and your friends all shell out the $20 cover each to get into the topless bar and the waitress tells you right off there is a two drink minimum. And, hey, you haven't even seen a dancer yet. So, who is the big winner here? The taxi driver, of course! That cover charge just begins to help the club pay for your cab with the profits on your two drink minimum likely covering the rest.

What you seem to think you paid for the cab? Ha. Your money was nothing. In addition to getting paid and tipped by you,the topless bar is probably paying the driver up $70 a head for each person delivered to their door. Three friends in a cab means $210 for the driver. Ever wonder why in Vegas your taxi driver always has an opinion about what topless club you should go to? How can this sort of kickback be legal? Well, in a brief shining moment of integrity back in 2005 the Assembly passed a bill to outlaw this rip off practice. Of course, it was a mistake. That vote I mean. The Governor vetoed the bill to stop the provision. Yesterday the Assembly upheld the Governor's veto 42-0. And, showing a profile of courage, that's right, even the original sponsor of the ban, Majority Leader John Oceguera has changed his mind. According to the Review-Journal:

"Oceguera said he introduced the amendment at the request of businesses who did not want to pay cabbies for bringing customers to their doors. Oceguera said the businesses felt the tips were a form of extortion or kickbacks."

The reason businesses felt this way, of course, is that the practice is a form of extortion and kickbacks. One strip club owner who refuses to pay a customer bounty tells me that when people try to take a cab to his club they are routinely told the strippers there are ugly or that the place is closed. This sort of steering is not allowed even without the ban, but probably does still happen frequently. Why else do you thing topless bar owners, not the most generous crowd most days, pay such huge "tips"? Besides the customers have already paid for the cab, and tipped the driver.

Why would Oceguera now see things so different? Well, let's think about the demographics. The customers in taxis going to strip clubs are mostly going to be tourists voting elsewhere whereas the cab drivers mostly live here. The Review-Journal notes: "Assembly Majority Leader Oceguera...said legislatures did not intend to harm cab drivers." Of course, not. As for the tourists who are being ripped off this way....Clearly, no one elected here cares about you on this issue. But I have a suggestion for tourists that I have made before on the Buffet. Ask your taxi driver to take you to any spot right next to the topless bar of your choice, say, a 7-11 or a strip mall. It is usually a nice night in Vegas; we have great weather. Tell the driver you want to walk the final 20 feet with your friends to that topless bar and enjoy the moment.

Or maybe, if the taxi driver were kind enough to pay the ENTIRE fare for you and your friends then you might let the driver take you to do the front door. Seriously, don't let the cab drivers make you a sucker in Vegas. That cuts directly into your budget for fun. Why stand for being subtly fleeced in a town you come to in order to waste money so directly on strippers and gambling? As the great philosophers the Beastie Boys once pronounced: "You've got to fight for your right to party."

Monorail's New Dubious Record

Looking for some quiet time in busy Las Vegas? How about taking a ride on the monorail. The Las Vegas Monorail continues to be a joke and an embarrassment. The embarrassment is the failure of the monorail to find riders and the joke is how the officials for the monorail continue to respond by explaining away their pathetic numbers. The Review-Journal reports today, "The Las Vegas Monorail saw a ridership collapse by more than 30% in 2006, capping a disappointing year with its worst ridership month ever in December, according to monorail statistics."

How did things get so bad? The monorail responded to having too few customers by charging the ones they had more. Despite the predictable result , the monorail sort-of predicted anyway that ridership would rise 11%. This is consistent with the way the monorail has worked with numbers since opening in 2004. Back then the monorail estimated that it would have 50,000 riders a day. The actual number for last month: 15, 430. No worries. The lords of the monorail have another plan for success: an airport extension. The only huge caveat is that someone has to pay $500 million for building it. You can see why the Review-Journal reports the monorail is rated by one expert agency as a junk bond at risk for default.

So, how have monorail officials responded to this dismal outlook? No worries (of course). First monorail spokeswoman Ingrid Reisman denied that anyone made that pesky 11% rise in ridership prediction that the Review-Journal reminds readers the head of the monorail made on December 14, 2005. Even better is Reisman's apples and oranges celebration of the terrible numbers on ridership, telling Review-Journal: "The monorail's current daily ridership...still far exceeds most rail systems throughout the country." Maybe when the Vice President's term ends, they can hire Mr. Cheney to crow about this and the other tremendous successes of the Las Vegas Monorail

Stripping for A Living

At what job are you encouraged to get drunk at work? Not many. But there are a few jobs in Las Vegas where alcohol consumption can be part of a night's work. Stripping is one of those jobs. Dancers are offered drinks by customers and are encouraged by clubs to keep customers drinking. So, occasionally I get calls like the one I got at six this morning from a friend who works at Sin on Russell Road not too far from Mandalay Bay. She knows how early I getup and needed a ride. Her shift had just ended and she had too many drinks, all paid for by customers. "I am so sorry," she said. "It was the racists." Apparently, she was sober, in the dressing room, and at the end of her shift when she was summoned out because customers requested "a white girl" and she was the only one available at 5 am. They were on their way to work and wanted a few lap dances first. One problem. "I am not white," my friend insisted. She is part Asian. "Close enough," she was told. "You bet I let the racists buy me drinks," she explained as I gave her a ride. How many did they buy her? "A few..ish." They also bought $80 worth of dances from her. Anyway, I am glad she didn't drive.

Richest man in Vegas

The Richest Person in Las Vegas

Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans includes many names familiar to locals like Kirk Kerkorian, Bill Boyd and Steve Wynn. But it is Wynn's less-than-friendly competitor Sheldon Adelson (who controls the Venetian) who easily answers the question: who is the richest person in Las Vegas? Adelson appears just after Bill Gates and Warren Buffett on the list, and at No. 3, Adelson is the only local in the top 10. Wynn, for example, is not even close at No. 107.

Despite all his success here (dating back to the Comdex convention he founded in the '80s and sold at a premium in the '90s) Adelson, a City College of New York dropout, continues to see himself as a barbarian at Las Vegas' gate. Adelson tells Forbes, "I loved being the outsider. I didn't care what those guys said." That means, among other things, the Venetian is the only non-union property on the Strip.

Interestingly, Adelson's fortune has increased enormously not so much because of his faith in Vegas, but because of his early investment in Macau, according to Forbes. Even the magazine is blown away by Adelson's riches:

"He’s been getting rich faster than, as far as we can tell, anyone in history. Over the past two years Adelson has made $23.6 million a day — just under $1 million a hour. At that pace he’ll eclipse Bill Gates as the richest man in the country sometime in 2012."

Tito's Surprise Party Well Advertised

There are advertisements all over town and today I got an e-mail reminder, too, all for the surprise party tonight being thrown for Ultimate Fighter Tito Ortiz at Pure tonight by his girlfriend Jenna Jameson. The only way he is...
Read more... - Tito's Surprise Part...

Crazy Horse Too gets more time

Mike Signorelli, left, speaks to the Las Vegas City Council about the Crazy Horse Too Gentleman's Club while his lawyer, Jay Brown, looks on Wednesday.
Photo by Clint Karlsen.

The Crazy Horse Too Gentleman's Club got an extension on its liquor license Wednesday, even as more questions arose about the topless club's new management and its relationship to owner Rick Rizzolo.

The Las Vegas City Council unanimously voted to extend the temporary liquor license for up to 90 days while police complete a background investigation of Mike Signorelli, who is leasing the club from Rizzolo.

The city revoked Rizzolo's liquor license after he, 16 employees and the corporation entered separate federal guilty pleas to a variety of crimes in June.

City Attorney Brad Jerbic raised five new concerns that included Signorelli's drastically reduced lease payments and illegal tipping of cabdrivers for dropping off patrons at the club.

"I don't think it was my intent, for lack of a better word, to do anything illegal," Signorelli told the council.

He said the lower lease payments, roughly a third of the $400,000 a month he had agreed to, were due to not taking in as much money as he had expected at the topless club.

He said he still intends to buy the club from Rizzolo, possibly for another use.

He has an agreement to buy the club from Rizzolo for $45 million.

"I might have bitten off more than I can chew," he said. "But I want to get the deal done."

City Attorney Brad Jerbic said that city staff members were also concerned with:

• Possible communication with Rizzolo regarding operation of the club.

• Employment of an individual related to a defendant in the federal case.

• A merchant account that sent credit card payments to Rizzolo in the first few weeks after Signorelli brought up the operation. It's unclear how much money went to Rizzolo before the account was switched over to Signorelli's company, Nevada Receivership.

Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian said she had "grave concerns" about the way the club had been operating.

Councilman Larry Brown said that the club was under a microscope.

"You're taking over this business in a very precarious situation. You will be judged with very little comparison to what other operators are doing."

Much of the discussion was about payments to cabdrivers who dropped off customers. Under the practice, common in the strip club industry, drivers can get as much as $60 per person they steer to clubs.

Signorelli's attorney, Jay Brown, said if the troubled club were to stop paying cabbies, the club would lose business. "They might as well close their doors tonight," he said.

He called for uniform enforcement of the law, though he wouldn't concede that the practice is illegal.

Councilman Steve Wolfson said just because the other clubs are doing it, doesn't make it right. "If the law says it's against the law, you shouldn't do it," he said.

Signorelli said, "I've done this with the advice of a lot of other people who I asked if I could do this. I won't mention their names. They said I could."

The liquor license extension granted by the City Council is the last one it can issue before either letting it expire or granting him a permanent license.

Jerbic said the length of time to complete their background check in Signorelli will depend on what they find.

Mayor Oscar Goodman recused himself from the discussion and vote. Brown, Signorelli's attorney, is a business partner of Goodman.

In June, Rizzolo, the Power Company and 16 employees separately pleaded guilty to a variety of charges, many having to do with failure to pay taxes.

Rizzolo faces up to 16 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to felony tax evasion. U.S. District Court Judge Philip Pro delayed the sentencing Tuesday to Jan. 23.

Pro, who allowed several previous postponements, said he was convinced by evidence submitted under seal that the sentencing needed to be delayed one last time.

Pro said the sentencing will take place next week.

In pleading guilty in June to conspiracy to defraud the government, Rizzolo agreed to sell the club and not contest some $17 million in penalties.

The federal plea agreements included the government's commitment to end a decade-long federal probe of whether the club was tied to the mob.

Football Sundays in Vegas

On most Sundays in Vegas, people wake up late, nurse a hangover, check out of their room and then try to waste time until their flight leave. But from September through December, Sundays are entirely something different. Pro football takes over Vegas.

Yes, as you know, there are no games actually played in Vegas, but that does not matter. On Football Sundays, you can feel the energy around the casino. Betting on football is a passion in Las Vegas. Since Nevada is the only state in the country where you can legally bet on sports, Sundays mornings are a bit different on the Strip.

Ten Tips on Making the Most Out of Football Sundays

1) Games Start at 10 am and 1pm. Remember, you are on the West Coast and that means the first pro football games start at 10am. Many an East Coaster has waken up late and missed the first game.

2) Stick with the Basics. If you are new to sports wagering, don’t worry about the five-team parlay, futures, money lines, or even the over/under. Stick with basics – bet the point spreads. A point spread bet is not a bet on whether a team will win, but rather that a team will cover the point differential. For example, a “Broncos minus seven” bet would only win if the Broncos won by more than seven points. If the Broncos won by six points, then the bet would lose. Conversely, on a “Steelers plus seven” bet, the Steelers don’t have to win, they just can’t lose by more than seven points.

3) Make Your Bets Early. If possible, make all your Sunday
bets the night before. It gets real busy in the Sports Book on Sunday mornings and you will end up standing in a long line. Possibly not getting your bet in on time.

4) Bet in $11 increments. If you win, you get your $11 back plus $10. Any increment other than $11 and you will end up with change and look like you don’t know what you are doing.

5) Create Drama. Spread your money over four or five games so you have a bunch of action and drama going on at once. It is fun to have money riding and trying to keep up with multiple games simultaneously.

6) Only Bet on Televised Games. Yes, even though there may be 150 televisions in a sportsbook, there are plenty of games that aren’t televised. If you bet on these games you’ll miss being able to see your gambling dollars at work.

7) Bet Against New York. If you’re looking to place a bet, there are usually good odds against New York teams. There are so many Giants and Jets fans that are going to bet, no matter what the odds are, that the odds against the them usually pretty good because the sportsbook is looking to cover their bets and not lose their shirts if the New York team wins.

8) Ask for Drink Vouchers. When you are placing a bet, be sure to ask for drink vouchers from the agent. Casinos are clamping down on giving out comp drinks to non-players, so if you order a drink in the sportsbook and don’t have a drink voucher, the cocktail server will charge you.

9) Get on the Cocktail Waitress’s Good Side. This is very important at a sportsbook. If you get on the cocktail server’s good side, she will bring you drinks fast and possibly give you a couple extra drink vouchers. So, tip big. Your generosity will usually be reciprocated!

10) Get a Good Seat. A good seat in a sportsbook is usually hard to find, expect that 75 percent of them will have a “Reserved for Race Players” sign, which means they are-off limits to you. Look for seats that have a view that won’t be blocked by pedestrian traffic. If you can’t find a seat in the sportsbook, there are usually some good views at the adjacent bar.

The Beach Closes

It was a great spot for years in Vegas, but yesterday was the last night for the Beach. The property has been sold to a developer (to build a mixed use condo/casino hotel project.)

Over the last years, with the growth of all the clubs in Vegas, the Beach lost some of its luster, but it kept that "spring break" type party going (if that is what you were looking for).

With the Beach closing, expect places like Carnival Court and Beacher's Rockhouse to become better, as they absorb the Beach crowd.

Laughlin Story - Like You Care

For all of you that love Laughlin (Answer = None), here is a story from the LVRJ about the past, present and future of Laughlin.

I do find this chart interesting:

Year Visitor Volume Change
2006 2.61 million n/a
2005 3.88 million -4%
2004 4.04 million -3.5%
2003 4.19 million -1.6%
2002 4.26 million -4.4 %

Year Gaming Revenue Change
2006 $477.5 million n/a
2005 $621.2 million +4.4%
2004 $595.3 million +7.8%
2003 $553.2 million +0.4%
2002 $551.4 million +1.1%

*2006 is Year to Date.

It shows while less people are visiting Laughlin, gaming revenue is growing. Usually visitor volume and gaming revenue go hand in hand. Here is a quote from the article:

"Meanwhile, Mohave County, Ariz., is on the verge of a population explosion. The county, which includes Kingman, 33 miles from Laughlin, had a population of 170,800 in 2003, a 10 percent increase from 2000. Homebuilders, including Las Vegas-based Rhodes Homes, have plans for three separate master-planned developments with 55,000 new homes. Those potential residents could view Laughlin much in the same manner as Las Vegas residents treat the locals casino market. "We're getting a lot of local business, especially from Bullhead City," Fall said. "Frankly, that's part of the reason why the gaming numbers have done well. There's a growing population across the river.""

Exactly what I talked about a couple weeks ago about Lauglin: The casinos are turning into local casinos.

Click Here for the Story from the LVRJ

Palms Concert Venue Details

Here are the details of the new concert venue at the Palms. Sounds pretty darn good.

"The intimate venue is designed to be a true modern marvel of technology and innovation beginning with seating design. The Pearl comfortably tucks into its intimate setting all of the high-end amenities you would find in larger venues. With special scalable curtains, The Pearl's capacity can easily adjust to accommodate from 1,100 to 2,400 guests. In addition, the floor will allow for seated concert viewing or general admission standing room audiences. With no seating obstructions, the farthest seat from the stage will be a mere 120 feet away, allowing performers to personally connect with the entire audience. Two 14-foot by 16-foot video screens will be located on each side of the stage for close up looks at the on-stage action with additional plasma screens located throughout the concourse areas."

Click here for the Press Release