If you're tooling down Las Vegas Boulevard, you're bound to run across an eye-catching risque billboard-on-wheels advertising local Gentleman's clubs.
The novel blurbs are about forty feet long and six feet wide and have been the subject of gossip and speculation in recent days.
For example, one female friend swears that inside the billboards, scantily clad women are entertaining men as they are chauffeured around town from one hot spot to the next.
It may appear to be a far-fetched idea, but - I'm almost sure that one romantic desert evening while I was stopped at a red light behind one of the fantasy blurbs-on-wheels - that it was shaking up and down in a old-familiar rhythm that conjured up naughty images of the Missionary-style position.
Well, the trap door at the back appears to be wide and high enough to admit a couple of - um - guests comfortably.
Gives a whole new meaning to the term - "four on the floor" - doesn't it?
Meanwhile, one evening at Blush (Wyn Casino) I noticed a curious phenomenon, too.
I spied a ravishing young lady slip cash on a table (which rested behind the back of a long line of comfortable couches in the exotic watering hole) which was surreptitiously scooped up moments later by a big burly security guy dressed in a black designer suit with an earplug in one ear.
As she strolled off arm-in-arm with her new gentleman friend, I had to seriously consider that the "tip" she slipped him amounted to a "finder's fee".
Of course, since the heyday of Las Vegas, showgirls have been a mainstay in sin city.
I suppose when a starry-eyed chorus girl falls on hard times (which, at times, they are want to do) it is wholly possible the desperate ones may turn to the oldest professional in order to set things right for a wee stretch.
But - once caught up in that nefarious underworld - are they ever able to walk away without being scarred by the sex trade, I wonder?
Brothels have been tolerated in Nevada since the middle of the 19th century. One brothel in Elko has been in business since 1902. Officials - recognizing the intrinsic problems that go - um - hand-in-hand with such a profession - enacted a law in 1937 to require weekly health checks of all prostitutes.In spite of that, Franklin D. Roosevelt banned acts of prostitution near military bases in 1942. When this order was lifted in 1948, Reno officials continued in their concerted efforts to shut down brothels on the grounds they were a public nuisance.
While the Nevada Supreme Court upheld the action in 1949, brothels continued to operate on the sly throughout the state.
Joe Conforte, the owner of the brothel called "Mustang Ranch" near Reno, managed to convince county officials several years later to pass an ordinance which would provide for the licensing of brothels and prostitutes, thus avoiding the threat of being closed down as a public nuisance.
On the heels of this victory for Conforte, the legislature passed a law in 1971prohibiting the legalization of prostitution in counties with a population above a certain threshold.
In 1977, county officials tried to shut-down the notorious Chicken Ranch owned by Walter Plankinton. At that time, brothels did not have to be licensed in that county. After filing a lawsuit on the grounds that State Law implicitly removed the assumption that brothels were a nuisance (1971), The Nevada Supreme Court was inclined to open up the marketplace when they agreed with Plankinton's interpretation of the Law.
Nye County v. Plankinton, 94 Nev. 739, 587 P.2d 421 (1978)
But, the battles continued. A state law that prohibited the advertising of brothels in counties which had outlawed prostitution was enacted in 1979. Shortly thereafter, a Federal Judge ruled that the lower court's finding in favor of the State was "overly broad" and ads touting brothels began to pop up in prominent locations in Nevada.
Currently, Nevada state law dictates that any county with a population under 400,000 is allowed to license brothels. License fees for brothels range from an annual $100,000 in Storey County to an annual $200 in Lander County.
Licensed prostitutes must be at least 21 years old, except in Storey County and Lyon County, where the minimum age is 18.
Nevada law requires that registered brothel prostitutes be checked weekly for several sexually transmitted diseases and monthly for HIV. In addition, condoms are mandatory for all oral sex and sexual intercourse. Brothel owners may be held liable if customers become infected with HIV after a prostitute has tested positive for the virus.
Nevada has laws against engaging in prostitution outside of licensed brothels, against encouraging others to become prostitutes, and against living off the proceeds of a prostitute.
The other night I heard a rumor that Heidi Fleiss has been itching to start up a brothel here in Nevada. But, as the gossip goes, the hard core mobsters have been shutting her out. I understand they're prepared to use force, if necessary.Miss Fleiss was born in Los Angeles, California; the daughter of a prominent local doctor.
In 1988, she was introduced to Elizabeth Adams, a longtime Beverly Hills madam who dealt exclusively with a wealthy clientele. After allegedly learning the "tricks" of the trade, Fleiss struck out on her own and started up a high-class prostitution ring.
Known as the "Hollywood Madam", Heidi's propensity for boasting about her stature in the flesh trade - and a craving for the spotlight - caught the attention of the Feds.
In the scandal that followed, celebrities like Charlie Sheen got caught with their pants down, too.
In 1993, Fleiss was charged with five counts of pandering. When the case went to trial, the Hollywood Madam was convicted on three of the five counts. She received the mandatory minimum sentence of three years in prison; but, in a 1996 appeal, the conviction was overturned after jurors admitted to vote trading and other infractions.
The following year, Fleiss was tried in a federal court, where she was convicted of tax evasion and money laundering. She received a 37-month sentence, which she served at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California, without incident.
One has to wonder at this juncture, are the bosses in Nevada afraid of the competition, the attention that Fleiss might attract, or just plain worried that a female in charge of a house of ill repute may be inclined to instigate a number of house rules that may prove to be so attractive to the "girls" that they may be anxious to "jump ship"?
Bottom line, I expect that the underbelly of the Las Vegas Nightclub scene is still pretty much male-dominated and a handful of thugs would like to keep it that way.
Well, there's always Amsterdam, I guess!
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