So I am wrong--since it IS illegal in Vegas.
Some people may be under the mistaken impression that it is allowable statewide.
My parents and brother moved to Nevada from bklyn years ago and my brother has frequented the Mustang Ranch. The airports even have shops that sell knick knacks and t shirts advertising the brothels.
Legal situation
Chicken Ranch, June 2007
Under Nevada state law, any county with a population under 400,000, as of the last decennial census,[17] is allowed to license brothels if it so chooses.[7] Incorporated towns and cities in counties that allow prostitution may regulate the trade further or prohibit it altogether.
As of 2009, prostitution is illegal under state law in Clark County (which contains Las Vegas) and under county or municipal law in Washoe County (which contains Reno), Carson City (an independent city), Douglas County, and Lincoln County. The other 12 Nevada counties permit licensed brothels in certain specified areas or cities,[5] with the exception of Eureka County, which has no law on the books either permitting or prohibiting licensed brothels.[18] All 12 of these rural counties have had at least one legal brothel in operation subsequent to 1971, but many of these brothels were financially unsuccessful or ran afoul of State health regulations. As of 2009, only eight of these counties have active brothels, while the other four (Churchill County, Esmeralda County, Eureka County, and Pershing County) no longer do.
The precise licensing requirements vary by county. 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).
Shady Lady Ranch brothel sign.
Nevada law requires that registered brothel prostitutes be tested weekly (by a cervical specimen) for gonorrhea and Chlamydia trachomatis, and monthly for HIV and syphilis;[19] furthermore, 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.[20] Women work a legally mandated minimum of nine days for each work period.[21]
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.
For many years, Nevada brothels were restricted from advertising their services in counties where brothel prostitution is illegal; however, this state law was overturned in 2007.[11]
In June 2009, Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons signed the most stringent punishments nationwide for child prostitution and pandering. The Assembly Bill 380, which allows for fines of $500,000 for those convicted of trafficking prostitutes younger than 14 and $100,000 fo