Tweet
The oldest trade rebranded
Sex, souvenirs and non-smear lipstick
Jan 27th 2005 | RENO
From The Economist print edition
Who needs history when you've got some hookers and a gift shop?
TIRED of Disney World? Bored with the Smithsonian and the Guggenheim? Then why not take the wife and kids to the Mustang Ranch Museum and celebrate Nevada's ?gift to the world?? That (minus the bit about the wife and kids) is the dream of one brothel-owner.
Can a bordello really be sold as a resort destination? Nevada is the only state in the union where brothels are legal, but prostitution is by no means a hallowed trade. Brothels are usually seedy affairs, tucked discreetly away from churches, town halls and the like (or so somebody we met in a bar once told us). But Lance Gilman, who owns both the Wild Horse bordello and the trademark for the Mustang Ranch, is building a sex village?complete with museum and souvenir shop.
George Flint, head of the Nevada Brothel Association, insists that a trip to the Mustang Ranch could be ?just as important as driving to Mount Rushmore?. The businesslike Mr Gilman insists that a house of ill repute is nothing of the kind. Brothels are part of Nevada's history, and nowadays they are respectable businesses. When Mr Gilman opened the Wild Horse in 2002, he was already a seasoned businessman who had developed several industrial parks.
This is all in marked contrast to the Mustang Ranch's history. The first legal brothel in America saw the murder of a boxer, a mysterious fire and several government raids; it is also cited (unfavourably) in the Internal Revenue's tax manual. It was owned by Joe Conforte, who spent time in jail, tried to float the brothel on the stockmarket, fled charges of money-laundering, racketeering and bribery, and is now rumoured to be living in Brazil. In 1999, the government seized the Mustang Ranch (this time to shut it down for good).
When the Bureau of Land Management auctioned the ranch's assets on eBay in 2003, Mr Gilman paid $145,000 for the brothel's trademark and pink stucco building, which he airlifted to a site beside the Wild Horse. His plan was to give the Wild Horse a link to Nevada's past, some Wild West flair and a crowd of new customers, but he has run into some opposition: a rival is fighting to call his own brothel the Mustang Ranch. The brawl for the name has become so heated that a judge has declared the trademark to be temporarily off-limits. A federal court will take up the dispute in April.
In the meantime, Mr Gilman is building his Mustang Ranch Village on the plot next to the Wild Horse. The driveway to the village is neatly lined with saplings and, at the end of the road, a row of foreign flags greets visitors as if they are arriving at an international institution. The museum will include a portrait of the legendary Mr Conforte and a circular bed with a mirrored headboard from the original Mustang Ranch. Souvenirs will range from the usual T-shirts (boasting about the Mustang's ?res-erection?) to more exotic oils and toys. Because Mr Gilman's girls are experts in long-lasting ?make-up that doesn't run?, a Mustang Ranch cosmetics line will also be on sale.
However, the village's main business will be a new version of the Mustang Ranch. Like the Wild Horse, the new bordello will boast the latest in management practices (the prostitutes will all be hired as independent contractors) and cleanliness (they will be tested weekly for sexually transmitted diseases). When everything is up and cavorting, Mr Gilman hopes his business will make about $10m each year. As much as $500,000 in taxes will go to Storey County: no small sum, when the county's annual budget is close to $6m.
Sex, souvenirs and non-smear lipstick
Jan 27th 2005 | RENO
From The Economist print edition
Who needs history when you've got some hookers and a gift shop?
TIRED of Disney World? Bored with the Smithsonian and the Guggenheim? Then why not take the wife and kids to the Mustang Ranch Museum and celebrate Nevada's ?gift to the world?? That (minus the bit about the wife and kids) is the dream of one brothel-owner.
Can a bordello really be sold as a resort destination? Nevada is the only state in the union where brothels are legal, but prostitution is by no means a hallowed trade. Brothels are usually seedy affairs, tucked discreetly away from churches, town halls and the like (or so somebody we met in a bar once told us). But Lance Gilman, who owns both the Wild Horse bordello and the trademark for the Mustang Ranch, is building a sex village?complete with museum and souvenir shop.
George Flint, head of the Nevada Brothel Association, insists that a trip to the Mustang Ranch could be ?just as important as driving to Mount Rushmore?. The businesslike Mr Gilman insists that a house of ill repute is nothing of the kind. Brothels are part of Nevada's history, and nowadays they are respectable businesses. When Mr Gilman opened the Wild Horse in 2002, he was already a seasoned businessman who had developed several industrial parks.
This is all in marked contrast to the Mustang Ranch's history. The first legal brothel in America saw the murder of a boxer, a mysterious fire and several government raids; it is also cited (unfavourably) in the Internal Revenue's tax manual. It was owned by Joe Conforte, who spent time in jail, tried to float the brothel on the stockmarket, fled charges of money-laundering, racketeering and bribery, and is now rumoured to be living in Brazil. In 1999, the government seized the Mustang Ranch (this time to shut it down for good).
When the Bureau of Land Management auctioned the ranch's assets on eBay in 2003, Mr Gilman paid $145,000 for the brothel's trademark and pink stucco building, which he airlifted to a site beside the Wild Horse. His plan was to give the Wild Horse a link to Nevada's past, some Wild West flair and a crowd of new customers, but he has run into some opposition: a rival is fighting to call his own brothel the Mustang Ranch. The brawl for the name has become so heated that a judge has declared the trademark to be temporarily off-limits. A federal court will take up the dispute in April.
In the meantime, Mr Gilman is building his Mustang Ranch Village on the plot next to the Wild Horse. The driveway to the village is neatly lined with saplings and, at the end of the road, a row of foreign flags greets visitors as if they are arriving at an international institution. The museum will include a portrait of the legendary Mr Conforte and a circular bed with a mirrored headboard from the original Mustang Ranch. Souvenirs will range from the usual T-shirts (boasting about the Mustang's ?res-erection?) to more exotic oils and toys. Because Mr Gilman's girls are experts in long-lasting ?make-up that doesn't run?, a Mustang Ranch cosmetics line will also be on sale.
However, the village's main business will be a new version of the Mustang Ranch. Like the Wild Horse, the new bordello will boast the latest in management practices (the prostitutes will all be hired as independent contractors) and cleanliness (they will be tested weekly for sexually transmitted diseases). When everything is up and cavorting, Mr Gilman hopes his business will make about $10m each year. As much as $500,000 in taxes will go to Storey County: no small sum, when the county's annual budget is close to $6m.
