The world's oldest profession has been legal in parts of Nevada since , but is unambiguously illegal everywhere else. Anyone wanting to legally exchange money for sex has to get out of Las Vegas to do so.
Sheri's Ranch is in Pahrump, Nev. Incidentally it's also where forgotten Apple co-founder Ron Wayne currently calls home. The drive from downtown Vegas to Pahrump is an exploration of big empty space, armadillos, and dead cell zones.
My driver, Fabio, is a full-time employee of Sheri's Ranch. He makes the two-hour drive from Vegas to Pahrump back to Vegas a few times a day, discreetly getting customers from their downtown hotel suites to Sheri's front door and back. A placard on the seat in front of me reads "The ride is completely complimentary but a gratuity is greatly appreciated. Were we in his other car, Fabio tells me, he has a DVD player for customers to watch short ads for each girl at the Ranch, something akin to movie trailers before the main attraction.
If people start asking him questions about specific girls, he puts it on for them to watch. He's happy to answer customers' general questions, but he's not supposed to comment on specific women in case he were to recommend some over others. With the exception of one sign on the front reading "Girls Girls Girls," Sheri's Ranch may as well be a sports bar. In fact it is a sports bar. There are literally two separate entrances to the building — door No. I started with door No.
The sports bar side has a low-light atmosphere for drinking, eating, socializing, and — my New York City eyes couldn't believe it — smoking indoors! It is homey, low-key, and immediately comfortable. I grab a booth and a gin and tonic to sit and talk with Dena, the madam of Sheri's Ranch. Dena lives in Pahrump and likes to knit when she's not at work.
