Going The Distance

We leave Vegas and head for Pahrump, 60 miles outside the city, to get to arguably the most famous of Nevada’s 26 brothels. It’s the only state in which brothels are legal, which would make the Chicken Ranch the most famous (legal) whorehouse in the States.

We had set up an interview with the manager of the Ranch, but when we arrived she had been called away on an emergency and hadn’t had my number to let me know. In her absence, she had forbidden us from filming a tour of the place, and we could only talk to girls willing to be talked to. Our hearts sank.

One girl was prepared to talk to us, and have her voice recorded, but not to appear on camera. Well, that could work. Not much to look at for a documentary, but we could have lots of shots of the outside of the place, etc. We asked her about two things in relation to love – how her job affected her love outside the place (she is married and has been for 8 years), and what kind of love the clients want. In answer to the first question, she said that she was adept at separating the two worlds: work was work - purely physical and all about the money; as for the clients wanting love, in her one year’s experience, no one had ever wanted to pay to spend the night or wanted to ‘spoon’ with her. They wanted her purely for her services, not the voids in their hearts which she could fill.

At one point during our interview, a bell jangled and the girl excused herself – she had to go for a Line Up. Everytime a customer comes in, the girls gather in a line for the client to chose which one (or two) they want. I asked her if this was like being back at gym class and being the last one picked for a team, and she said yes – but that you get used to the fact that people come in with an idea of what they want. Girls can work either 12 hours a day, or 24 hours. If it’s the latter, they get up at all hours of the day or night.

We were preparing to leave when another girl entered the bar. Gorgeous and vivacious, once she knew what we were doing, she said she’d be happy to appear on camera – she had a history in porn so her face was already out there, she figured. An articulate and feisty 25 year old called Trinity, she had been at the Chicken Ranch, and other houses all around the state, for 7 years. She was divorced already, with two kids. But she recognised that her timeframe for making money in the game that she was in was limited, so she left her kids with family and came to the Ranch for months at a time.

Girls move in to the Ranch. They are given their own rooms for their stay which is where they entertain their clients. There is a reception area where line ups happen (and we weren’t welcome to see) and the bar area, a lowlit, small room with a pooltable in the middle which takes up most of the space. Small tables with stools around the edge of the room. Above the bar (an old school, mirror-backed bar) there is one girl’s photo, the Sweetspot of the Week. When I asked the girls about the effect of having that photo up (it changes every week), they said that it definitely generated more business.

Business is the core of the place. It felt safe, and all the girls we talked to (about 4 in total, though only one on film) liked working there. The Ranch was fastidious about testing, they all had panic buttons, and they said that all the girls and management got on very well. Meals are provided for the girls – to all in intents and purposes, it’s an all girls’ boarding school with a small twist…

Trinity was great. Outspoken, gorgeous, and very savvy. She said unequivocally that “love doesn’t exist in a place like this. You leave love at the door”. She said that some of her clients did pay to spend the whole night with her, and long connections with individuals (once a month over a period of years) would of course foster attachments – on their part. She only saw this as a way to make money. She recognised that she had a talent and she was good at making money from that talent. I really liked her. She recognises that she’s getting on (saying that this game really ages people – wearing heels perpetually it gets to your back, etc) and thinks this will be her last year at it. She wants to be a mum to her kids. She has plans to set up her own business, and I reckon she’d be great at it. Bright girl, no shit. She has an idea to produce porn, an industry she knows well.

The place wasn’t nearly as seedy as I had thought it would be. The few men who pulled up on the alarmingly bright August afternoon in baking Pahrump (it was about 45 degrees C) did look a little seedy. But not scabby – just a bit sheepish. But then, I suppose you’re never going to walk with your head held high into a whorehouse, no matter who you are.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 28th, 2009 at 4:58 pm and is filed under Uncategorised. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.