Chicken Ranch brothel runs mobile billboard through Las Vegas
It was the basis for the Broadway play “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,” and has been in business in Nevada since 1975, but Pahrump’s historic Chicken Ranch Brothel finally got to advertise its wares in Clark County earlier this month. The advertisement will be the first of its kind within county limits.
I know what you’re thinking, “What about all those leaflets, cards, and billboard with the pretty girls that you find all up and down the Strip?” Well, prostitution is illegal in Las Vegas, so obviously those respectable young ladies are advertising entertainment.
Not only are brothels banned in Clark County, which is home to Las Vegas, but so are their advertisements. Up until July 12, that is, when U.S. District Court Judge James Mahan determined that state laws banning brother advertisements violated the First and 14th amendments.
And so for eight hours on a warm September day, the Chicken Ranch’s 10-by-20 mobile billboard swished through the city streets like the free spirit of the west in which Las Vegas was founded. The billboard itself was decidedly more conservative that one might expect: phone number, limo information and the invitation to “relax and enjoy,” superimposed over a photo of the ranch’s exterior.
The Chicken Ranch may be the first, but it may not be long before we’re inundated with ads for Sheri’s Ranch or Bob’s Buckeye Bar.
The state is planning to appeal.
