Knappster: New brothel war is brewing in Nye County

By George Knapp

A Nye County brothel war is no place for the squeamish. Previous bordello battles have been characterized by bombings, murders and political corruption. The fight that's now brewing may not be as violent as past tussles, but it won't be a walk in the park, either.

Nye County Commission Chairman Henry Neth says it is time to get rid of the county's six legal whorehouses. He thinks the regulation of the brothels is more trouble than it is worth to the county, and Neth says he has the votes to shut the bordellos down for good. A motion to that effect has been placed on the commission's agenda.

No one is really spelling out the reasons for the sudden change of heart, but Nye residents aren't shy about what's behind it, as long as they aren't quoted by name.

Brothel owner Joe Richards, a longtime political force in Nye County, onetime publisher of his own newspaper, known to have done a lot of favors for Nye officials over the years, is really stirring the pot. Richards' brothels are all located in tiny Crystal, and he has long yearned to have a ranch in the more lucrative Pahrump area.

More than a year ago, Richards launched a project to build a "bar and restaurant" at the entrance to Homestead Road, at the end of which is where the Pahrump brothels are located. He promised at the time that it would be a classy, upscale place, but everyone in town--and I mean everyone--believed that Richards would turn the place into a nudie bar, perhaps as a first step toward getting his own brothel on Homestead Road.

Sure enough, he opened the place as a nudie bar, to the consternation of Nye County residents and officials. Privately, Richards reportedly bragged that he "owned" Nye County and could do whatever he pleased. His fellow brothel owners were aghast, but said nothing publicly, even as citizen complaints and police calls about the nudie club continued to mount.

Richards has a long history of tweaking the noses of Nye officials. I've met him and he is a very interesting character and wily businessman. But he seems to think that he still calls the shots in the Kingdom of Nye, despite the incredible changes and population growth the county has experienced in recent years. Even though it it illegal for brothels to advertise outside the county, Richards has purchased numerous large billboards on the road to Pahrump. The billboards advertise a brothel art museum and a bathhouse rather than prostitution services, but no one is fooled by the content. The ads have been a burr under the saddles of local officials for a long time (as noted in this column a few months ago).

Perhaps the Nye commissioners are just ticked off at Richards and will eventually settle down. Maybe this is a shakedown, designed to wring more fees from the brothels. A total ban makes little sense. The county budget is already in the red and can hardly afford to wave goodbye to the huge sums paid by brothel owners, as well as to all the jobs and related economic benefits the businesses generate. And no one can possibly believe that a brothel ban will mean the elimination of prostitution in Pahrump. Prostitution is supposedly illegal in Clark County, but we all know the reality of the situation. A ban on brothels would mean an end to legal tax revenue from prostitution but not an end to prostitution itself.

Nye officials also must know that brothel owners, Richards included, are not going to surrender their investments without a fight. In particular, those brothels that have played by the rules, kept a low profile and invested millions in classy operations aren't going to roll over and play dead. They have already amassed a warchest, hired top-notch legal teams and are preparing to go to the mattresses. It's a fight that will likely cost Nye County millions of dollars, no matter how it ends up.

With a few notable exceptions, Nye brothels have peacefully coexisted with county residents for many years. If county commissioners really do think it's time for a change, maybe they should put it to a vote of the people out there.

Names, faces, places

Former Chief Deputy DA Gary Guymon isn't likely to fade into obscurity anytime soon. Guymon recently resigned from the DA's office and accepted a position with the public defender. (It was not, as some reported, a "transfer.") The real reason for Guymon's departure has not yet been made public. Yes, it's widely known that Guymon was a close pal with indicted topless club czar Mike Galardi. It's also well known that the ex-prosecutor attracted federal scrutiny during the G-Sting probe. But something else led to his ouster. The way we hear it, a topless dancer is telling a tawdry tale of sex and betrayal. Wonder if the feds are taking a fresh look? ... Former Deputy DA Joe M. Bonaventure is running for justice of the peace, but he insists he is his own man and doesn't want voters to be confused. See, Bonaventure is the son of renowned District Judge Joe Bonaventure, he of Binion murder trial fame, a legal fixture here for decades. Bonaventure the younger told the Review-Journal that he is running on his own accomplishments, not on the name recognition of his dad. Let's see, the son is 28 years old and has practiced law since 2002. Yep, sounds like he's ready to be a judge. ... We can't help but root for Tim and Tom, the dynamic young owners of downtown's Golden Nugget. These two guys bring a lot of energy and fresh ideas to the downtown market, so naturally the whole town wishes them success. This goodwill does not, however, extend to the so-called reality show "The Casino," which is headquartered at the Nugget. "The Casino" is a reality show in the same sense that "The Simpsons" and "Magnum P.I." are reality shows, which is to say, not at all. Nearly 200 crew members worked on the series, and a few of them told Knappster about how the show was produced. Put it this way, it was not uncommon to shot 10 or more takes for some of this "reality." In fact, the producers are still shooting scenes to edit into shows. I'm sure the TV exposure will be good for the Nugget in the long run, but some of the stuff that is passed off as "unscripted drama" is just stupid. ... Veteran Las Vegas photographer Robert Scott Hooper has finally opened up his extensive collection of glamour photos and is allowing the public to take a look. Hooper has spent four decades taking shots of entertainers, dancers, showgirls, burlesque stars and neon. He also shot 700 cover photos for Vegas Visitor magazine, which was our town's premier entertainment mag from the mid-'60s through the early '80s. Suffice to say, Hooper has a pile of vintage material. Check it out at www.vegasretro.com. ... Now that city leaders are pondering whether to shut down Treasures topless club, I'm sure there are some Metro cops who are stifling the "I told you so" urge. Metro did everything but beg the City Council to withhold a license for Treasures, whose owners have a long history of legal problems elsewhere. The council ignored the warnings and licensed the joint anyway. Predictably, Treasures is in trouble, so now some council members are wondering if they should outlaw all contact between dancers and customers at other topless clubs. The cops' warnings about Treasures were ignored, the club gets into trouble, and the council wants to punish other adult clubs?! ... It's great to see other media--local and national--finally acknowledge the sordid mess involving Enron and its Nevada partner, the Colorado River Commission. The Mercury has been pounding away at this story for several months now. At long last, other media have finally caught on and are giving the story some well-deserved attention. Fear not, this little drama isn't even close to playing itself out.