The Chicken Ranch
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- This article is about the Chicken Ranch brothel in Nevada and not the Chicken Ranch in Texas.
The Chicken Ranch is a legal, licensed brothel located about 60 miles west of Las Vegas, Nevada near the town of Pahrump, Nevada, in Nye County, at 10511 Homestead Road. The 17 bed brothel sits on 40 acres of land. A separate building, connected to the main house by a breezeway, contains three extensively decorated, themed "bungalows" catering to those customers wishing a more luxurious experience.
The ranch has a collection of memorabilia from the original Chicken Ranch which was located near LaGrange, Texas.
The Chicken Ranch once had a reputation for being pricey; prices start at $100 (the unofficial house minimum), but the average amount for one hour of intercourse and oral sex is about $400. Like most legal brothels in the state, the house receives 50% of that money. Since the purchase of neighboring competitor Sheri's Ranch by its current ownership group, and their subsequent lavish remodeling and expansion of that operation, the "pricey" label has generally been applied by most to that brothel rather than to the Chicken Ranch.
The ranch also houses the Leghorn Bar. The bar has a separate entrance for customers not wishing to enter the brothel parlor.
History
Walter Plankinton opened the Nevada Chicken Ranch in 1976 as close to Las Vegas as legally possible. He encountered severe opposition from local law enforcement and other brothel owners:
- The initial location of the Chicken Ranch was inside the town limits of Pahrump, where prostitution was illegal. Plankinton was arrested and had to move the brothel to a new location. After lengthy appeals he had to serve 60 days in jail in 1981.
- Nye County did not require brothels to be licensed in 1976, and three other brothels operated legally in the county at the time. Nevertheless, officials circulated a petition opposing the Chicken Ranch and then tried to close it down as a "public nuisance per se". The resulting court case reached the Nevada Supreme Court, which ruled in Plankinton's favor in 1978 (Nye County v. Plankinton, 94 Nev. 739, 587 P.2d 421 (1978)).
- In 1978, the Chicken Ranch was burned to the ground, allegedly by arsonists who had been hired by Bill Martin, owner of the Shamrock brothel in Lathrop Wells. The twelve prostitutes and two employees barely survived. Plankinton reopened with a new set of trailers 5 days later.
In 1982, Plankinton sold the Chicken Ranch for $1,000,000 to Kenneth Green, a San Francisco business man. Green hired Russel Reade, a friend and ex-teacher, as manager. Some progressive rules were established; for instance, the brothel counsels the working women about retirement savings and health insurance.
In 1983, the house was the subject of the documentary Chicken Ranch by filmmaker Nick Broomfield.
In October 2003, the brothel was featured on the Comedy Central show Wanda Does It.
Chicken Ranch Airport was closed in 2004.
On February 8, 2006, the ranch accepted a purchase offer for $5.2 million.
Further reading
- Jeanie Kasindorf: Nye County Brothel Wars, Linden Press/Simon & Schuster 1985. Describes the opposition Plankinton encountered in Nye County.
External links
- The Chicken Ranch Brothel (site up 10/2019 R/)
See also
Return to Nevada Guest Ranches page
Abbreviations, Definitions & Codes used in this Guide
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