Gas Prices Screw Nev. Brothels

It keeps other businesses from moving there, he says

(NEWSER) - Harry Reid is taking on a venerable institution in his state: legalized prostitution. Calling for "an adult conversation" on the issue, Reid told lawmakers today that he believed the practice, legal only in rural counties, deters businesses from moving to the state, reports the Las Vegas Sun . “Nevada needs to be known as the first place for innovation and investment—not as the last place where prostitution is still legal,” he said in a speech to the legislature. More»

'Markus' is more like a 'bad second date'

(NEWSER) - Save your money, women of America. The nation's first legal male prostitute just isn't worth it, writes New York Post dating columnist Mandy Stadtmiller. She flew to Vegas undercover for an encounter with "Markus" and left underwhelmed. Important caveat: She didn't have sex with the "dorky college dropout," settling instead for a long talk (in which he boasts of his ability to "pronunciate" words and compares himself to the composer "Choppin") and a massage. "It was like a bad second date. That cost $500." More»

Brothel lobbyist predicts 'Pearl Harbor' for industry

(NEWSER) - Gay marriage may have taken a few steps backwards this year, but male hookers just won the right to work in Nevada brothels, and they can choose to accept male or female clients, just as female prostitutes can. Men can now be employed as well as women, thanks to a change in laws that previously stipulated "cervical" STD testing for sex workers. And while it doesn't change the legal status of homosexuality itself, it's still stirred opposition. More»

(NEWSER) - A Nevada brothel featured on an HBO reality show is offering Rod Blagojevich the chance to recoup some of the cash he missed out on by being barred from leaving the country to film for NBC, Gawker reports. The former Illinois governor’s PR flak is taking “very seriously” the offer from the Moonlite Bunny Ranch of an “apprenticeship.” More»

$5-per-day levy on clients proposed to boost state coffers, help sex workers

(NEWSER) - A Nevada lawmaker is seeking a new tax on the world's oldest profession, NPR reports. Democratic State Sen. Bob Coffin has introduced a bill that would tax anybody using the services of a prostitute—in the state's 25 legal brothels or elsewhere—$5 per day, with the proceeds going to fund state services and assistance for sex workers. More»