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Chicken Ranch (Nevada)
Encyclopedia
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
located about 60 miles (96.6 km) west of Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
near the town of Pahrump
Pahrump, Nevada
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 24,631 people, 10,153 households, and 7,127 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 82.7 people per square mile . There were 11,651 housing units at an average density of 39.1 per square mile...
, in Nye County
Nye County, Nevada
-National protected areas:* Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge* Death Valley National Park * Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest * Spring Mountains National Recreation Area -Demographics:...
, at 10511 Homestead Road. The 17 bed brothel sits on 40 acres (16 ha) 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
Chicken Ranch (Texas)
The Chicken Ranch was as an illegal but tolerated brothel in the U.S. state of Texas that operated from 1905 until 1973. It was located in Fayette County about 2.5 miles east of downtown La Grange...
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 half hour of intercourse
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
and oral sex
Oral sex
Oral sex is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a sex partner by the use of the mouth, tongue, teeth or throat. Cunnilingus refers to oral sex performed on females while fellatio refer to oral sex performed on males. Anilingus refers to oral stimulation of a person's anus...
is about $350. Like most legal brothels in the state, the house receives 50% of that money. Since the change of ownership of neighboring competitor Sheri's Ranch
Sheri's Ranch
Sheri's Ranch is a legal brothel, resort and spa in Pahrump, Nevada. Unlike many other brothels in the state, it styles itself as a "resort", with upscale rooms and furnishings, tennis courts, a spa and outdoor swimming pool...
, and its subsequent lavish remodeling and expansion, 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
The initial location of the Chicken Ranch was inside the town limits of Pahrump, where prostitution was illegal. Plankinton was arrested and found guilty of violating the town's laws. He moved the brothel to a new location within Nye County, but outside of town limits. After lengthy appeals he served 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.
In 1978, the Chicken Ranch was burned to the ground, allegedly by arsonists. 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.
Chicken Ranch Airport was closed in 2004.
On February 8, 2006, the ranch accepted a purchase offer for $5.2 million.
Books, movies, TV shows
Jeanie Kasindorf's book Nye County Brothel Wars (Linden Press/Simon & Schuster 1985) describes the opposition Plankinton encountered in Nye County.In 1983, the house was the subject of the documentary Chicken Ranch
Chicken Ranch (film)
Chicken Ranch is a 1983 documentary film by Nick Broomfield about the famous legalised brothel, the Chicken Ranch, in Pahrump, Nevada.The documentary, which remains purely observational for the most part, depicts the prostitutes as likeable characters often looking for a way out of the remote...
by filmmaker Nick Broomfield
Nick Broomfield
Nicholas "Nick" Broomfield is an English documentary film-maker. He is the son of Maurice Broomfield, a photographer.Broomfield works with a minimal crew, recording sound himself and using one or two camera operators...
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In October 2003, the brothel was featured on the Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
show Wanda Does It
Wanda Does It
Wanda Does It was a television show on Comedy Central that displayed "a day in the life" of the world of comedian Wanda Sykes. The show was canceled in early January, 2005 though the last episode aired November 16, 2004...
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The six part Sundance Channel series Pleasure for Sale (2008) documented life in the Chicken Ranch, describing the sometimes tense relations among the prostitutes working there.