Are legal brothels doomed?: The brothel industry is deeply concerned that its days as a legal industry are numbered. Southern Nevada’s legal bordellos have suffered in recent years as prostitution in Las Vegas has been all but legalized in the form of outcall companies, swingers clubs that operate openly as whorehouses and many other versions of the world’s oldest profession.

The real threat to legal brothels may be political. Up in Churchill County, a ballot measure to ban brothels has qualified for the ballot and has the backing of the Mormon Church. If Churchill closes the doors of its modest little bordello, brothel opponents wll likely be emboldened and may take heir act on the road. Already in Lyon County, local officials have said on the record that they are growing tired of slapping the wrists of high-profile owner Dennis Hof, a publicity hound whose assorted stunts have resulted in considerable embarrassment for Lyon County. Some regulators have threatened that if Hof and his competitors don’t tone things down, the county stands ready to eliminate the brothels.

Nye County probably would be the last local government to ban brothels, but even there it isn’t out of the question. Nye commissioners are mighty steamed at the Chicken Ranch over its threats to sue the county. And reformers in that fast-changing county are suspicious of the political power enjoyed by certain bordello owners.