Brothel manager: Industry alive and kicking

CARSON CITY — The manager of the Mustang Ranch brothel in Northern Nevada is calling out the Los Angeles Times over an article last month that suggested the state's legal sex industry is "outdated," "distasteful" and on its last legs.

Don Gilman, in a lengthy missive sent to the newspaper, says that the world's oldest profession plays a crucial role in providing social services in rural counties and can reside in a 21st century world as a neighbor to Fortune 500 companies and high-tech industries.

Gilman is the son of Lance Gilman, a Storey County commissioner and managing partner in the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center east of Reno. The center, just down the street from the Mustang Ranch, is home to Tesla's huge $5 billion battery factory, a new Switch data storage campus, and more than 150 other companies.

Gilman demanded a retraction of one reference that said, "A few years ago, the famed Mustang Ranch threw a steak-and-lobster party for legislators. Only three showed up." Gilman called the statement "a total lie" and said the Mustang has never held a steak-and-lobster party for legislators.

Asked for a response, Kim Murphy, the Times' assistant managing editor, said Wednesday in an email, "We are reviewing the letter and will respond to its author. We will have no public comment."

Gilman also took exception to the characterization of brothels as being run-down trailers in Nevada's "cow counties." The Times article was published after former NBA player Lamar Odom was found unconscious at the Love Ranch in Nye County.

"Your reporters clearly did not ever set foot on the Mustang Ranch property," Gilman wrote in the letter forwarded to the Review-Journal. "It's a $10 million adult resort with Las Vegas high-end quality suites, award-winning steakhouse, and pools," located just a few minutes from Reno and an hour from Lake Tahoe.

"The Mustang Ranch is thriving," he said.

The Times story quoted state Sen. Tick Segerblom, D-Las Vegas, who said brothels are a "relic of the past."

"Even here in Nevada, they're relegated to what we call the cow counties," Segerblom said. "The urban areas have an appetite to abolish them. And given the state's rapid urbanization, there's really little popular support left for these businesses."

U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., in a speech to the 2011 Nevada Legislature, called for abolishing the brothel industry, saying it tarnished the state's image and hurt economic development efforts. Reid, then Senate majority leader, later quipped his remarks "went over like a pregnant high jumper."

Gilman said the brothel trade has helped women escape pimps and abuse and routinely aids seniors and the needy in their communities. Mustang Ranch donates about $100,000 annually to charitable causes, he added.

Brothels also "serve a need" for men or women in search of uncomplicated companionship or who have disabilities and difficulty socializing.

"Brothel courtesans are true caregivers for individuals who have these challenges," Gilman said.

He recommended that the Times send reporters to Reno to visit the Mustang Ranch, and ended his three-page letter with a paraphrased line from Mark Twain, who launched his writing career in the early 1860s at the Territorial Enterprise in Virginia City:

"The reports of our demise have been greatly exaggerated."

Contact Sandra Chereb at schereb@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901. Find her on Twitter: @SandraChereb