In first tryst, Markus does Shady Lady owner proud

The historic event unfolded over the course of about two hours Saturday afternoon, but don't expect anyone to erect a plaque at the site anytime soon.

As far as brothel owner Bobbi Davis is concerned, it was just business as usual.

After 10 days on the job, Nevada's first licensed male prostitute finally attracted his first customer, a self-employed woman in her mid-40s to early 50s who "seemed like she knew what she wanted."

That was Davis' description anyway.

Markus, as the state's first "prostidude" is known, isn't granting interviews, so unless the mystery customer comes forward, there's no one else to verify the story.

Davis said the woman made an appointment several days in advance and traveled to the Shady Lady Ranch 150 miles northwest of Las Vegas from "out of state."

She arrived about 3 p.m. Saturday and paid $500 for a two-hour session.

"Everybody was a little nervous, including the lady, including Markus, including me," Davis said.

Apparently, Davis had no reason to worry. Markus received high marks for his debut performance.

"I can usually tell by the look on the customer's face whether it went good or not," said Davis, who has owned and managed the Shady Lady for 17 years. "He did really good. We're all proud of him."

Markus didn't have to wait quite so long for his next appointments.

On Sunday night, he entertained a woman roughly the same age as the first, Davis said. A third customer showed up for a two-hour appointment with Markus on Wednesday.

That brings his total earnings to $1,500, though he only gets to keep half that money. The rest goes to the house.

"He's OK with it," Davis said of the job so far. "He's looking forward to his next appointment."

One thing he apparently isn't happy about is the hot new slang term for his profession. Davis said she thinks prostidude is "kind of catchy." But Markus, who accepts only female clients, "doesn't like the 'prosti' part."

"He'd prefer to be called a gigolo," she said.

Soon, Markus won't be the only man sharing office space with the working girls at the Shady Lady. Davis said she has already lined up a second pioneer of prostitution -- call him Buzz Aldrin to Markus' Neil Armstrong.

"It works better the more you have, because people want to have a choice," Davis said.

She described the new guy as 23 years old, 5 feet 10 inches tall and "a little on the slim side." He was born in the United States to Russian parents and speaks with an accent.

"That's going to be really great, because he sounds like Chekov on 'Star Trek,'" Davis said.

He doesn't have a stage name yet -- and brothels don't typically give out the real names of their sex workers -- but Davis will reveal this much: The new guy is slated to start work sometime right around Valentine's Day.

Contact reporter Henry Brean at hbrean@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350.