LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Legal sex workers are hoping brothels in Nevada will be able to reopen after nearly a year of being closed.
One worker told 13 Action News that some in the industry have turned to illegal sex work in the meantime.
“Reopening the brothels is essential,” said Alice Little, a legal sex worker.
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Little hasn’t stepped foot inside a brothel in nearly a year as restrictions continue to prevent their reopening.
“There needs to be a safe, legal way for myself and my peers to be able to apply our chosen trades,” Little said.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Little was working at the Moonlight Bunny Ranch near Carson City.
She remembers her last day in March of 2020.
“I had a guest and I was walking him out and everyone had this grim look on their face,” Little said.
The original thoughts of just a few weeks of closure are now a distant memory.
Any chance of reopening won’t come until May 1, as adult entertainment venues are considered high-risk businesses.
Without legal work for so long, Little says some Nevada sex workers are now working under the table.
“I have other coworkers that unfortunately had to work independently as a part of the criminalized industry simply because this is what they know, this is their job, this is their chosen profession,” Little said.
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Brothels across Nevada say they just want to get back to business.
“My staff and contractors have all suffered during the closing of the state by our governor just as so many others have,” said Madam Trudy, with the Chicken Ranch. “We have followed all procedures and directives the state and governor have put out since March of 2020."
