NCAST

Mark Waite,  Pahrump Valley Yimes

BEATTY --There will be one less set of blinking red lights to greet motorists on Highway 95.

Angel's Ladies Brothel, which billed itself as the "friendliest brothel in Nevada," closed at the end of September. The new owner doesn't have plans to reopen it as a brothel, said Assistant Sheriff Johanna Cody.

 County planners and law enforcement officials aren't sure what the new owner intends to do with the property.

The brothel had been owned by Jonathan King, who let the quarterly license expire Sept. 30, Cody said.

Former owner Mack Moore, who sold the property in September 2005, had talked about reacquiring the brothel, Cody said.

"When we explained to him he had to go through all the procedures again, with an audited financial statement, he thought about it for a while but then submitted a letter withdrawing his application," Cody said.

King had a partner at one time, Joshua Gottesman, Cody said.

It's the second, small, rural brothel to close along Highway 95 within the last five years. The Cottontail Ranch at Lida Junction in Esmeralda County, closed about four years ago and hasn't reopened. Before that, Bobby's Buckeye Bar in Tonopah closed in the early 1990s, then couldn't reopen due to zoning regulations.

Blinking red lights from the brothels were a fixture along Highway 95 at one time and were about the only businesses on the highway between Beatty and Goldfield. The closure of Angel's Ladies means there won't be any operating brothels on Highway 95 between Lathrop Wells and Mina, in Mineral County.

"In a way I hate to see it happen, because the money they did generate went into county health and welfare. But if you can't make payroll there's no sense in staying open," Cody said.

Angel's Ladies submitted the standard $1,875 quarterly payment, Cody said.

The brothel didn't have a bar, which could have affected business, Cody said, but it could also create problems for a brothel.

Bobbi Davis, manager of the Shady Lady Ranch, 20 miles north, said business tightened up when the price of gas went up. But customers have started coming in when the brothels were allowed to start advertising last summer, she said.

Davis was a plaintiff in the case requesting the right to advertise, citing the numerous escort services that already hand out fliers and advertise in Las Vegas.

"It's a tough business. I think it's going to be easier now we're getting a few more people who didn't know we were here," Davis said. "It's not going to be a panacea for everything, but it's going to help.

"The small ones are slowly dying out. We're doing okay (but) the only ones that are doing all right are the big houses. I managed to hang on for 15 years. I think I could manage to hang on a little longer."

Angels Ladies Brothel, with 48 acres, was put up for sale for $1.8 million in 2004. The brothel had boasted a warm spring in the back at a constant 84 degrees. Moore had suggested the property would be ideal for a truck stop with over 400 feet of frontage on Highway 95.

Moore, now 79 and living in Las Vegas, was unavailable for comment.