KLAS-TV Channel 8 News Las VegasI-Team: Tricks of the Trade in Las Vegas Sex Clubs
Sex clubs offer nearly anything you want with anyone who's willing. They operate in a world of loose regulation, weak enforcement and an anything goes attitude.
Technically they are illegal. From wife-swapping to whips and chains, it's yours if you want it. There is a huge market for clubs that offer every fantasy imaginable for just an entrance fee. County code says that won't fly. So, why hasn't there been a crackdown? The answer is more complicated than you've heard before. It's where money, power and sex all come together.
"From bondage, to transgender to Bi to whatever else, we're the 'everybody else' club," said Mike Powers, Power Exchange.
Powers is the owner and operator of Power Exchange, the newest sex club in Las Vegas. His sprawling two-level complex off Highland Drive is a fetish fantasy.
"It's part of an open-minded alternative aspect of society. Powers calls it a social club for like- minded people," Powers said, adding, "It's like the Elks Club or the Lions, kind of club for extreme interests, perverse interests or bizarre interests."
"None of them are licensed to be sex clubs," said David Cooper, who used to be in the sex club business until the county shut him down last year. Since then, he's been waging a one man war against sex clubs.
"Sex clubs apparently are legal in Clark County because they are not prosecuting them, they're not going after them, they're not doing anything," said Cooper.
Clark County code calls sex clubs a "public nuisance." It defines them as places for "adult social sexual encounters", where patrons can "voluntarily engage in and/or view" live sex. So, if the county prohibits it, how do the clubs stay in business?
"I think the ordinance itself is a mess," said Allen Lichenstein, a prominent attorney. He is Cooper's former lawyer and he currently works for Power Exchange and other adult clubs.
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it. There really isn't a problem," Lichenstein said. He says the county's code is confusing and up for interpretation. Read one way, it could lead to moral crusades.
"It's not prostitution, it's not drugs, it's not violence. Why should anyone else care?" Lichenstein does counsel potential clubs to find unique ways to work within the county code. They are licensed as nearly everything but a sex club because which would be illegal. There are licenses for tanning salons, clothing and accessories shops, and restaurants. Club owners do operate those on site too but it's only a small portion of the bottom line.
"This area is so gray," said Loretta Holt who, along with Wayne Bridge, are part of the Sin City Chamber of Commerce, an advocacy group for adult businesses. They say the ordinance forces sex clubs to play a little loose with the licenses. They want reform.
"Try to figure out what is right, what is wrong, what is allowed, what is not," she said.
"It's much better to be honest about it and be who you are, and allow them to be who they are, Bridge adds. Powers agrees. "Don't make it a situation where people have to operate in this realm of ambiguity."
For all sides, the issue is money. Powers brings money into the economy. Powers thinks the county looks the other way because of the taxes and attention he brings to Las Vegas.
"You can at least say, I've brought in $100,000 at minimum for the ten months I've paid my rent to Nevada," Powers said.
"People want to come here to see 'what happens in Vegas' and if nothing happens, nobody's coming," Holt said.
No one from Clark County or the commissioners wanted to go on camera for this story. They tell Eyewitness News they stand by the ordinance, believing it to be crystal clear.
In a statement Wednesday, the county would only say "We investigate all accusations of illegal activity and take action to address any problems we find."
The sex club owners tell Eyewitness News they welcome more scrutiny because they want to be legitimate licensed businesses.
