"Speed Racer's" Driving Directions to Nevada's Legal Brothels

Main Page Southern NV Cherry Patch (i.e., Joe Richards') brothels
                                            (Mabel's & Cherry Patch II):

There are two brothels in rural Nye County, between Pahrump and Beatty, controlled by controversial local figure Joe Richards: Mable's Whorehouse (a/k/a the Cherry Patch I and/or Madame Butterfly's) in Crystal and the Cherry Patch II in Amargosa Valley.

RECENT NEWS:
Joe Richards Arrested by FBI on Bribery Charge
Controversial Nye County brothel owner Joe Richards was arrested by FBI agents in early March 2006 on felony bribery charges. Mr. Richards aledgedly offered $5000 to a Nye County Commissioner in exchange for a promise to consider changing local zoning laws which currently prevent him from developing a new brothel on property he owns in Pahrump. The commissioner, who reportedly received the funds in the form of a check from Richards, was working as an informant for the FBI. A preliminary hearing on these charges is scheduled in Federal District Court for later in March. If convicted, Mr. Richards will have to forfeit his existing three Nye County brothel licenses (only two of which are currently in use), as convicted felons are ineligible to hold them. For now though, both of his active houses remain open for business.

As of the Spring of 2007, there's been no update I've heard of to this story. Of course, given the snail's pace of our legal system, that's no big surprise. If anyone knows of any further developments in this story, please let me know!

Amargosa Valley Crystal Atomic Crater Ranch Mabel's/Cherry Patch 1 Cherry Patch 2 Las Vegas Metro Area Map of Southern Nevada

Joe Richards' "Cherry Patch" Brothels:

Mabel's Whorehouse
(Also variously known as: The Cherry Patch I and/or Madame Butterfly's Bathhouse & Brothel Art Museum)
Appaloosa Lane
Crystal, NV
Website:
    http://www.mabelswhorehouse.com
Phone Numbers:
    (775) 372-5469
    (775) 372-5251
GPS Information:
    Coordinates: 36° 28' 59.9"N -- 116° 09' 25.0"W
    Elevation: 2433'
Mabel's, also known as the Cherry Patch I and Madame Butterfly's, is an establishment no longer technically owned (but still effectively controlled) by the infamous Joe Richards. It is located in the near-ghost town known as Crystal, in Nye County about 21 miles north-northwest of Pahrump, and is not shown on most maps (this is not the Crystal found just off exit 75 of I-15 in northeastern Clark County). For years, Richards has had large billboards just outside of Pahrump along highway 160 advertising his Madame Butterfly's "brothel art museum" in Crystal, to the bane of most local citizens and politicos. He has tried to sway both Nye County and Pahrump officials into granting him the right to open a new brothel on undeveloped property he owns on the west side of Homestead Road (across from the Chicken Ranch and Sheri's) in exchange for removing these billboards, so far, to no avail. While many reports in the not-too-distant past spoke of allegedly dank working conditions for the ladies and possible mis-treatment at the hands of this brothel's management, a few more recent accounts had been somewhat less negative. At least until March of 2006, when Mr. Richards was arrested on Federal bribary charges (see Recent News above).

Technically, Mabel's and the Cherry Patch I are separate buildings, located about a half a mile apart (and were once both licensed and operated as separate brothels). However, this particular Cherry Patch (the other, the Cherry Patch II, being found in Amargosa Valley) has been closed for some time now, with its name (but not its license) having been effectively transferred to Mabel's just down the dirt road. Madame Butterfly's Bathhouse is housed in the same building as Mabel's, and shares the same working ladies, so for all intents and purposes, all three monikers are now just different names for the same adult business in Crystal. The so-called "brothel art museum" is in an adjoining building from Mabel's, connected by a short, covered walkway. It does contain hundreds of newspaper articles relating to the topic of legalized prostitution in Nevada (LPIN), but serves mainly as a vehicle for Richards to get around the Nevada law prohibiting brothels from actually advertising.

Mabel's Whorehouse Mabel's Whorehouse Cherry Patch I (Fmr Site) Cherry Patch I (Fmr Site) Map of Crystal (Nye County) and vicinity To get to the Mabel's/Cherry Patch complex from Las Vegas, take U.S. 95 NORTH out of town toward Tonopah. Around 58 miles north of downtown Las Vegas you will reach the Clark - Nye county line. About 13.25 miles past that border, turn left (south) onto NV 160 East (toward Pahrump). Proceed approximately 5.5 miles on NV 160, keeping a sharp eye for the small (non-street) signs directing you to turn right (west) on "Ranch Road", the mostly unpaved path leading to Crystal. After the pavement ends, continue straight on west to Appoloosa Lane, where just beyond the intersection is the original, long closed Cherry Patch I building. Turn left before passing by that building's parking lot, onto Appoloosa, and proceed another 0.45 mile south to Mabel's.

From downtown Pahrump, take Nevada S.R. 160 WEST (which here actually runs mostly to the north) for about 21.5 miles, and turn left at the same signs mentioned above. From either approach, it's about 2.25 more miles to Appoloosa Lane once you're turned off of highway 160 onto Ranch Road.

One final note, on the Mabel's website, they initially misspelled the name of their own establishment (as "Mable's") on the main banner!

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The Cherry Patch II
U.S. 95 (near NV 373)
Amargosa Valley, NV
Website:
    http://www.cherrypatchwhorehouse.com
Phone Numbers:
    (775) 372-5551
GPS Information:
    Coordinates: 36° 38' 37.9"N -- 116° 23' 44.7"W
    Elevation: 2704'
The Cherry Patch II is tucked away just behind Nevada Joe's Truck Stop on U.S. 95 in Amargosa Valley, about a quarter of a mile east of the northern terminus of Nevada S.R. 373 (or about 12 miles west-northwest of the U.S. 95 junction with NV 160 - the road going south to Pahrump). This oasis in the desert (a combination gas station, restaurant, bar, and general store) serves mainly truckers coming up north from Las Vegas or California (NV 373 becomes CA 127 at the state line, about 16 miles south of here) and tourists heading to or from nearby Death Valley.

This brothel is operated by controversial Nye County figure Joe Richards (who also owns the adjoining truck stop - as if you couldn't tell by its name). As such, the Cherry Patch II shares much of the poor reputation of Richards' other operation, Mabel's Whorehouse (a/k/a the Cherry Patch I or Madame Butterfly's) in nearby Crystal, though again, more recent reports had been a bit less negative (until Richards' March 2006 arrest on bribary charges). For some reason, this establishment usually has significantly fewer working ladies than its sister operation, in spite of the fact it's much easier to get to (being right off a major highway rather than being sited in a near-ghost town off of two remote, dirt roads).

One other note, the Amargosa Valley area is sometimes referred to by its former name: Lathrop Wells.

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GPS coordinates & elevation data courtesy of Bashful

 

All of the information contained herein is believed to be current as of April 29, 2007.
Copyright 2002-07 Speed Racer LPIN - For personal, non-commercial use only - contents of this webpage may not be reproduced or modified for non-personal use without express permission of Speed Racer LPIN, their author.
This page was last modified : April 29, 2007
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