Main Page Western NV Rural Western Brothels (Playmate & Wild Kat):

On February 8, 2006, Churchill County Planning Commission officials granted preliminary approval to Nevada's Petticoat Junction, LLC to build and open what would have been the state's newest legal bordello near Leetville Junction (where U.S. 50 and Alternate U.S. 50 meet), about 9 miles west of Fallon in Ragtown. However, those plans were abandoned after the County Commission later denied the group a permit to operate where they had wished to build the project.

The Wild Kat Ranch in Mineral County near Mina remained open throughout this ordeal in neighboring Churchill County. In the late summer of 2004, its owner expanded his operation into an adjacent, new building, which recycled the name Playmate Ranch (under which the current Wild Kat had operated prior to 2003). But as of late 2007, this operation had closed and is said to be for sale (on its still active website). So the neighboring Wild Kat remains as the only rural western house currently still open for business.

Rural Brothels of Western NV:
Rural U.S. 95 Brothels:

Wild Kat Ranch
U.S. Highway 95
Mina, NV  89422
Website:
    www.wildkatranch.com
Phone Number:
    (775) 573-2521
GPS Information:
    Coordinates: 38° 21' 04.4"N -- 118° 06' 18.2"W
    Elevation: 4675'
Historical Note:
    This brothel was previously known as: Billie's Day and Night, and then later as the Playmate Ranch.
This brothel is situated in southeastern Mineral County, between Hawthorne and Tonopah, just south of the the small settlement of Mina. Its current owner, Jerry, rechristened it the Wild Kat Ranch in December of 2002. In the late summer of 2004, Jerry opened a second, brand new house under a separate license but adjacent to this one under the recycled Playmate Ranch name (but that additional house closed in 2007 and is currently for sale).

Operating daily between the hours of 12 Noon and 4 A.M., the Wild Kat is located on the west side of U.S. 95, approximately 5 miles north of the junction with Nevada S.R. 360 (known as Tonopah Junction) or about 3 miles south of the town of Mina. The valley in which it sits is framed by Pilot Peak (9182') to the east and the Excelsior Mountains to the west.

    How Go Get to the Wild Kat Ranch:

• From the Northwest (Reno, Carson City, northern CA) :
  
  • From Reno:
    1. Take I-80 East to exit 46, Nevada S.R. 427 (NV 427) in Fernley; bear right
       
    2. Follow NV 427 (first to the south, then curving east) for about one mile to the junction with Alternate U.S. 50 (U.S. 50A) and Alternate U.S. 95 (U.S. 95A) at East Street; turn right onto southbound 95A
    3. Follow Alternate U.S. 95 (U.S. 95A) South, through Silver Springs then Yerington, to its terminus at mainline U.S. 95 in Schurz; bear right onto southbound 95
    4. Take U.S. 95 South, past Walker Lake, thru Hawthorne, to Mina
    5. The Wild Kat will be about three miles south of Mina on your right.
  • From Carson City:
    1. Take U.S. 50 East to Alternate U.S. 95 (U.S. 95A) at Silver Springs, then turn right onto southbound 95A
    2. Follow Alternate U.S. 95 (U.S. 95A) South, through Yerington, to its terminus at mainline U.S. 95 in Schurz; bear right onto southbound 95
    3. Take U.S. 95 South, past Walker Lake, thru Hawthorne, to Mina
    4. The Wild Kat will be about three miles south of Mina on your right.
  • From northern CA:
    1. Take your best route to Reno, NV then follow all steps of the "From Reno" instructions above.
• From the Northeast (Battle Mountain, Carlin, & Elko) :
  • From Battle Mountain:
    1. Take Nevada S.R. 305 (NV 305) South to U.S. 50 at Austin; turn right onto westbound 50
    2. Follow U.S. 50 West to Nevada S.R. 361 (NV 361); turn left onto southbound 361
    3. Take Nevada S.R. 361 (NV 305) South to its terminus at U.S. 95 in Luning; turn left onto southbound 95
    4. Follow U.S. 95 South to Mina
    5. The Wild Kat will be about three miles south of Mina on your right.
  • From Carlin or Elko:
    1. Take I-80 West to exit 231, Nevada S.R. 305 (NV 305), in Battle Mountain; turn right off of the looping ramp onto southbound 305
    2. Then follow all steps of the "From Battle Mountain" instructions above.
• From the East & East-Northeast (Ely, Wells, & UT) :
  • From Ely:
    1. From the junction of U.S. 50 & U.S. 93 between Ely and East Ely, head south on the combined eastbound 50 & southbound 93 for about one mile to the junction with U.S. 6; turn right onto westbound 6
    2. Take U.S. 6 West to Tonopah
    3. Then follow all steps of the "From Tonopah" instructions below.
  • From Wells:
    1. Take U.S. 93 South to the junction with Alternate U.S. 93 (U.S. 93A) in Lages Station; bear right to remain on southbound U.S. 93
    2. Follow U.S. 93 South to Ely
    3. Then follow all steps of the "From Ely" instructions above.
  • From Salt Lake City & northern UT:
    1. By the best route available, get to I-80 West, then proceed to Wendover
    2. Cross into Nevada on I-80, then take exit 410, Alternate U.S. 93 (U.S. 93A) South
    3. Follow Alternate U.S. 93 (U.S. 93A) to its terminus at mainline U.S. 93 in Lages Station; proceed straight onto southbound U.S. 93
    4. Follow U.S. 93 South to Ely
    5. Then follow all steps of the "From Ely" instructions above.
  • From central & southern UT:
    1. By the best route available, get to the junction of U.S. 6 and U.S. 50 in Delta, UT
    2. Proceed west on the combined U.S. 6 & U.S. 50, into Nevada, past Majors Place (where U.S. 93 North joins the multiplex), over Connors Pass, to the south side of Ely where U.S. 6 West splits off; turn left onto westbound 6
    3. Follow U.S. 6 West to Tonopah
    4. Then follow all steps of the "From Tonopah" instructions below.
• From the North (Fallon & Winnemucca) :
  • From Fallon:
    1. Take U.S. 95 South, past Schurz & Walker Lake, thru Hawthorne, to Mina
    2. The Wild Kat will be about three miles south of Mina on your right.
  • From Winnemucca (and points north):
    1. Take U.S. 95 South, which joins I-80 West at exit 176
    2. Follow I-80 West until exit 83, where U.S. 95 South splits off
    3. Take U.S. 95 South to Fallon, then follow all steps of the "From Fallon" instructions above.
• From the Southeast (Tonopah, Pahrump, & Las Vegas) :
  
  • From Tonopah:
    1. Take the combined U.S. 6 West & U.S. 95 North (running generally west here) to Coaldale Junction, then bear right onto northbound 95 when these routes split
    2. Follow U.S. 95 North, to its intersection with Nevada S.R. 360 (NV 360) known as Tonopah Junction
    3. The Wild Kat Ranch will be about 5 miles north of NV 360, on your left.
  • From Pahrump:
    1. Take Nevada S.R. 160 West (really runs mostly north here) to its terminus at U.S. 95, then turn left
    2. Follow U.S. 95 North, thru Beatty, to Tonopah
    3. Stay on U.S. 95 North and follow all steps of the "From Tonopah" instructions above.
  • From Las Vegas:
    1. Take U.S. 95 North, thru Beatty, to Tonopah
    2. Stay on U.S. 95 North and follow all steps of the "From Tonopah" instructions above.
• From the South & Southwest (Bishop, southern & far east central CA) :
  • From Bishop:
    1. Take U.S. 6 East (which runs mostly north here), over Montgomery Pass, to the junction of Nevada S.R. 360 (NV 360) at Basalt; turn left onto highway 360
    2. Follow NV 360 for its entire length, to its northern terminus at U.S. 95 (known as Tonopah Junction); turn left onto northbound 95
    3. The Wild Kat Ranch will be about 5 miles north of NV 360, on your left.
  • From southern CA:
    1. By the best route available, get to U.S. 395 North, then proceed to Bishop
    2. Then follow all steps of the "From Bishop" instructions above.
  • From far east central CA - all weather route:
    1. By the best route available, get to U.S. 395 South, then proceed to Bishop
    2. Then follow all steps of the "From Bishop" instructions above.
  • From far east central CA - summer-only route:
    1. By the best route available, get to U.S. 395 South
    2. Take U.S. 395 South to California S.R. 120 (CA 120) East (south junction); turn left onto eastbound 120
       Note: CA 120 is CLOSED in Winter
    3. Follow CA 120 East to its terminus at U.S. 6 in Benton; turn left
    4. Take U.S. 6 East into Nevada, over Montgomery Pass, to the junction of Nevada S.R. 360 (NV 360) at Basalt; turn left onto highway 360
    5. Follow NV 360 for its entire length, to its northern terminus at U.S. 95 (known as Tonopah Junction); turn left onto northbound 95
    6. The Wild Kat Ranch will be about 5 miles north of NV 360, on your left.
• From the West (Fresno & most of central CA) :
  1. There's really only a scant few ways to cross the higher portions of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, so circumnavigate them to either Reno, Carson City, or Bishop and then follow all steps of the respective instructions from those gateway cities (which are all found above).

In April of 2006, the popular Kandi Sin was named the Madame of this brothel. Kandi is well-known as a courtesan who has previously worked at the Kit Kat Guest Ranch in Mound House and later at the Wild Horse Ranch outside of Reno. After a short time as Madame, Kandi left the Wild Kat and returned to working as a courtesan at the Kit Kat.

As of April 2007, the Playmate had a new website and phone numbers, but that website indicated the brothel was for sale (though it remained open for business until sometime later that year).

Fallon-area Brothels:

There are currently no operating brothels in the Fallon area or elsewhere in Churchill County.

Former and Proposed Brothels:

Nevada's Petticoat Junction Brothel - Failed New Brothel Proposal
off of Beasley Drive
Ragtown, NV
GPS Information (estimates for the original proposed location):
    Coordinates: 39° 30' 55"N -- 118° 27' 20"W (approximate)
    Elevation: 4100' (approximate)
After Churchill County voters rejected the Novermber 2004 proposition to ban LPIN in their county, the way was clear for another brothel to be licensed to replace the closed Salt Wells Ranch. However, it took until February 2006 for anyone to seriously consider applying for one of the two available brothel licenses in the county. At that time, a group known as Nevada's Petticoat Junction, LLC was granted approval to begin construction a brothel by the county's planning commission.

The three principals of the Petticoat Junction group, all from Reno, were David Houston, Kemp Shiffer, and John Kirsch. They proposed constructing a completely new facility on property they owned at the north end of Beasley Drive in Leetville Junction (part of the unincorporated community of Ragtown), which is located about nine miles west of the town of Fallon. Initial reports indicated the owners proposed a larger house (20,000 square feet, with room for 25-30 ladies) along the lines of those in Mound House rather than the more modest-sized bordellos more common to the smaller towns and rural areas of the state.

However, according to this April 7, 2006 article in the Lahontan Valley News, the Churchill County Commission denied the ownership group a "special use permit" to construct their proposed brothel at the previously approved site on Beasley Drive. This 2-1 vote effectively overturned the earlier decision of the Planning Commission. The article went on to say that one of the potential owners has hinted about potential legal action due to this reversal.

Now, well over a year later, this proposal appears to be dead and buried. But stay tuned for further developments, as you never know what might happen in the often wacky world of LPIN!

Salt Wells Ranch - PERMANENTLY CLOSED (License Revoked & Building Destroyed by Fire)
12500 Austin Highway
Salt Wells, NV  89406
GPS Information:
    Coordinates: 39° 22' 29.3"N -- 118° 35' 02.1"W
    Elevation: 3993'
Historical Note:
    This brothel was originally known as: Salt Wells Villa Ranch.
This former brothel was located on U.S. 50 (a/k/a Austin Highway), just northwest of the Churchill County settlement of Salt Wells, and southeast of both the town of Fallon and the nearby Fallon Naval Air Station. In early 2004, this house was closed by the county, due to the alleged financial troubles of its ownership and the lack of potable water service at the site. An effort was also undertaken at that time by certain agitators in Churchill County to ban brothels there altogether. However, the proposition they got placed on the ballot was defeated by a near 2-1 margin in the election of November 2004. As of February 2006, this property was reportedly still for sale.

In the early morning hours of Sunday, July 29, 2007, the building housing the former Salt Wells Villa brothel burned to the ground in a suspicious blaze. Part of the problem in fighting the fire, which spread to an adjacent structure (the former manager's residence), was the lack of adequate local water sources. Now that the buildings are gone, it appears there is almost zero chance that there will be another brothel at this particular site.

GPS coordinates & elevation data courtesy of Bashful
Note: Data for the Playmate Ranch was taken at the adjacent Wild Kat Ranch.

Many thanks to Jagged, Mikey, Tim Marks, Arctic Bear, and Bubbles for providing additional information regarding the brothels of this area.

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