A Shift for Vegas: Legal Prostitution is Being Advertised
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 11:18 PM

Back in July, a federal judge struck down a Nevada state law that prevented the legal brothels (located in rural counties) from advertising in Nevada's two most populous counties, which contain Las Vegas and Reno and in which brothel prostitution is not permitted as a matter of state law. I think that the lawsuit was short-sighted on the part of brothel owners, and that voluminous or particularly provocative ads will increase pressure to end the state acceptance of legal prostitution in rural counties. But so far, it seems, the ads are discreet -- they are targeted away from the good people residing in Las Vegas, and aimed instead at tourists and those dodgy alternative types. The risque' ads come from the Vegas strip clubs, apparently.

Labels: dancing, Las Vegas, Nevada, prostitution

 
Macau
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 5:35 PM

Labels: China, gambling, Las Vegas, slot machine

 
If You Patronize an Illegal Brothel During a Raid...
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 12:37 AM

...make sure that you do so when there is a sheriff and undersheriff also hanging about. Part of the culmination of a two-year investigation, the raid took place just west of the Las Vegas strip at about 9:30 on Saturday night. "No customers or suspected customers were arrested." Among those not arrested were the Sheriff and Undersheriff of San Mateo County, California, which is a bit south of San Francisco. The details are a little hard to discern from the linked story, but apparently at least one of the two men, and possibly both, were shocked, shocked, to learn that more than massages might be on offer at the raided establishment. If you think that the law enforcers received special treatment from the raiding parties, well, we are assured that that is not the case.

OK, I admit it, I have never heard of an "undersheriff" before. But it has quickly become my favorite law enforcement rank.

In all seriousness, in places where prostitution is legal and regulated, it generally is not a matter of public concern if a law enforcement officer (including an undersheriff) is in the vicinity when off-duty. And legality also makes it easier to combat coercion and trafficking of women.

Speaking of jurisdictions with legal prostitution, in the Netherlands, the number of sex businesses has declined by sixteen percent. One explanation offered for the phenomenon in the linked story is that versions of web-based sex are proving to be effective competitors to the non-virtual businesses.

Labels: Las Vegas, Netherlands, prostitution

 
Vegas and the National Basketball Association
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 11:47 PM

The city of Las Vegas has been interested in becoming a home for an NBA team. The NBA's All-Star game was held in Las Vegas earlier this year, in what was sort of a tryout. Betting on professional (and amateur) sports is legal in Las Vegas, of course, but no bets were accepted on the All-Star hoops game -- the NBA had made a ban on All-Star betting a condition of holding the game in Las Vegas.

The NBA commissioner has said that he would not favor a team in Vegas unless betting on that team's games was not allowed. But it looks as if Las Vegas is not yet willing to concede the point. In a proposal to the NBA, the city suggested that its regulatory structure was sufficient -- or could be made sufficient -- to calm the NBA's fears. According to the linked article, betting on college games involving nearby teams UNLV and the University of Nevada has been legal since 2001.

In an election this Tuesday, "Oscar Goodman, a former mob lawyer and self-proclaimed 'happiest mayor in the world,' breezed to a third term as mayor of Las Vegas."

Labels: gambling, Las Vegas

 
Las Vegas at 100
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 5:10 PM

Today Las Vegas is celebrating its centennial. Among the biggest features of its first 100 years was the shift, starting in the 1970s, from a mob-controlled-no-place-for-decent-Americans kind of resort to a family vacation spot:

Some observers attribute this newfound respectability to a general shift in attitudes of a more tolerant American public. Hal Rothman, professor of history at Nevada University and the author of Neon Metropolis, said: "Las Vegas used to be the place your pastor warned you against and your mother shook her finger at you if you mentioned its name, but these days people just go.

"The big story of the last 20 years has been gambling and gaming evolving into tourism and entertainment."

Around 38m visitors came to Las Vegas last year, spending $10bn in the casinos, but increasingly many are seeking out a different cultural experience, such as the flying acrobats of Cirque du Soleil or a Celine Dion concert.

But I would maintain that it wasn't an attitude shift that led to the mainstreaming of Las Vegas. Rather, it was a policy change: the Corporate Gaming Act of the late 1960s, which opened up casino operations to publicly-owned companies. Turns out that the mob, which was crucial when legitimate sources of capital were proscribed, proved no match for Wall Street.

Labels: casino, gambling, Las Vegas

 
Proposed Nuclear Waste Dump and Gambling
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 6:38 PM

What do they have in common? Well, two things, actually: (1) Nevada has them, and (2) Ralph Nader is against them. Speaking in a Las Vegas library, Nader said, "No presidential candidate should visit Las Vegas without condemning organized gambling," according to this Associated Press story. John Edwards and Dick Cheney responded with sighs of relief.

Labels: gambling, Las Vegas, Nevada

 
Sin City
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 10:01 AM

"Las Vegas is the most efficient machine ever devised to relieve the willing or the weak of their earthly fortunes, whether that weakness is gambling, sex, drink, spectacle or consumption." -- this according to a recent New York Times story on our desert playground. The article focuses on the close connection between local government and the gaming industry:

Government has long been the willing handmaiden of that which drives the Nevada economy, looking the other way when necessary, providing a helping hand when possible. It is no accident that Oscar Goodman, who made his name and his fortune representing mobsters and hit men, is the mayor of Las Vegas. Among his current proposals are legalizing prostitution in the city and building a "mob museum" to enshrine the city's criminal heritage.

Hey, certain Vice Squad members want to legalize prostitution, too - why do I suspect that I won't be elected mayor anytime soon? [Thanks to Will Baude at Crescat Sententia for letting Vice Squad in on the new New York Times article permalinks for blogs. This wonderful innovation by the Times does not quite make up for the fact that my copy was not delivered today -- in its place, a Chicago Tribune. They are not perfect substitutes.]

Labels: Crescat, Las Vegas, prostitution

 
Two Quick Gambling Stories
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 2:34 PM

(1) "A man scheduled to be sentenced [in New Jersey] for masterminding an illegal million-dollar investment scheme went to Las Vegas instead to play poker." He claimed he hoped to win money playing poker to make restitution to those he scammed out of $1.8 million.

(2) Bingo game raided in Utah. Utah and Hawaii do not allow any forms of gambling.

Labels: bingo, gambling, Las Vegas, poker

 
Building Support for Gambling Prohibition
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 1:23 PM

The friends of legal vices tend to do more to bring them into disrepute than do their avowed foes. Today brings two gambling stories that are unlikely to play well with the median voter. The first concerns a British man who staked his entire wealth on one spin of the roulette wheel. (How do we know it was his entire wealth? Well, he signed an affidavit to that effect -- you see, it was a made-for-media event, with the spin being broadcast on Britain's Sky One.) The punter plopped down his $135,000 or so on red at the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas, and his choice proved fortuitous. So, he doubled his money, though taxes will take a significant bite. This AP story does not mention the taxes, and is misleadingly headlined "Man Bets Life Savings, Wins $270,600" -- his pre-tax winnings were only half of that amount. Nor is the story tempered with any discussion of why this might not be such a good idea. We look forward to the torrent of copycats, the majority of whom will not be so lucky.

[Update: Will Baude at Crescat picked up on this post -- while adding a helpful dollop of Kipling -- and has motivated me to make a clarification. My concern with this stunt is not so much with the gambler in question, but rather with the casino's willingness to go along with the publicity. I guess I am not happy about the media sponsorship either, but I have come to expect that. The casino should not have allowed the filming of this wager nor been an active participant in any way, I think; but the last paragraph of the AP story indicates that the casino essentially lent its imprimatur to this potentially perilous frolic. I believe that promotional controls that would bar such active participation by casinos might be appropriate, though I might also hope for better sense from the casino management itself.]

Incidentally, a bet on red on a typical roulette wheel in a US casino has a probability of winning of about 47.4% -- there are 18 red numbers, 18 black numbers, and a zero and a double zero. Europe dispenses with the double zero, so the probability of winning a bet on red (or on black, of course), is higher in Europe, at .486.

Gambling is much more popular in Australia than in Europe or in the US, and of course, there are many people in Australia and elsewhere who are afflicted with gambling problems. Gamblers Anonymous tries to help those who find that their gambling has become problematic. Unfortunately, visitors to the website of the Australian branch of GA have been met with pop-up advertisements for -- you guessed it -- casinos. (More fuel for my ongoing rant that advertising controls often are a useful part of the regulatory regime governing legal vices.)

If the title of this post sounds familiar, it is because just a few posts ago there was a similar headline involving alcohol.

Labels: Australia, Britain, casino, gambling, Las Vegas, marketing

 
Las Vegas Prostitution Update
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 4:41 PM

The mayor's remarks last week have rendered the potential legalization of prostitution in Las Vegas a hot topic. A new poll reports that most Nevadans (?) are happy to continue to
use the criminal law to semi-regulate prostitution.

Polls about the legalization of illicit vice are sort of interesting, irrespective of the outcome. Can you imagine anyone conducting a poll inquiring into opinions about the legalization of burglary or theft -- or having one-third of the respondents in support of the legalization? To be honest, I almost see
the poll itself as evidence that, to repeat a recent refrain, the criminal law is generally the wrong tool for regulating consensual adult activity.

Labels: Las Vegas, prostitution

 
Legal Prostitution for Las Vegas? Thailand?
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 3:04 PM

Brothel prostitution is legal in some rural counties in Nevada, but not in the large cities of Reno and Las Vegas. Recently the mayor of Las Vegas suggested that perhaps legal prostitution could be used in the city for economic revitalization. Across the world, similar sentiments are being expressed in Thailand. Government fiscal motives are one of the driving forces behind a move to decriminalize prostitution, according to this article in the Bangkok Post: "The Thaksin government, following the scandal surrounding commercial sex baron Chuwit Kamolwisit, introduced the idea of legalising prostitution in order earn more tax revenue from the trillion-baht industry." The issue of raising government revenue through legalizing and taxing a currently illegal vice surfaces again and again, and I intend to discuss it a bit on Vice Squad today or tomorrow.

Labels: Asia, Las Vegas, prostitution