Nightmare Mode – Chickens, Bunnies, and Sheri’s - oh my:
I had only managed to do business at one of these spots my first time through, as the incline was just too steep. I went to NV the last time with the goal of doing business everywhere I had interest in, and while I did miss a few, I did somehow manage to succeed in these three hardest targets. It was not cheap, but it was also not anywhere near the worst case, nor the average starting/asking prices, and in all cases (some more than others), I as able to work with some general time management/flexibility. No one was hardcore clock-watching outside of a bit one time due to an encroaching appointment afterward, and cost averages also started to come down some due to actual time being spent together, on top of (almost) everyone being good about some getting-to-know-you conversation lead-ins.
The attraction of these places comes both from ease of access but also bigger rosters/line-ups than anywhere other than Mustang. The problem is that the pricing tiers here are nosebleed levels and also due to that amount of money flying around they tend to be much less friendly to you “wasting” time getting to know someone before a party. I found a few things that might help, but it may never be easy in these spots, at least if you are on a mortal budget and/or if you are honest about being a bit monger-y.
Oddly my first time through Nevada in the summer the only one of these three I managed to be able to deal with was Chicken Ranch, and while it was doable again this time it felt like the roughest one, and I had my only crash-and-burn negotiation of the year there. Meanwhile I found some pockets of mercy at Sheri’s and also some hidden value/perks there, so the two houses have now inverted for me in how easy they are to deal with. Bunny Ranch also loosened up a bit, but only after I was there for real business, and though I have interest in a few women there, some of them may sadly be a case of “the rent is too damn high” and just not realistically possible/competitive with other options… anyway...
Moonlite Bunny Ranch
I had met someone here during my first trip that I wanted to get back to. Her rate was in the roughly-expected bracket but not as bad as some others there, and we had gotten along fairly well. There may have been some question the first time as to whether I was just a tourist stopping by, but this time she knew I meant business and so things proceeded with less tentative skepticism. That said I wonder if this backfires a bit in negotiations, because if you return specifically for someone later they may think (rightly so in this case) that you are less likely to walk. While there are (much) harsher prices in this tier I was honest with this lady that the amount was doable for an initial curiosity but that it would make repeat (let alone regular) business difficult if not impossible. I was given some decent time with a bit of a “not super strict shot clock” promise, which helps a bit when dealing with a higher dollar amount.
We talked quite a bit before, as well as a bit after while I was lingering in the bar, but what was also interesting here was the shift in attitude there in general once doing real (non-drink-at-the-bar) business. The bartender (though a cool woman anyway) had no issue with me sitting around chatting up a few more ladies and doing a couple of price checks, and the ladies themselves knew I had been in for a request/party and so at least in some cases seemed a bit more friendly toward casual conversation vs. being just some rando stopping by. Some of this might have also been that it seemed like a slow night, though I was in on a Friday and was surprised at that (I’ve been told often now that these things are not easily predictable). Some of the girls might have wondered WTF some weirdo was doing chilling at the bar for so long after a party, but for the most part things were friendly/relaxed and I did get to meet a few more people and even just observe some interesting personalities, happenings, and a couple of business details.
This was also their Karaoke night, but no one was singing the whole time except once or twice some of the girls joking around with themselves. I was told it was not really as much of a thing there as at Sagebrush, since normally there are not people hanging out in the parlor area at Bunny. I did kind of appreciate the vibe there that night, and it would earn a higher spot on my list of places to go if not for the average price bracket.
Sheri’s:
On my first trip Sheri’s came off as the toughest environment to deal with. It’s still not easy but I am softening here after two good experiences and a few learning curve details.
First, if you can manage it, REQUEST a lady, and the aggressive 10-minute timers on bar intros go away. This was absolutely huge. You are still dealing with individual personalities and some might not want to talk for to long, but my personal style is pretty effective on it’s own at filtering that down. Also, on talking to the hosts more, I learned that even if you do a bar call and there are 10-minute timers going, if you find someone you think you like, you can still then tell the host you are requesting that lady. This will stop the bar call from going further and you can go off-timer with that lady so it is not overly rushed. I technically did not have to even make use of that second part, but those two things along turn Sheri’s from an annoying/overwhelming experience into maybe even above average in it’s ease of conversation (since they have all 3 options: line-up, bar call, request). The remaining problem is just still of course that it’s usually expensive as fuck.
There are a few other oddities I looked into while here as well.
1) ID scans, as mentioned in a previous thread, are (at least allegedly) kept only locally on the tablets and wiped daily.
2) I confirmed that they are in fact actively listening to negotiations in the ladies’ rooms. There may be a couple other houses that do this, especially if there is a designated negotiation room, but it did take a bit of adjusting. I am OK with this in principle and understand why, but did not like it being a surprise the first time due to certain sensitive things you could say in the process. Now that I know, I want to keep it a bit more business-only in that portion, and if there is something slightly more personal (as long as it is not relevant to party type), I’ll not say anything until after agreeing to book.
The first party I did here involved someone who had responded to a price-ballpark query e-mail in the summer with a (as per regulations) vague “can work with that”/”we should talk” response. Going in this time I requested her directly and to my surprise not only did she not mind talking fairly extensively first, but she was also quite friendly and easy/fun to talk to in general. While I had to come upwards a bit in my price expectations it was not nearly as bad as some, and it was also not full price off her menu (plus I am a fan of menus, and hers was particularly logical re: activities/mode/time).
That party went well enough that it actually made me resurrect the later-neglected method of using an initial e-mail query. For some reason multiple Sheri’s girls seem to think that federal regulations prohibit them from answering much (I looked into that and it seems like only Nevada cares), but it’s possible it does not really matter. Even if you get zero indicator of “I can work with that” there seemed to be some correlation with getting responses at all vs no reply, and if there is some vague hinting at it maybe working out or not then you at least have a starting expectation. Unfortunately this is not fool proof (see below), but it did work out twice this time.
The second party I did here did also respond to an e-mail like this. She cited federal regs and did not specifically say anything about it other than expressing an interest in meeting. That was enough to want to check in, and this match once again worked out quite well. Not cheap, but again not exploitatively high, and also not overly clock-watching and willing to talk plenty beforehand to make sure the vibe was good.
I also found some interesting bits of value at Sheri’s in an otherwise pricey landscape. 1) you get a free night at their hotel it you book any party over 500 dollars (and I don’t know WTF anyone can do there for UNDER that, so basically all parties). They did not have wifi in the rooms at the time so I personally would not stay longer than one or maximum 2 days there unless that changes, but the rooms are nice, so especially if you do intend to be doing business there, that is pretty convenient. I was able to use this once already on a day when both Pahrump and Vegas were booked up enough to make the hotel rates >100/night (Saddle West can get closer to 60 or space if space). Not huge but also not insignificant, and you technically don’t have to be partying to use it (I did not that day).
Though much smaller, they will also comp drinks upon partying. The second lady did not use this, but the first one had a bottle of Champagne added at no charge. Nice if you are into it.
Chicken Ranch:
There were again two visits here though this time only one of them resulted in a party.
The first time I found someone purely by drop-in and a monitor selection. She was willing to talk in the bar a small bit but wanted to get into negotiations faster than I usually like, which caused some of the talking portion to run into the party time. This was by far the most public/high-profile individual I have dealt with, and I think sometimes with someone that in-demand they do not want to burn any time without it being a known sale. The day was also much busier which can also cause trouble (not easy to take it slow when there is potential competition). Her rate was surprisingly sane given her media profile + Pahrump market, so there was less haggling/explaining to be done here. I only wanted some flexibility around the shot clock which she agreed to, and she proved good on her word there (not sure what she said to the office, but they did not even bother notifying on normal time’s up), making this encounter less stressful from that angle and bringing the de facto rate down substantially as well. Though the ease with which she seemed to call her own shots did lead me to believe that a my previous encounter at CR was fibbing a bit telling me how much the office was constraining the booking specifics...
The second time through CR I had used the ballpark e-mail query method again, and had gotten responses from both the women I tired contacting. One suggested to raise my budget, when the other said she would be happy to talk, and so I chose the latter, and in this case this turned out to be an error. I was in at a time with no customer traffic competition which is nice, so was able to talk a bit more. I was up front with being exhausted from driving and maybe needing to come back the next day, which also seemed OK at first. We went into negotiation and it got a bit rockier. Despite my e-mail query setting a fairly low target budget, she tried a 5K opening salvo which I had to immediately nope… It came down substantially, and we did seem to then find a more sane range, but something about my hesitancy, either to book that night (despite having disclaimed otherwise already), or not biting on higher prices (despite ALSO having signaled that quite clearly up front), annoyed her. She also did not seem to like that I had been there a week or two prior, despite me being completely transparent about it (some people like to think me being highly forthright gives them an advantage, but hilariously it is often the opposite when you get to see their reactions).
It was not super obvious how busted things were after the negotiation even, seeing as we found an allegedly OK middle ground to agree on and I initially intended to be back the next day, but when walking out she made a [seemingly negative] comment to the bartender/cashier about my other recent visit. I did not even process the attitude on it fast enough and could not ask at that point, so decided to check on/clear up any issue by e-mail. This was a person who was very responsive over e-mail (and we had even talked about why that was), so when no answer came back I feel like that was confirmation enough for “it’s busted.” Sadly I did not get back to candidate number 2 that time, since I did not want to go back until enough time had been given for(non)response. Instead I had my second party next door at Sheri’s… So, this time Pahrump fates reversed for me, and it was Sheri’s eating Chicken’s lunch.
Incidentally, although it could be the result of many things, for any lady who I had some sort of contact info for, my Chicken ranch acquaintances were also the least responsive to follow-up messages after a party, even when one was promising specifically otherwise. Not the worst thing ever, but an indicator that this place might be a bit rougher under the surface than is immediately evident. Once actually finding some who I got along with to do business, both Bunny Ranch and Sheri’s girls were more responsive, and interestingly the two from Sheri’s are the only women in the LPIN world to beat me to the punch sending a follow-up e-mail after a party (unclear if that is very individual or an encouraged practice there). Even if it is for the purely business reason of encouraging you to come back and spend more, that is still useful/meaningful in it’s own way – at least you know your business is welcome.
