American Notes

The idea was too wild -- even for the Wild West. A psychologist in Nevada's state prison system wanted to build a theme park that would represent an 1880s mining camp. As Bill Mace Knapp envisioned it, the place would be old-timey, with a general store, saloon, gold mine and . . . oh, yes, a brothel.

Prostitution is legal in some Nevada counties, and Knapp figured he could help the state's economy by bringing it into the mainstream. His ladies of the evening would look more like Miss Kitty from Gunsmoke than street-hardened hookers. To attract investors, he was offering sex coupons, promises of "three girls for the price of one" and "VIP" cards good for a week of unlimited visits. The project was put on hold after prison officials fired him under a policy forbidding employees to hold second jobs in certain establishments. Governor Bob Miller also objected to the bordello, which would have been only 10 miles from the state capital. Said Knapp: "The fact that the Governor is opposed would make me pretty foolish to try it in this area."