LAS VEGAS, NV — Swinging, wife-swapping, partying, polyamory or just fooling around — however one refers to the practice of communal sex with partners other than one’s own, catering to the whims of sexually liberated couples has become big business for clubs, retailers and other entities worldwide.Except, oddly enough, in the devil’s playground itself, Las Vegas, NV. Sin City apparently doesn’t provide a warm, welcoming bosom for swingers.
One estimate places the population of Vegas residents who consider themselves swingers at about 6,000 people. In a city of several million locals, that’s a fairly small group, but add the number of visitors the city attracts partially because it’s seen as an anything-goes environment, and the picture becomes even more dramatic.
City fathers evidently do not want to encourage that sort of image. Vegas swingers say it’s next to impossible to be open about their lives and businesses and remain in business. What should happen in Vegas often doesn’t happen in Vegas, they say.
Take Dave Cooper and his wife Virginia and girlfriend Elaine. Although they have hosted successful house parties and owned clubs in other states, they’ve faced challenges in Vegas. When they tried to open a swingers club in a commercial district off the tourists’ beaten path, they ran smack-dab into what Dave Cooper called a “sexually schizophrenic” atmosphere that on the surface promotes Vegas’ sleazy reputation but deep down denies anything salacious is going on.
Mike Borchers, who operates arguably the largest, most famous swing club in the U.S. — the Red Rooster — said that doesn’t surprise him. The Rooster has existed in a private residence on the outskirts of Las Vegas since the 1980s and weekly hosts hundreds of sexually liberated couples and singles from all over the world.
“Every religion comes here,” Borchers told Las Vegas Now. “Every occupation: doctors, lawyers, even judges, big judges but I wouldn’t name them. A lot of lawyers come here, policemen, firemen.”
He also said he has battled authorities since the day the Rooster opened, and he continues to be cited for all sorts of licensing violations. The “official” attitude about swinging is just wrong, especially in Vegas, he believes. The targets for prosecution should be the commercial sex clubs that front for prostitution — which, although it is legal and tightly regulated in all but two Nevada counties, is against the law in Sin City.
Cooper quickly discovered when he tried to open a legal and out-in-the-open swingers club in the Commercial Center shopping complex that Sin City isn’t quite as liberal as he had hoped. Unlike the other clubs in town, Cooper was honest with officials about the purpose and scope of Sextasy.
That was a mistake, he says now. The city has told him he will not receive a license.
“We’re being punished for not being a hypocrite, which is apparently the accepted way to do it,” he told Las Vegas Now.
Actually, considering the state of the economy in Vegas these days, the city might want to rethink its decision. According to the Anaheim, CA-based Lifestyles Organization, swinging is a growing lifestyle choice, especially among those with significant disposable income. As a group, swingers spend millions of dollars annually attending house parties, clubs, weekend getaways and conventions internationally. One of the biggest is in Las Vegas every summer. It attracts about 900 couples annually, according to LSO President Robert McGinley.
Rick Connor, a swinger and author of a book about “the lifestyle” (as it is called on the inside) estimated there are about 100,000 swinging couples in the U.S., about 20,000 of which are very active. Other estimates put the total number of swingers in the millions worldwide.
The 900 couples who attended LSO’s 2007 summer convention in Vegas paid $690 apiece to register, plus additional sums for flights, hotel rooms and incidentals. Altogether, conventions contribute about $4 million annually to LSO’s bottom line. The company’s travel division earns an additional $10 million to $12 million annually. McGinley said the company books about $2 million worth of rooms at one Caribbean resort alone.
Even domestically, swinger clubs bring in an astounding amount of money. Jeff James of Freedom Acres in San Bernardino County (CA), said his club attracts 225 to 260 couples on a typical Saturday night, and each couple pays $85 to join the fun. A similar number of couples pay $65 to attend Friday night gatherings at the club, he said.
Vegas hardly is alone in wanting to discourage the commercial aspects of liberal sexuality, however. A Toronto, Canada-based retail consultant said governments everywhere tend to take a dim view of what some people consider morally reprehensible behavior.
“There will always be a struggle,” Maureen Atkinson told Business Edge.
It should be noted that the Canadian Supreme Court held in a December 2005 decision that “group sex and partner swapping in a private club doesn’t cause harm to society and shouldn’t be criminal.”
The U.S. Supreme Court has yet to weigh in on the matter.
