Lamar Odom’s brothel romp puts spotlight on Pahrump, though prostitution is illegal in town
Pahrump has been in the news a lot recently, in connection with an event town officials likely didn’t want publicity for: ex-NBA star Lamar Odom’s apparent drug overdose at a brothel in Crystal, about a half-hour drive from Pahrump.
Odom, 35, was found nonresponsive Oct. 13 at the Love Ranch brothel after spending four days and about $74,000 there. He was taken to a Pahrump hospital for treatment, then moved to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, and eventually Los Angeles.
The town of Pahrump has no legal brothels, but two brothels sit in the outskirts. Prostitution is legal in parts of Nye County.
As much of America focused on the tiny town, the question arose: Is Pahrump starting to go through the same growing pains Las Vegas did in trying to brand itself a family friendly destination?
Pahrump, which still has a bit of a Wild West feel to it, is getting a taste of the sensational headlines Las Vegas long has been accustomed to, Nevada historian Michael Green said.
“This will probably be good for the brothel industry, in that there will be people who will want to go to that brothel to see where Lamar Odom had such problems,” Green said.
It could be good for Pahrump tourism in general, too.
“Any celebrity who gets into the news out here tends to inspire some people to be more curious ... whether it is Britney Spears’ 55-hour marriage or Prince Harry having some fun in a suite,” Green said. “So first, it is good that Lamar Odom lived and is getting well. But it could also be a conversation piece, if you will, to inspire some tourism.”
You are 60 miles west of Las Vegas and 60 miles east of Death Valley. Where are you?
Answer: In Pahrump, exactly where Arlette Ledbetter wants you to be.
Ledbetter, Pahrump’s tourism director, spearheaded a campaign in 2010 to publicize the town smack in between Death Valley and Las Vegas. Until then, Pahrump had been largely a well-kept secret. The town had no visitors’ website; promotional brochures encouraged tourists to call a 1-800 number
that went to the Pahrump Chamber of Commerce. Officials never tracked how many tourists came to town or what they did when they arrived.
Ledbetter’s marketing push, launched during the depths of the recession, was designed to boost tourism dollars and energize Pahrump’s economy.
A year ago, the outreach efforts intensified when town officials hired a Las Vegas marketing firm to get the word out about Pahrump. Billboards promoting the town went up in the Las Vegas Valley.
“That really got things heading in the right direction,” Ledbetter said.
Today, clicks on the town’s website, visitpahrump.com, have skyrocketed, from 5,000 to 15,000 a month, and a social media campaign is in full swing. Ledbetter said Facebook has been an important tool in reaching tourists, as well. “Likes” on Pahrump’s Facebook tourism page have increased from about 400 to more than 9,000.
“For the 10,000th ‘like,’ the person will win a package to Pahrump,” Ledbetter said.
On target
Tourism and marketing officials are gearing their message to reach Pahrump’s target market.
“We are family-oriented tourism,” Ledbetter said.
An outing to Pahrump can be a lot more affordable for a family than a weekend in Las Vegas, said Michael Coldwell of Braintrust, the company marketing Pahrump. “For example, the hot-air balloon festival in Pahrump offers a great day of entertainment at a reasonable cost. A family from Las Vegas can go for a day of entertainment for a fraction of the cost.”
Las Vegas locals are a huge portion of Pahrump’s visitors, along with tourists going to or coming from Death Valley, Coldwell said.
“The overall strategy was to reintroduce all the things that Pahrump has to offer,” Coldwell said.
Another demographic the marketers have zeroed in on: snowbirds, retirees from Canada and northern states who come to the Southwest to escape harsh winters. Pahrump is well suited for them because its RV parks are among the highest-rated in the nation, Coldwell said.
Pahrump has about 1,300 RV spaces and 459 hotel rooms. A new Holiday Inn Express recently added 104 rooms. Other local hotels include the Saddle West, Pahrump Nugget and a Best Western.
Tourism officials only recently began tracking room occupancy. Figures are expected to be available early next year, Ledbetter said. Efforts also are being made to start recording visitor trends, and Ledbetter expects the town’s tourism website to have hotel room-booking capabilities by the end of the year.
“We are in the process of creating visitor statistics and citywide occupancy,” she said. “We are in our infancy.”
Pahrump’s tourism budget for fiscal year 2015 is about $220,000, generated through room tax.
Pahrump growth
Pahrump, in Nye County, was home to more than 36,000 residents in 2010, according to Census data. Community leaders believe that number is closer to 40,000 today.
In fact, Pahrump was named a “city on the rise” in 2014 by information service NerdWallet.
The town’s charms are starting to be noticed by tourists and would-be residents.
Chris Wilson, manager of Jetpack America Sales and Flight Center, started working in Pahrump a year ago before being transferred to California this past summer. He said he missed the town when he left.
“Pahrump is a small town, in a good way,” he said. “It’s not a small town that is suspicious of newcomers. It is welcoming, When I came back, the man I always get my coffee from said, ‘Where have you been?’ ”
Desert getaway
JetPack America, a watersport park that opened in late 2014, has been one of the biggest potential draws to land in Pahrump. Wilson estimated about 1,000 visitors as of late October but expected that number to increase once warm weather returns in the spring.
“The demand is growing,” Wilson said. “It is just slow for the word to get out.”
Jetpack America operates on a 5-acre man-made lake created by John Morris, the original owner of Jetpack America and current owner of the adjacent Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch racetrack. Customers have to be at least 14 to operate a watercraft on their own; younger children can fly in tandem with an adult .
“We flew a man who was 85 years old, and we flew a quadriplegic,” Wilson said.
Jetpack America plans to add beach volleyball this month. Customers also can peddle paddleboats and do stand-up paddleboarding.
Wilson says he believes Pahrump’s tourism campaign has helped the company, which was featured on a billboard. Visitors are split 50-50 between Southern Nevada residents and other tourists, he said.
“People come from all over,” he said. “We get Europeans and Japanese and Brazilians and Argentinians.”
Another draw for the town is the Front Sight gun range and training facility.
“We have ... members from all 50 states and a dozen foreign countries,” said Mike Meacher, vice president of the range. “They train on our 550-acre facility just 40 minutes from McCarran International Airport. We are building a complete resort at Front Sight, where students will be able to stay on the property in a hotel, condos or RV facilities.”
Front Sight also has classrooms, retail facilities and 50 shooting ranges, from 30-yard handgun ranges to 1,000-yard rifle ranges.
“About 90 percent of our students are from outside Nevada,” Meacher said. “Approximately 5 to 7 percent of our students are from outside the United States”
Pahrump also is home to two of Nevada’s four wineries: the Sanders Family Winery, owned by Jack Sanders; and the Pahrump Valley Winery, founded by Sanders and owned by Bill Luken.
“Our visitors are now becoming younger, and they are millennials and they are Generation Xers,” Sanders said. “And we also get visitors from all over the world. Just coming from all over.”