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Men back on job at brothel in northern Nevada
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MOUND HOUSE, Nev. (AP) — A Lyon County brothel is the latest to try its luck offering male prostitutes alongside the working women.

The owner of the Kit Kat Guest Ranch in Mound House says she has hired four men from California to work as independent contractors just as the women do at her bordello just east of Carson City.

It's the first time a Nevada brothel has put men on the menu since the Shady Lady stopped offering speed dates with two "prosti-dudes" in Nye County in 2010.

Sheila Caramella said her men will charge a minimum of $100 and negotiate prices with customers of either sex, depending on individual willingness. Like the females, the men will be tested weekly for sexually transmitted diseases.

"I'll take anybody as long as they're clean," Caramella told the Reno Gazette-Journal.

"My girls are excited, my employees are excited. It's a great thing for women. When girls want to call and do a bachelorette party, it's fun. It's going to be a great thing," she said.

Caramella said she's been thinking about hiring male sex workers for three years and decided to finally try it out despite protests from others in Nevada's legal brothel industry. She said the men from Los Angeles and San Francisco start work this week.

George Flint, a lobbyist for Nevada brothels, said "she's out of her mind."

"I told her two years ago it was the worst thing she could do," Flint said. "It could even open the door for Lyon County to take a look if they want legalized prostitution in their county," he warned.

Lyon County Commissioner Ray Fierro said he's surprised, but it doesn't violate any laws as long as they comply with all health and licensing standards.

Flint said the male prostitution business has never caught on in Nevada.

The first male worker at the Nye County brothel about two hours from Las Vegas went by the stage name Markus. The ex-Marine's stint lasted two months amid international media attention and fewer than 10 clients. He was followed by another male worker in 2010 who went by the name "Y Not" and lasted about a month.

"The truth of the matter is," Flint said, "I think it's a desperation move to get some publicity and get some regular business and even turn on some women who will come out and try it. To me she's walking into a beehive of potential backlash."

"We've got a theory in this business. We stay in business by keeping a low profile," she said.

Caramella said she expected there would be "haters," but said she's doing something legal that will satisfy a demand.

"It's just that I'm doing what I want to do and it's legal and I'm going to provide a service to women that has always been provided to men," she said