Can virtual reality threaten the brothel industry?

Electronics have treated Sheri’s Ranch well. The cathouse in Pahrump, which claims to be the “unofficial brothel of CES,” reports a 70 percent increase in business when tech employees roll into Las Vegas for the massive trade show each January.

But that cozy relationship might not last. Some in the brothel industry — Sheri’s included — have expressed concerns that virtual-reality porn, which offers an immersive 3D experience, could pose a threat to business. On its blog in December, Sheri’s Ranch wrote that the VR devices displayed at CES “may be one of the biggest challenges to the future of the legal prostitution industry.”

“How might this technology affect Nevada’s brothel industry in the next five to 10 years?” spokesman Jeremy Lemur asked. “Since virtual prostitution wouldn’t be illegal or unsafe because the participants aren’t really having sex, will a Nevada brothel’s secure, legal setting and reputation for an STD-free environment become irrelevant in the future world of VR technology?”

VR porn already is immersive, meant to stream adult video from a first-person perspective so users feel they are in the scene. But in the future, it could become interactive.

The goal is to make the viewer feel like a participant rather than a passive observer, said Brian Shuster, CEO of a VR-porn production company that recently shot in Las Vegas. It’s not at that stage today but will be in about five years, he said. And it’s not out of the realm of possibility that a participant could virtually enter a brothel setting using a headset. “As that starts to move into the market, no question that’s going to be a threat,” Shuster said. “There are so many things that are better about having a virtual sexual encounter.”

Right now, most virtual-reality setups don’t venture beyond audio-visual immersion. But some developers are creating companion products and exploring the use of live-webcam augmentation. As for how the technology is infiltrating Las Vegas, Shuster said his HoloFilm Productions shot VR scenes in a local hotel room during the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo in January. And a Los Angeles-based company recently announced plans to offer VR porn as a room-service option in at least one hotel near the Strip.

Despite the twinge expressed by that Sheri’s Ranch blog, many brothels are dismissive of the threat. VR porn could never replace the brick-and-mortar Nevada brothel, they say.

“I don’t think it will hurt my business,” said Jennifer O’Kane, a madam at the Calico Club in Battle Mountain between Winnemucca and Elko.

Even Sheri’s Ranch, while pointing out the challenge VR porn poses, came back in the same post to say the innovation would never be a total replacement for brothels. The Sheri’s stance is, for a brothel, rather sentimental: Technology will never be a substitute for human intimacy.

But like all industries facing a threat from new technology, brothels might have to adapt. “I have a feeling the brothel industry will change to accommodate virtual reality,” Shuster said.

Calico Club’s O’Kane embraces VR porn as a method for “starting off the party.” She notes that the brothel already has a strip club. “People come to this brothel to try new things,” she said, adding that there would be no reason not to add 3D porn to the menu.

The Love Ranch, a Dennis Hof-owned brothel just north of Pahrump that made headlines in October after former NBA player Lamar Odom was found unresponsive there, is open to VR porn. In fact, administrators want to get ahead of it.

“We see it as an asset, a way to grow our business,” said Richard Hunter, a spokesman for Hof, who has appeared in the HBO series “Cathouse” and is running for a seat in the Legislature. “As the technology progresses, I think a lot of it will depend on what its (potential) and what its limitations are.”

Hunter said Hof’s brothels have dabbled in integrating technology into their business models. Some offer Skype sessions with the cathouse girls, and he can foresee a day when they will sell VR porn to out-of-state customers. He compares it to other kinds of retail operations discovering that more money often can be made through e-commerce rather than physical sales locations. “A lot of times, there’s more money flying out the back door than there is flying out of the front,” Hunter said of how the business could change. “I’d imagine we’d adapt accordingly.”