By Michael Fleeman
(Reuters) - A brothel in Nevada has offered to host U.S. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid's retirement party to thank him for efforts during his more than three decades in the U.S. Congress it says have "positively affected" the lives of legal sex workers in the state.
Sheri's Ranch, located 60 miles west of Las Vegas, posted a tongue-in-cheek open letter on its blog on Wednesday citing the 75-year-old Democrat's support for gay rights, his opposition to a nearby nuclear waste repository and his efforts on behalf of Obamacare.
"Thank you for making it illegal for insurance companies to deny Nevada's legal hookers the right to health care," said the letter, which went on to tout the many benefits of the brothel as a party site, including a "beautiful 20 acre property with a hotel and restaurant on-site.
"As far as activities that we can offer attendees, many of your colleagues are intimately aware of our offerings," the letter added, before listing some options available to patrons.
A brothel representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But a ranch spokesman told the Pahrump Valley Times that it was extending the offer despite Reid's longstanding criticism of legal prostitution in Nevada.
"We realized he actually did more good to Nevada's brothel industry than ill, over the course of his political career," Sheri's Ranch spokesman Jeremy Lemur told the paper. "His actions have actually improved the lives of Nevada brothel workers."
Prostitution is legal in many mostly rural Nevada counties in regulated and licensed brothels, although sex work is outlawed in Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, as well as in the state capital.
A spokesman for Reid did not immediately return a message seeking comment on the brothel's letter.
Reid, who recently suffered an accident while exercising, said in a video message last week he would not seek re-election next year, and threw his weight behind New York Senator Chuck Schumer to replace him as leader after he leaves office.
"The job of minority leader of the United States Senate is just as important as being the majority leader," Reid said in the video. "It gives you so much opportunity to do good things for this country. And that's what I am focused on."