Like infinite numbers of women before her, Heather Robbins didn’t dream of Nevada brothels. She came to Las Vegas with a bit of luggage and a big dream: to someday become a showgirl; or at the very least, to dance in a strip club and maybe work her way up by catching the attention of somebody influential.

Like the thousands before her, the 22-year-old arrived by bus, fleeing a dysfunctional relationship, a negligent family, and desperate poverty in inner-city Indianapolis. Within the first week here, she managed some job interviews but never a job. By week two, she was ripping through her meager savings just to keep a place to sleep. By week three, she was turning tricks on Fremont Street. She did this for a month with help from a man who seemed to be “a nice enough guy.”

“Until he ended up going gorilla on me when I tried to keep some of the money for myself,” said Robbins from the Love Ranch, one of the legal Nevada brothels north of Las Vegas and her de facto safe house. “He started beating the (expletive) out of me, and I thought, “This is NOT what I came to Las Vegas for. I thought, ‘I’ve got to get out of here.’ ”

She remembered hearing a show in which Howard Stern, the famous radio shock jock, mentioned the Love Ranch. It sounded good to her. If you would like to read more about Heather and Nevada brothels, then check out the full story when you visit the Review-Journal.