Like it or love it, HBO’s ridiculously successful fantasy drama Game of Thrones has made an undeniably huge impact on the world. Whether it’s the obsessive satisfaction of switching off your phone and the lights to curl up to each new episode uninterrupted, the complete absence of anybody on the streets whenever there’s a fresh instalment, or the awkward turgidity that goes on ‘down there’ when watching a fictional brother and sister get down, GoT has affected us all in one way or another.
One such knock-on effect of the show’s outrageous success, however, seems to be a boon for one of the US’s most well-known brothels.
Sheri’s Ranch, in Nevada (the only state where sex work within a brothel is legal. Or, like, so I’ve been told …), has claimed that Game of Thrones has led to a rise in visitors, thanks largely in part to one very obvious factor.
Dena, the madame of Sheri’s Ranch, says that Game of Thrones contributed to her bordello’s increasing success over the years is because of the fact that pivotal character Lord Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish, and how his brothels have been prominently featured as set pieces for the show’s political intrigue and regular sexually explicit encounters.
“It’s the most successful television program of its age and it features a brothel as one of its primary settings, particularly in the earlier seasons on the show,” says Dena. “To have a brothel so prominently featured in a pop culture hit was a godsend for us.”
“We noticed in late 2011 that searches to our website for terms like ‘brothel’ began to increase significantly, and there was no way to account for the prominence of the term other than its relation to Game of Thrones. Game of Thrones inadvertently assisted in promoting legal brothels like Sheri’s Ranch not only by having Littlefinger’s brothels as settings for the action, but also by showcasing some of the hottest couplings, threesomes and orgies ever depicted onscreen.
“Watching the show was sometimes like an advertisement for brothels. You watch the brothel scenes in Game of Thrones and you say ‘I want to go to a sexy place like that and do those sexy things with sexy people.’,” she continued.
And as for whether or not Dena’s place of business can cater to those with a particular Game of Thrones kink? The answer is: well, duh.
Sky, one of the many sex workers who operate out of Sheri’s Ranch, says: “While clients certainly do request sessions, particularly orgies, in which the ladies dress up as Game of Thrones characters–Daenerys Targaryen and Sansa Stark of course being the most popular character requests–role play inquiries related to Game of Thrones more often entail a BDSM element.
“Many Game of Thrones fans have made use of our BDSM room over the years. Clients often enjoy playing a reluctantly submissive captive like Theon Greyjoy, chained and at the mercy of their seductive torturer. Luckily, here at Sheri’s, clients need not fear the loss of any important body parts, as it’s all in good fun and we always use a ‘safe word’ should our clients feel uncomfortable in any way.”
Another worker, Allissa, claimed that season five’s ‘Walk of Shame’ episode saw a spike in submissive clients, with clients requesting to be stripped down and paraded around the 20-acre property on which Sheri’s Ranch exists.
“With this season marking the end of the series, it’s disheartening that soon we won’t have any new Game of Thrones related fetishes for our clients to discover and explore here at our real-life brothel,” concludes Dena.
“We’re sorry to see it end.”
However you look at it, it’s great to see a show like Game of Thrones helping people to explore new territories whilst staying safely south of the wall, and thanks to Sheri’s Ranch, it seems there’s a lot more than just winter that’s coming.
