Stripped: A guide to nudity laws in Las Vegas

By Kelcie Grega

Sunday, Sept. 1, 2019 | 2 a.m.

Often characterized as an adult playground, Las Vegas has a reputation as a destination for bachelor and bachelorette parties, and other debaucherous getaways.

Here’s what you need to know about nudity in Las Vegas.

There’s a belief that the city is a place to “come and get crazy,” said Las Vegas criminal defense attorney Michael Pariente. He’s been practicing law in Nevada for more than a decade, and says most of the clients he represents are tourists charged with crimes ranging from disorderly conduct to indecent exposure. Even the city of sin has its limits, especially when it comes to nudity. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department spokesman Aden Ocampo-Gomez said when it comes to indecent exposure arrests, there has to be a victim. The victim could be anyone in proximity to the offense who reports it to law enforcement. An officer, he said, can’t be a victim. Officers also consider intent, Ocampo-Gomez said. For example, an individual who purposely flashes someone could be arrested, but a drunk tourist who accidentally exposes himself when falling over generally wouldn’t get arrested. When it comes to arrests relating to nudity, the numbers aren’t high, Ocampo-Gomez said. “People aren’t as easily offended because of the [Las Vegas] culture.”

What is considered nude? 

Like any other state, Nevada has laws barring nudity in public.

Clark County ordinance defines “nude” as the “showing of the human male or female genitals, pubic area or anus with less than a fully opaque covering.” The code also considers male genitalia in a “discernibly turgid state, whether covered or not” as nude. In other words, a man can be penalized for having an erection, according to Pariente.

“Topless” is defined as fully exposing the female breast and areola. Entertainers along the Strip and Fremont Street can get around this rule by wearing pasties. OcampoGomez said topless pool clubs such as those at Sapphire, Bare Pool Lounge and Artisan are allowed to exist because “they’re on private property.”

Topless and full-nude clubs

While exotic dancing is legal in the Valley and along the Strip, it's not a free-for-all and is regulated just as any other state.

If a business serves alcohol, dancers cannot be fully nude, according to state statute. This also applies to shows in the city and along the Strip.

• Topless strip clubs: Legally called “erotic dance establishments,” where dancers can expose their breasts but must keep their genitalia covered. Topless clubs may have licenses to serve alcohol.

• Adult night clubs: Full nudity is acceptable, but these clubs cannot serve alcohol. There’s one exception: The Palamino Club in North Las Vegas obtained its strip club license before July 19, 1995, when an ordinance was amended to include prohibition of alcohol within businesses with full-nude erotic dancing.

Adam Solinger, an attorney with Las Vegas Defense Group, said a reason for this ordinance change could have been because fully nude clubs and alcohol “invited a lot of problems.”

He said alcohol may also inspire dancers to do things they wouldn’t do otherwise, illegal prostitution being one concern.

Penalties

In Nevada, indecent exposure or obscenity is considered a sex crime. State law can be used to penalize anyone “who makes any open and indecent or obscene exposure of his or her person, or of the person of another.” This means a person cannot expose their breasts, pubic area, anus or genitals (the law exempts women who breastfeed in public).

According to the statute, penalties for first offense of indecent or obscene exposure can be up to 364 days in jail and/or up to $2,000 in fines. A subsequent offense can lead to one to four years in prison and a possible fine of up to $5,000.

Depending on the circumstances, defendants can be prosecuted on both indecent exposure and gross lewdness charges, which refers to sexual acts. Both crimes carry the same penalties.

A court can also order indecent exposure defendants to register as sex offenders at the Tier I level. Tier I offenders are not searchable by the public unless the offense involves a child.

Pariente said most of the indecent exposure and obscenity cases he sees involve sex in public.

“Technically, if you’re having sex and it’s visible to people walking by, you could conceivably be charged,” he said.

Although rare, indecent exposure arrests can also be made in strip clubs.

Las Vegas Defense Group Attorneys outline the following scenarios in which an arrest can be made:

• A dancer at a topless club flashes his or her genitalia

• A dancer strips near the club's windows or doors through which the general public can see

• A dancer strips in an area of the club not visible from the main entrance or security station; stripping in private rooms is prohibited

• A dancer without a valid stripper work permit exposes his or her genitalia

• A patron exposes his or her anus, genitalia, pubic area or breasts.

But Pariente said those aren’t the type of arrest cases he sees at strip clubs.

“Most of the arrests you do see involve undercover stings where they are busting girls for soliciting prostitution,” he said.

It also comes down to officer discretion, Pariente said.

“People come to Vegas to get crazy; (officers) are a little more tolerant,” he added.

This story originally appeared in the Las Vegas Weekly.