Author offers ‘naughty’ guide to Las Vegas for women

Plenty of Las Vegas guidebooks cover the basics of visiting Las Vegas. Where to shop. What to see. Where to go. Where to dine. That sort of thing.

Sienna Sinclaire’s travel guide to Las Vegas does a solid job covering such essentials. But Sinclaire’s guide also covers activities, places and entertainment opportunities that Frommer’s and Fodor’s — and even Lonely Planet or Rough Guides — wouldn’t touch.

Strip clubs and places where male, and female, dancers strut their stuff. Escorts and brothels, and swingers’ clubs and nudist meet-ups. Burlesque dancers and erotic photographers and erotic bakers. Erotic art galleries, and places where more adventurous Las Vegas visitors can indulge in naked yoga, join the Mile-High Club, and participate in an evening’s worth of activities that’d make “Fifty Shades of Grey” look like “Bambi.”

Sinclaire describes herself as a “naughty lifestyle expert” (www.naughtylifestyleexpert.com), model, burlesque performer, sex coach, “naughty tour guide” and “naughty party planner.” She’s also an author whose latest book, “Naughty Girl’s Guide to Las Vegas,” was unveiled recently during a book launch and book-signing party at Sapphire Gentlemen’s Club.

“Naughty Girl’s Guide to Las Vegas” is the second entry of Sinclaire’s “Naughty” travel guide series — the first one covered Los Angeles, a guide to San Francisco will be out later this year, and Sinclaire already is working on a naughty girl’s guide to Chicago — and is a product of Sinclaire’s longtime passion for both travel and, as she puts it, “naughty things.”

“When I was younger, after college, I went to London and I traveled all over Europe,” she explains during a recent phone interview. And, wherever she was, Sinclaire made it a point to seek out the naughtier attractions and activities the locale had to offer. When Sinclaire started blogging about her travels and her discoveries, she was surprised to find that her stories began to attract a loyal readership.

Blogging represented “more of a diary for me, so I could remember it,” she says “But people started to comment and share with me, and it was great. It was amazing.”

A few years later, after Sinclaire had moved to Los Angeles, she had the notion of combining her dual passions. That, she says, is “how I started ‘Naughty’ (travel guides), because I was traveling all the time and I’m always trying to find naughty things to do.”

The book certainly does justice to its name. It’s designed as a guide for adventurous women and includes only women-friendly activities, although men will find some useful things in it, too. It’s comprehensive and written in a breezy style, and even the hippest locals probably will discover at least a few off-the-beaten-track entertainment options they hadn’t realized existed.

The depth of research is impressive. Sinclaire begins with a rundown of Las Vegas history, paying particular attention to the naughtier bits of Southern Nevada’s past.

“I’m a history buff. I have a big love of history,” she explains, and “I think Las Vegas’ history is very interesting.”

From the start, she notes, Las Vegas itself has qualified as naughty. Think, for example, of Block 16, Las Vegas’ original red light district and the risque shows that gave Las Vegas its title as Sin City.

“If it wouldn’t have been for trying to sell sex, (Las Vegas) would not be where it is today,” Sinclaire says.

So how does Sinclaire define “naughty”?

“Naughty, to me, is someone with confidence, because anybody can have sex,” Sinclaire answers. “But it’s all about confidence, and knowing what you’re doing in bed, and not being scared to try new things. ‘Naughty’ applies to everything in your life.

“ ‘Naughty’ does not have to be nasty. It does not have to be slutty. It’s confidence. I’m trying to help people change the concept of ‘naughty.’ ”

However, Sinclaire has found that “naughty” can manifest itself in different ways around the world.

“When I was in London, ‘naughty’ was more of a cheeky thing. It was always used in a cheeky context,” she explains.

In France? “Really sexy-naughty,” she says.

In Thailand? “ ‘Naughty’ was more out-there,” Sinclaire says. “You can pretty much get anything you want, but I’d say it’s a laughable naughty.”

And in Las Vegas? “I would say, when people come to Vegas, they’re like kids in a candy store,” Sinclaire says. “I think it’s almost an innocence-naughty. A lot of people get drunk and just let their hair down. You have a person who works as a bank teller all day and has kids at home, and she and her girlfriends come to have a good time and what she does in Vegas hopefully stays in Las Vegas.”

So, Sinclaire says, “it’s more of a childlike naughty.”

Sinclaire herself has been a regular visitor to Las Vegas for a long time, but says researching the book required twice-monthly trips, for five days at a time, over the course of about a year. Sinclaire says she visited all of the attractions, all of the shops, all of the erotic bakers and all of everything else firsthand, which made for some very long days.

The extent of her research is apparent not just in the guide’s rundown of entertainment, dining and recreational options, but in the practical tips — tips any visitor, naughty or not, would find useful — sprinkled throughout the book.

For instance, Sinclaire writes: “It’s best to wear your tightest dresses the first two days you get there. Save your ruched black, or pattern dresses for days three and four, because after days of drinking and eating, you’ll start to feel a little bloated and these dresses will help hide it.”

On the value of keeping a pair of flip-flops in your purse: “Just remember that Vegas hotels are big. They are deceptively large and are always bigger than they appear from the street.”

While she vets the events and attractions herself, Sinclaire says she does have “consultants” who tip her off to things in which she might be interested. “I also know hosts in Las Vegas, and they let me in on stuff: ‘Oh, there’s this new club opening,’ or ‘This one’s going to close.’ ”

Sinclaire says she also scans not just tourist-oriented websites and publications, but casino industry magazines and the daily business pages, too. “You have to do that,” she says. “You have to know what’s going on.”

Although the book is aimed at women, Sinclaire says men — who are intrigued to see what exactly she means by “naughty” — seem to be enjoying it, too. All of the places in it are “female-friendly,” she adds. “If I go there and it’s all dudes, I’m not going to send a girl to an all-dude place.”

If she could recommend just one thing to a prospective guest for a night out? Sinclaire laughs.

“Honestly, and it has nothing to do with being naughty, but I love the ’80s. I would say go to ‘Rock of Ages.’ It’s an amazing show. I’ve been there five times and I’m actually going (this) week when I do the book launch with my friends.”

Contact reporter John Przybys at jprzybys@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0280.