The fight this weekend between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr. promises to be quite a scene in Las Vegas.
As such, it will draw people from around the globe, including people known as sugar babies, sugar daddies, sugar mommies and sugar cubs.
The implication of a sugar baby/sugar daddy relationship is what it seems: someone with the means will pay for someone else's needs in order for them to be in a relationship with them.
The question is, does that cross the line into prostitution, which is illegal in Clark County?
A sugar daddy and sugar baby from Las Vegas, as well as a spokesperson for a website that connects people who want to get into those arrangements, defended the practice.
“A sugar daddy is usually someone who is successful in business, is sometimes wealthy, has expendable income and doesn’t always want the confines of a traditional relationship," Brooke Urick said.
She said through her site people are able to "cherry pick" the type of relationship they want.
As for sugar babies, Urick said the people on the site looking for those relationships often don't want to be in a traditional dating relationship either.
“Sugar Babies are looking to date outside their comfort zone,” she said, "It is about finances. It is about dating someone who can provide for you but it’s also about mentorship about networking.”
She said the average age of a sugar baby is 26 and the average age of a sugar daddy is 45.
One of the men who used the site is "Tom." He said he tried dating apps and trying to meet people at bars but those avenues difficult.
“The site was just an easier way to manage this and to spread the word that you can do this,” he said.
"Tom" said there is a level of control and forthrightness about the site that makes it easier, to be honest with people about the kind of relationship you want.
Christina is sugar baby. She said she uses the money she is paid by her sugar daddies - eight in all - to fund her college education.
“Ultimately, the funding that I’m getting from these guys goes towards my education and is going to make it so eventually I’m going to be able to take care of myself,“ she said.
Christina didn't say how much she was paid by the men she was in a relationship with, but she was clear that she was not getting paid to have sex with them. She said most of the people she was in a relationship with just wanted a pretty girl to take to charity functions or sporting events.
“A majority of the people on the site want someone that they feel they can relate to that they can have a fun time with,” she said.
She said with a sugar daddy and sugar baby relationship there is an understanding of what is expected on both sides and no one leaves with a broken heart because of a misunderstanding.
" Tom", a sugar daddy in Las Vegas; Christina, a sugar baby in Las Vegas; Brook Urick, spokesperson, SeekingArrangement.com
