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JAMES THORNERThe owner of Paradise Lakes is planning a multimillion-dollar nudist resort off the Vegas Strip.
LAND O'LAKES - Nude bodies are plentiful in Las Vegas, but the nudity Joe Lettelleir wants to bring to Sin City isn't the sort you'd have to hide from your spouse.
Owner of Paradise Lakes nudist resort, one of Pasco County's biggest tourist draws, Lettelleir plans to build a condominium and RV resort about 20 minutes from the Las Vegas Strip.
Lettelleir has signed a contract to buy 10 acres on which he'll install a multimillion-dollar resort with "nothing less than 100 units," a swimming pool and clubhouse.
Since he bought Paradise Lakes in 1999, Lettelleir, whose background is real estate, has set the business on an aggressive course of expansion.
Paradise is a giant in the nudism industry. Its 6,000 members and tens of thousands of annual visitors make it a brand name to reckon with nationally.
In 2003, Lettelleir bought Hidden Valley, a 25-year-old nudist compound 30 miles north of Atlanta. He upgraded the plumbing and pools, and rechristened the resort Paradise Valley.
Other resorts are planned, one each in California, Texas and the upper Midwest. "We'd like to have five or six of these places across the country branded," Lettelleir said of his plans after leaving Las Vegas.
Vegas made sense for Paradise. The city's warm sunny climate lends itself to disrobing. Members can be pulled from among millions of visitors to the casino gambling mecca.
Though gambling won't be allowed on premises, Paradise plans to outfit the resort with amenities popularized in Pasco: a heated elongated hot tub called a "conversation pool," a brisk bar scene and plenty of recreation.
One hurdle has been Las Vegas officials, who Lettelleir said are reluctant to endorse nudity beyond the familiar topless showgirl variety.
Groundbreaking is tentatively set for late 2005, but Lettelleir cautions that two other contracts he had on land in Vegas fell through.
Yet, he's confident enough to begin soliciting names for the new resort, preferably a variation on the Paradise theme.
Said Lettelleir: "Right now we've got "Pair-a-Dice.' "