Vera Rhodes had a conservative upbringing in Pennsylvania’s Amish country.
The fact she was a virgin by the time she married at 30 was proof. Today, the 54-year-old divorcee is making up for lost time. She is one of about 3,000 people who attended Saturday’s annual Lifestyles or swingers’ conference at the Stardust Hotel.
A five-day, $700-per-couple program features seminars, speakers, video presentations, socializing and sex.
Rhodes herself hailed the event for attracting so many swingers as she told of her sexual escapades with other couples. She then left for a suite where several couples were having sex.
Organizer Robert McGinley, 72, estimated that there are about 3 million swingers in the U.S. He established his organization in 1969 and in the 1970s began hosting conferences to further the swinger lifestyle.
But most in the crowd appeared to be middle-aged and middle class, with organizers estimating about 40 percent of those there were attending a conference for the first time.
Some women, however, were overcome when a sexual device was being demonstrated, with one woman passing out in the packed chamber.
But others spoke of going from room to room in the hotel, checking out swapping couples having sex.
