Getty Dennis Hof Love Ranch
Dennis Hof, the controversial brothel owner who was featured on HBO’s Cathouse, passed away this morning at the age of 72 of unknown causes. He owned a number of brothels, including the Moonlite Bunny Ranch and a series of Love Ranch locations in Nevada. The Love Ranch is a legal brothel chain in Nevada that is sometimes referred to as the Love Ranch Cathouse. The Love Ranch (South) was once known as BunnyRanch Two or the Cherry Patch Ranch. It’s one of two brothels in Crystal, Nevada, that were owned by Maynard “Joe” Richards until they were sold to Hof in 2010. The Love Ranch was briefly shut down in August 2018 and Hof said the shutdown was part of a political vendetta against him.
Here’s what you need to know.
1. The Love Ranch Is Legal & There Are Multiple Locations in Nevada
Love Ranch website
The legal brothel has multiple locations in Nevada. According to the brothel’s very NSFW website, the location sometimes holds special events, like “Midsummer Nights” dream parties, “Denim and Diamonds” parties, and even Memorial Day barbecues.
Hof was found dead at the Love Ranch Vegas, ABC 15 reported. He also owned a Love Ranch (South) in Crystal, Texas, and a Love Ranch in Mound House, plus other brothels.
Dennis Hof once said in an interview that the prostitutes who work at his brothel aren’t drug addicts, and many have better educations than the reporter interviewing him does, The Washington Post reported.
The Love Ranch is a separately licensed brothel located about a mile south of the Moonlite BunnyRanch.
2. The Ranch Provides Sexual Services for Clientele
The Love Ranch provides paid-for sexual services for its clientele. Hof starred in the HBO series Cathouse, which ran from 2002 to 2014. The series documented the lives of professional workers at the Moonlite Bunny Ranch. The series was known for being very sexually explicit.
Hof bought his first brothel in 1993 and decided to use the same techniques that he used to sell condos to sell sex. He said younger prostitutes think the sale is just about sex, but his best earners know it’s about “giving the guy a party” and “doing things that he wouldn’t think of doing,” The Washington Post reported. These parties do not, however, include drugs, Hof emphasized. The ranch has a zero tolerance policy about drugs, Hof has said.
3. The Love Ranch’s License Was Suspended Briefly in 2018, & Hof Said It Was Because of a Political Vendetta Against Him
Dennis Hof owns Love Ranch South and starred in an HBO series. (Getty)
In February, the Love Ranch’s license was suspended over minor planning issues. The county then closed the Love Ranch down again in August 2018 over missed county fee payments and wrong paperwork. Sources said the paperwork was refiled immediately and taken to the court for review. On August 27, 2018, Judge Richard Boulware ruled that Hof could reopen Love Ranch Vegas and the brothel and liquor licenses should be restored and reinstated, Las Vegas Sun reported.
Judge Boulware noted that two Nye county commissioners, Dan Schinhofen and Andrew Butch Borasky, had previously recused themselves from voting on Hof’s first licensure question because Hof had filed lawsuits against them, the Las Vegas Sun reported. But they did not recuse themselves from voting on the August closure. Hof had claimed that there was a political vendetta against him, because he was running for the Assembly. Boulware said that all claims that the brothel was violating county building codes were unfounded.
The Love Ranch Vegas was estimated to have lost more than $100,000 in profit in the three weeks that it was closed. Hof said: “It’s right over might. The county did bad things to me; they took away my business, affecting 40 peoples’ families, and the judge saw right through it. It’s political retribution.”
4. Lamar Odom Overdosed at One of Hof’s Brothels in 2015 & Was in a Coma for Four Days
Lamar Odom was found unconscious at one of Hof’s brothels. (Getty)
Lamar Odom was found passed out and overdosed at one of Hof’s brothels in 2015. He was in a coma for four days. (Some reports indicate he was at the Love Ranch South, but other reports indicated he was at the Bunny Ranch.) According to TMZ, Odom had been partying for days at the ranch with a group of girls. The Daily Mail reported that Odom was using herbal Viagra, and doctors have said that he had “every drug imaginable” in his system after he was found passed out.
TJ Moore, the manager for Love Ranch, had spoken to Odom several times while he was staying at the brothel in 2015 before his overdose. She told media at the time that they talked about his family, life, and pretty much everything, NBC News reported. He told her about how his mother had died of colon cancer when he was only 12 and how he started playing basketball while his grandmother was raising him. She said he wanted his solitude and he was a great guy to talk with.
Hof, meanwhile, shared that Odom had spent $75,000 at the brothel over the few days that he was there, CNN reported. The amount he spent was meant to guarantee that two women would take care of any of his needs, Hof told HLN.
Odom later said that his overdose was the point where he turned his life around — his rock bottom point. He said he was lying in bed, trapped all day in his thoughts and hooked up to machines, and that was his wakeup call. “It was like God was telling me, ‘Whatever the f*** you think you’re doing, you need to slow down. Or it’s gonna be worse than this,'” he told Daily Mail.
5. A Yelp Reviewer Described Love Ranch (South) as a ‘$500 Or Walk’ Establishment
Love Ranch South’s Yelp page has one review with a 1-star rating. (Yelp)
A Yelp reviewer in 2014 referred to the brothel as a “$500 or walk” establishment. He said he checked out the brothel because he was being a tourist in Las Vegas. He was expecting a strip club type of environment, but he was immediately shown a lineup of girls. After selecting the girl, the patron takes her to a private room. The reviewer said there really wasn’t any expectation of conversation or getting to know one another, but it was a $500 or walk expectation.