Dennis Hof runs the Love Ranch South, where Lamar Odom was found. (Getty)
Lamar Odom is making amazing improvements after being found unconscious at Dennis Hof’s Love Ranch South, a legal brothel near Las Vegas, Nevada, on Tuesday, October 13. Odom was fighting for his life at a Las Vegas hospital and may have suffered from multiple strokes. Despite doctors’ saying he only had a 50/50 chance of surviving, he regained consciousness on Friday and was taken off the ventilator, the LA Times reported. His condition stabilized enough for him to be transferred to a hospital in Los Angeles, E Online reported. He remains in a guarded condition and still has a long way to go.
Here’s what you need to know.
1. The Brothel Is Legal & Has Multiple Locations in Nevada
Love Ranch South’s logo on its website. (Love Ranch South)
The legal brothel has multiple locations in Nevada, Bustle reported. Its very NSFW website is currently down due to an explosion of traffic. It also holds special events, like “Midsummer Nights” dream parties, “Denim and Diamonds” parties, and even Memorial Day barbecues, according to the brothel’s Twitter page.
Dennis Hof said 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.
2. The Ranch Provides Sexual Services for Clientele
Lamar Odom was found unconscious at Love Ranch South. (Getty)
The ranch provides paid-for sexual services for its clientele, Bustle reported. 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.
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. He said that he offered Odom the VIP room on the condition that he didn’t use illegal drugs. The ranch has a zero tolerance policy about drugs, he said.
3. A Yelp Reviewer Described It 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.
4. The Owner, Dennis Hof, Has Starred in an HBO Series And Has Been Very Candid About His Dislike for the Kardashians
Dennis Hof owns Love Ranch South and starred in an HBO series. (Getty)
The owner of the brothel, Dennis Hof, is an entrepreneur and restaurateur. He 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, a legal brothel in Nevada. The series was known for being very sexually explicit.
Dennis Hof and Lamar Odom knew each other personally. According to the Los Angeles Times, Odom told Hof that he was coming to the brothel before he arrived and he just wanted to get away and have some fun. Odom stayed at Hof’s home that is attached to the brothel in a VIP suite. Hof was in northern Nevada that weekend.
Although Hof likes Odom, he does not like the Kardashians. In an interview with Nancy Grace for her show on HLN on Wednesday, he said that he got a call from the Kardashians’ publicist that day. The publicist asked him not to go on Grace’s show because they preferred that Khloe Kardashian handle media inquiries about Odom. Hof said he told them to “go to hell,” Hollywood Life reported.
Employees said that when the paramedics were taking Odom to the hospital, they said he had little chance of living but if he did, he would never be the same, CNN reported. His recovery so far is being labeled as “miraculous,” but he’s still in a guarded condition, E Online reported.
5. Odom Has Recovered Enough to be Transferred to Los Angeles After Falling Unconscious at the Brothel
Lamar Odom was fighting for his life but he’s making great strides so far. (Getty)
Odom was found unconscious at the Love Ranch South brothel and initial media reports said that he was airlifted to a Las Vegas hospital. Later, it was revealed that paramedics wanted to airlift him, but he was too tall and he was transferred by ambulance instead. He was intubated at first and was fighting for his life. Staff at the brothel said they wanted to see him, but they were turned away because only family would be allowed in Odom’s room. TMZ reported that doctors said Odom had a 50/50 chance of surviving. Since then, Odom regained consciousness, spoke to Khloe, and has been able to communicate with hand signals. He stabilized enough to be transferred to a Los Angeles hospital, E Online reported.
TJ Moore, the manager for Love Ranch, had spoken to Odom several times while he was staying at the brothel. She said 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 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.
