Dennis Hof’s Love Ranch Brothel Near Vegas Demolished
One month after Las Vegas lost the Tropicana, another institution that locals and tourists visited but didn’t talk about as much was demolished. Dennis Hof’s Love Ranch, located 80 miles outside Sin City in Nevada’s Nye County, where prostitution is legal, was knocked down last week. There were no fireworks or drone shows.
Prostitution is legal in 10 of Nevada’s 17 counties — though not the ones that include Las Vegas or Reno — and then only in state-licensed brothels.
Money Could Buy Him Love
In 2010, Hof, already America’s best-known brothel owner thanks to HBO’s “Cathouse” series, filmed at his Moonlite Bunny Ranch near Reno, purchased the brothel that he christened his Love Ranch. It had been owned by Maynard “Joe” Richards, who also owned the Pahrump Valley Times newspaper at the time.
Located on 15 acres in the desert town of Crystal, the Love Ranch consisted of a series of doublewide trailers connected to become 15, one-bedroom suites, all painted pink. There was also a bar, two kitchens, and a VIP room.
The Love Ranch offered a menu of service options 24 hours a day. These included “oil wrestling,” “the girlfriend experience” and “Viagra and vibrators.”
As in all legal Nevada brothels, the prostitutes, who worked as licensed independent contractors, split their income evenly with the house, which was responsible for paying a 9% state tax.
State records show that licensed brothels generate around $75 million in revenue a year.
Some Publicity is Bad Publicity
The Love Ranch’s VIP room is where former NBA star Lamar Odom overdosed on cocaine and herbal Viagra in October 2015.
For what it’s worth, Odom denied taking any drugs. He claimed that Hof tried to kill him. If indeed that was true, despite no charges ever being brought, then Hof nearly succeeded. While recuperating at Las Vegas’ Sunrise Hospital, Odom suffered 12 strokes and six heart attacks.
At the time, Odom was married to Khloe Kardashian, thus ensuring that the scandal, and the Love Ranch name, got plastered on tabloid covers for months.
County officials shut the brothel down in February 2018 for unapproved structural changes, fire code violations, and late license renewal payments. It reopened six months later, following a court ruling by Judge Richard Boulware.
