To say Nevada brothel owner Dennis Hof was larger than life is the understatement to beat all understatements. Brothels can be legally licensed in parts of Nevada, but they are not allowed to advertise. That annoyed the heck out of Dennis Hof. So he got around that by putting himself out there, doing interviews with the likes of billionaire TV personality Oprah Winfrey, starring in reality TV's Cathouse, and writing his autobiography, The Art of the Pimp. The guy even appeared on Dr. Phil. Maybe Den had an addiction issue?
Hof turned 72-years-old on 14th October of 2018. And, together with his domestic partner, the notorious madame Heidi Fleiss and "adult" star Ron Jeremy, he partied hard for the whole weekend, starting in Las Vegas and ending up in the sack with one of his "girls" late on Sunday night in a suite at the Love Ranch South in Crystal, Nevada. She left him a happy man in the wee small hours of Monday morning.
The next morning he and Ron Jeremy were due to hit the political campaign trail. Believe it or not, Dennis Hof was running for the Nevada State Legislature. When Jeremy went to his room to wake him, he found Hof stone cold dead.
He had died in the night of a heart attack. Well, the D.A. and police moved pretty fast, closing down the Love Ranch South that very day. The license, held by Hof, was nontransferable.
But Hof owned a string of brothels. What became of the rest of them? Well, his daughters say one thing and his will says something else. Let's have a look at who is in charge now that Hof is dead.
Dennis Hof's Bunny Empire
Hof hit the Nevada brothel biz in 1992 when he purchased The Moonlite BunnyRanch. At the height of his brothel-keeping days, he owned 7 licensed "cathouses". Trust us, it's a far cry from the sanitized "working girl" played by Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman!
Most Nevada brothel owners try hard to fly under the publicity radar. And Hof? Forget it. He went on national TV shows like The Today Show, Ophrah Winfrey, and The Howard Stern Show, starred in reality shows, and published his autobiography, The Art of the Pimp. That was Hof's way of getting around the Nevada law that banned brothel advertising. Hof was an outgoing, larger than life character. He even headed up the Nevada Brothel Owners' Association.
Heck, Dennis maintained a website where his "staff" could "interact" with the punters. It was a come on up and see me sometime kind of site. He even employed some former "adult" film stars like Sunset Thomas. And believe it or not, he invited soldiers returning from duty in war zones to drop in for some free "servicing"! The guy was either nuts or a marketing genius. Maybe a little of both.
He Died With His Boots On, So To Speak
Hof's 72nd birthday was a weekend of partying hard, getting down with "the girls", and hanging with his bestie Ron Jeremy and his "domestic partner" the notorious "Hollywood Madam" Heidi Fleiss.
Hof topped off the weekend with a bit of "fun" with one of his girls in the same suite at the Love Ranch South where in 2015 Lamar Odom famously blew tens of thousands of dollars on "services" and drugs. He was found unconscious, rushed to the hospital, and survived. The story went totally viral.
The "girls" were devastated by Hof's death. See, the license for the place was personal to him and could not be transferred. The place was shut down by the gleeful D.A. and police the day Dennis died and the girls were, literally, out on the street.
Hof's Daughters Versus The Madam
Much to the dismay of Hof's two daughters, Hof's "long-time madam and confidante" Suzette Cole was given control of the remaining five Nevada brothels under the terms of Dennis' will. She holds the licenses. Before he died, Hof told TheBlast and that "Suzette was trusted with everything and she keeps the places humming . . . no pun intended."
The only consolation for the daughters is that they may be able to renew the license for the Love Ranch South and open it up again. Otherwise, they are pretty much out in the cold.
For the most part, the "working girls" are big fans of Suzette's. She has been around forever and is seen as "one of the girls". Again, no pun intended, but she knows the business inside and out.
A Move Into Politics?
At the time of his death, Hof was running for a seat in the Nevada State Legislature. Remarkably, Ron Jeremy and Heidi Fleiss were an important part of his campaign team.
And the even more remarkable thing is that a month after he died Hof won the seat in the election! We should point out that his political "idol" was Donald Trump. There's not a lot more to be said about that one!
So, what became of the seat? The Republican Party nominated a living breathing Republican to take up the post.
Devastated by Hof's death, retired madam Heidi Fleiss and adult film star Ron Jeremy have remained firm friends. And, true to the spirit of Dennis Hof, they mark his birthday each year with one heck of a party.