Nevada's HBO Star Pimp May Reopen Shuttered Brothel

A judge recently ruled in Dennis Hof's favor
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 27, 2018 7:30 PM CDT
Nevada's HBO Star Pimp May Reopen Shuttered Brothel
In this June 26, 2008, file photo, owner Dennis Hof poses with some of his "working girls."   (Lisa J. Tolda/The Reno Gazette-Journal via AP, File)

Nevada's most famous legal pimp can re-open his brothel near Las Vegas after county officials ordered it closed, a judge ruled Monday. Per the AP, Dennis Hof, who starred in the HBO adult reality series "Cathouse," and is a Republican candidate for a state legislative seat, sued officials in Nye County after they shuttered his Love Ranch brothel earlier this month. The bordello near Pahrump, about an hour away from Las Vegas, is one of several that Hof owns. County officials said Hof had failed to renew his licenses and pay fees for the brothel, where NBA player Lamar Odom was found unconscious in 2015. Judge Richard Boulware on Monday noted other brothels in the county that were similarly late paying renewal fees were not punished, the Las Vegas Sun reported.

Boulware also noted votes by two county commissioners to yank Hof's license could have been in retaliation for separate lawsuits he has filed against them. The judge ruled Hof could reopen his brothel Tuesday. Hof estimated he lost $100,000 in the three-week closure. Hof's regulatory problems come as a coalition of religious groups and anti-sex trafficking activists have pushed to overturn a law allowing brothels to operate. Voters in Lyon County, where Hof has four brothels, will consider the issue in November. A similar effort failed in Nye County. Hof, who has billed himself as "The Trump of Pahrump," has upended local politics after ousting an incumbent GOP lawmaker in a primary this summer. Brothels, which are illegal in the counties that contain Las Vegas and Reno, harken back to Nevada's days as a mining territory about 150 years ago. (More brothel stories.)

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