Question of the Day - 15 February 2020

Hoff’s estate specifies Suzette Cole as trustee.

According to Stiffs & Georges ace researcher Elizabeth Meadows, “The Hoff family, specifically the two daughters, are intent on challenging this, but acknowledge Cole will likely stay on as manager, as she holds the license.”

In addition to the Moonlite Bunny Ranch (to use its proper nomenclature), Hoff’s posthumous empire encompassed five other brothels, all but the Love Ranch South (a.k.a. Bunny Ranch Two) in northern Nevada. Cole, who now controls them, is described as Hoff’s “longtime madam and confidante.” In an interview with TheBlast.com, Hoff made it clear that "Suzette was trusted with everything and she keeps the places humming ... no pun intended.”

The one crimp in this plan is that the Love Ranch South, where Hoff died (and was discovered by porn legend Ron Jeremy — this is all stranger than fiction), is in Nye County. Brothel licenses in Nye are non-transferable, meaning that the Hoff daughters have a shot at laying claim to the property, which is currently shuttered.

Hoff was an epic figure in Nevada history, a brothel baron who was planning a move into politics at the time of his demise, running for the Nevada Assembly. He was so popular that he won election in a landslide in spite of the inconvenient fact of being dead. Author of The Art of the Pimp, Hoff — who took Donald Trump as a role model — started in the gas station business, However, he evidently figured there was more money to be made in legalized prostitution; he moved to the Silver State and the rest is history.

He began with the Moonlite Bunny Ranch in 1992, reinventing himself at age 46. Kitty’s, also known as Love Ranch North, followed. Competitor Joe Richards sold Hoff his Cherry Patch and Cherry Patch II, which were renamed Love Ranch Vegas (despite being in Crystal) and Alien Cathouse, resold in 2018. Hoff’s proximity to Carson City — Moonlite Bunny Ranch is the closest bordello to the state capital — and his presidency of the Nevada Brothel Owners Association made him a frequent sight during legislative sessions. 

He was also quick to capitalize on a 2009 proposal to legalize prostitution statewide, an idea that gained little traction. 

In addition to political savvy, Hoff had a knack for showbiz, producing the Showtime series "Working Girls in Bed." The Moonlite Ranch was the site of no fewer than three HBO series, all prominently featuring Hoff: "Cathouse," "Cathouse — The Series," and "Cathouse 2 — Back in the Saddle." (We didn’t say he was subtle.) Hoff and TV cameras had a magnetic relationship. If there was a talk show, he did it, up to and including being interviewed by Sean Hannity.

Hoff got huge publicity when NBA star Lamar Odom collapsed (he had to be hospitalized, to great fanfare) at a Hoff-owned bordello. He also made headlines with a 2003 offer of free sex to troops returning from the Iraq War (three women and 13 men took him up on it). "We want to feel patriotic and feel we are doing something for our servicemen,” Hoff told Reuters. "If we owned a Dairy Queen, we would be giving away free ice cream, but ... we own the sex capital of the world. What better way is there to give back?"

The prostitution mogul, who had lectured at the Sorbonne and Oxford, based an unsuccessful 2016 U.S. Senate run on legalized tricking as the solution to the sex-trafficking epidemic. Hoff’s 2018 legislative candidacy helped him hush up charges of sexual abuse of his employees, just as his importance to the rural economy squelched an investigation into whether he was operating in counties where prostitution is forbidden. 

He also cultivated useful relationships in the media, particularly with Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist was a guest at the Oct. 16, 2018, birthday party during which Hoff breathed his last. According to campaign manager and sometime conservative columnist Chuck Muth, Hoff “was having the time of his life” —until it took his life. “Dennis died quietly in his sleep,” tweeted Muth.

“It’s still tough; no one saw this coming,” Muth told Northern Nevada Business Review, regarding the chain of ownership. “We know Dennis did have a will, but we haven’t seen that yet. We know that he had complete faith in Suzette, but all of a sudden, she had to do everything … and it’s been really, really tough. … I know she’s overwhelmed.”

Lyon County’s four Hoff-owned brothels survived a 2018 plebiscite, in which voters were asked to outlaw prostitution. Voters backed the sex business, 80% to 20%.

As for Suzette Cole’s accession to the Hoff throne, sex worker Alice Little counted it a good thing: “Now, Madame Suzette owns and manages all those various properties, which means that the sex industry in Nevada is now female-owned, female-led and female-empowering. The majority of our employees are female. … If anything, I view it as a tremendous positive moving forward and I think we’re going to see a resurgence of the brothels in Nevada unlike anything we’ve seen in the past.”

Toward the end of his life, Hoff liked to compare himself to Trump. “Both can’t be bought and both can’t be bossed,” as he put it. His dream of a statewide prostitution industry lives on. "There's no end to what it can be,” he told ABC News. "The sky's the limit.”