After being closed for three weeks, Dennis Hof’s Love Ranch South brothel was back open for business today near Pahrump.
The Nye County Commission, acting as the Licensing and Liquor Board in Tonopah, reinstated Hof’s license on a 2-1 vote on the condition that within 30 days he correct several violations found during a follow-up inspection last week.
Commissioners John Koenig and Donna Cox voted yes, and Commissioner Lorinda Wichman voted no. Three other members recused themselves.
Hof said a crew of 20 staff members made up of legal prostitutes and employees were ready to go at the Love Ranch this morning.
“The bottom line is we’re open and we’re going forward,” Hof said. “We’ll wrap up all the little things that the state fire marshal wanted...It’s all very simple stuff.”
The Love Ranch brothel site in Crystal, 25 miles north of Pahrump on State Route 160 and about 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, had its brothel license suspended Feb. 25 due to safety concerns over alleged unapproved modifications to manufactured homes on the site, officials said.
Hof said the only thing he was waiting on was 36 upgraded smoke detectors, which have already been ordered.
Hof said each day the brothel was shuttered he was losing thousands of dollars, while more than 30 people were out of work.
Hof has maintained the his brothel license was targeted over politics, as he is seeking the Republican nomination for State Assembly District 36. The district includes Nye and Lincoln counties and portions of Clark County.
In addition to the correcting building code violations and hiring an engineer to ensure the property is structurally sound, the commission also ordered Hof to remove signs on Bureau of Land Management property advertising his now-shuttered Cherry Patch Bar.
“The signs have nothing to do with the Love Ranch,” Hof said.
Hof was pleased to have the brothel license reinstated, but is concerned with the long-term damage the ordeal will have on the business. “How do I tell all the clients that we’re open? They’ve (county commission) killed my business. They’ve done irreparable damage in the last three or four weeks,” he said.