Dennis Hof, Brothel Owner Featured in HBO’s ‘Cathouse,’ Dies at 72

By Rachel Yang

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Dennis Hof, the owner of a brothel featured on HBO and a Republican nominee for Nevada’s state assembly, has died, Nye County officials announced Tuesday. He was 72.

According to the Los Angeles Times , Hof’s death was announced during the Nye County Commission meeting by Chairman John Koenig, who said Hof “went to sleep last night and didn’t wake up this morning.”

Nye County Sheriff Lt. David Boruchowitz said an employee at the brothel, located about an hour from Las Vegas, called authorities a little before 11 a.m. after Hof was found unresponsive and not breathing. Boruchowitz said there was “no indication of foul play.”

Hof gained fame for HBO’s “Cathouse,” a reality series about his business. He had just celebrated his birthday at a party at his Moonlight Bunny Ranch in Northern Nevada on Saturday. He also was the favorite to win a seat in the state’s assembly next month, after unseating a three-term incumbent during a June primary. The brothel became notorious as the place where former Laker Lamar Odom was found unconscious in 2015.

The legal pimp had also been accused of sexual assault on at least four occasions. The Nevada Department of Public Safety says it is investigating an allegation from September but has released few details. Hof had denied the claims.