Dennis Hof, a world famous brothel owner and reality television personality, was found dead Tuesday at his often-frequented Love Ranch in Nevada.
He was 72 years old.
A Republican candidate for the state Assembly in a southern Nevada district, Hof reportedly died in his sleep just hours after a celebration that featured pornography star Ron Jeremy… former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio … and anti-tax activist Grover Norquist.
This news was confirmed by Hof’s campaign manager, Chuck Muth.
Jeremy, the best known porn star on the planet, actually found Hof’s body early on Tuesday.
Hof formerly anchored the series Cathouse, which aired on HBO and which chronicled life at his sex-laden residence.
However, he recently made national headlines after earning a primary victory over a three-term Republican in a rural district in Southern Nevada.
The Nye County Sheriff’s office said Tuesday that it was investigating Hof’s death.
“We had a wonderful event last night,” Muth told the Reno Gazette Journal. “He was having the time of his life.”
In the celebrity gossip universe, Hof was perhaps best known for running the brothel at which Lamar Odom suffered a near-fatal overdose in 2015.
Speaking to NPR earlier this year, Hof was unabashed about his work as a legal pimp, along with his political aspirations.
“Dennis Hof is the Trump of Pahrump,” he said, outlining the way people spoke about him in the most populous town in the district and adding of himself:
“He’s rich, he’s famous, he’s got nerves of steel. He likes hot girls.”
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported a few months ago, however, that numerous former prostitutes had accused Hof of sexual assault.
The cases were never prosecuted and, according to USA Today, Hof denied the allegations.
Hof posted bail for Liberace’s former lover, Scott Thorson, in 2013, after Thorson took up residence at the Bunny Ranch.
He also hosted a “Get My Grandpa Laid” contest on the Howard Stern show later that year, often doing these sorts of explicit publicity stunts in order to stay in the news.
As for his unexpected candiacy?
“It’s all because Donald Trump was the Christopher Columbus for me,” Hof said of why he won his primary. “He found the way, and I jumped on it.”
And Hof could actually still win the seat for which he was running.
Ballots for the November 6 election have already been printed.
Outlets say that notices of Hof’s death will be posted at the polls.
If he should win, according to a spokesman for the Nevada secretary of state, the seat would be considered vacant.
Commissioners from the three counties in the district would then appoint another Republican to the position.
“This is not anything that I would have ever guessed would happen,” said Hof’s Democratic opponent, Lesia Romanov.
“My heart goes out to those who care about him. Just a crazy turn of events.”