Nevada brothels form PAC for expected fight over prostitution

A sign outside the Bunny Ranch restaurant in Mound House, Lyon County, urges passersby to vote against banning legal prostitution in the county. (Bill Dentzer/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Chuck Muth, center, moderated a Q&A Thursday night in Mound House, Lyon County, with two legal sex workers on a possible move to ban legal prostitution in the county. "Ruby Rae," left, and "Alice Little" work at brothels in the county owned by Dennis Hof, who died unexpectedly Monday. The two women use professional pseudonyms to maintain their privacy. (Bill Dentzer/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

A portrait of brothel owner Dennis Hof at the Love Ranch brothel in Crystal, just north of Pahrump, on Friday, July 20, 2018. Chase Stevens Las Vegas Review-Journal @csstevensphoto

Associates of the late Nevada brothel owner Dennis Hof are reviving the state brothel industry’s political voice.

The Nevada Brothel Association announced its formation Friday. The industry’s longtime lobbyist retired in 2015, leaving no unified voice for the state’s brothel owners.

The PAC filed with the Nevada secretary of state’s office in November and named Suzette Cole, the manager of Hof’s four Lyon County brothels, as director.

Association spokesman Chuck Muth says a failed effort to outlaw brothels in Lyon County spurred the group’s formation. He says the association plans to fight a bill in the upcoming Nevada legislative session that proposed to end legal prostitution in the state.

The association plans to reach out to other brothel owners to join.

Hof died in October, weeks before he won a state Assembly election.