Moonlite BunnyRanch

The Moonlite BunnyRanch (often misspelled Moonlight, though that is the correct spelling of the road on which it is located) is a legal, licensed brothel in Mound House, Nevada, United States, some east of Carson City. The ranch, a set of connected trailers, is owned and operated by Dennis Hof. The BunnyRanch Two, a branch of the company, is located about a mile south of the Moonlite BunnyRanch, very near two unrelated, competing brothels (the Kit Kat Guest Ranch and the Sagebrush Ranch). The BunnyRanch pays tribute to its profession in its address (69 Moonlight Road) and its local telephone number (ending in 3825, which spells out F-U-C-K on a telephone pad).

The brothel now known as the Moonlite BunnyRanch first opened in 1955. There is a historical marker on the premises, found just inside of the property's main gate, as the ranch is located near a stop on the original Pony Express. It operated discreetly until 1970, when Nevada began regulation of houses of prostitution. Dennis Hof, a frequent customer, purchased the business in 1993 for $1 million and invested another $500,000 in upgrading the facilities and decor. With an eye toward legitimizing sex workers, he has declined to call his workers "prostitutes."

Dennis Hof subsequently purchased another nearby brothel, then known as Madame Kitty's Fantasy Ranch, located about one mile (1.6 km) to better capitalize on the "BunnyRanch brand name," as he put it.

Jesse Ventura, former professional wrestler and Governor of Minnesota, wrote in his 1999 autobiography I Ain't Got Time to Bleed that he visited the Bunny Ranch in the 1970s, had sex there, and received $10 in return for his Navy SEAL belt.

On April 23, 2001, an article about Dennis Hof and the BunnyRanch appeared in The New Yorker.

In July 2003, Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil, a regular customer of the BunnyRanch, was charged with battery after a prostitute at the ranch alleged that he grabbed her around the throat and threw her against a wall .

In the media

The Moonlite BunnyRanch was featured on HBO's America Undercover show specials, Cathouse (2002) and Cathouse 2: Back in the Saddle (2003). This led to the series Cathouse: The Series, airing in two seasons in 2005 and 2007. The ranch was also featured as a supposedly "haunted house" in an episode of Proof Positive and is frequently mentioned on the Howard Stern Show, usually to announce that another porn star has started to work there.

In 2008, Moonlite BunnyRanch prostitute Brooke Taylor was featured in the web series "Who's Sleeping with Your Husband., speaking candidly about the reasons she believes men visit brothels and revealing the most popular menu items.

Dennis Hof owner of the Bunny Ranch is under investigation for harboring a wanted sex offender. He allegedly was harboring Philip Yoder who is wanted out of oregon for felony rape. He is also a convicted sex offender that never registered in carson city nevada while living and working at Dennis Hofs apartment complex, The Golden Dragon Apartments. In the two years he worked at the Bunny Ranch he never registered with Lyon County Sheriffs Department for his Sheriffs card which is mandatory by law to make sure that the people working there are not criminals or wanted. Dennis Hof has been helping this guy hide from police. This man is an especially dangerous sex offender in that he is very violent when he rapes girls. Both Dennis and Philip Yoder have been friends since Philip owned a publishing company for sex clubs. http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20080918/NEWS/809179946&parentprofile=search

Publicity stunts

In June 2003, Hof announced that the first 50 servicemen who showed up at his brothel after returning from the Iraq war would get a free session of sex; for another 50 days, all returning servicemen would receive a 50% discount. A similar offer of free sex was made to 200 soldiers around Thanksgiving 2005. This was an attempt to implicitly advertise the ranch, since official prostitution ads on TV or radio were then illegal in the state.

In September 2008, a 22-year-old old woman who calls herself Natalie Dylan announced on the Howard Stern Show that she would auction off her virginity on the BunnyRanch's website, and that the act would be consummated at the ranch. A recent women's studies graduate from Sacramento State, she planned to use the money to finance graduate school and said "I feel empowered because I am being pro-choice with my body." She retained the right to reject the winner of the auction and pick another bidder, claiming that several bids had exceeded $1 million. Denis Hof is to receive half of the winning bid.

Workers

Porn star Sunset Thomas worked at the BunnyRanch from 2002 until some time in 2004 or 2005 when she broke up with then-boyfriend Dennis Hof. Porn star India has also cut down on making adult films to work at the Bunny Ranch, claiming that it was more profitable. Another well-known long-timer is Air Force Amy. Divine Brown, mainly known from her arrest while servicing film star Hugh Grant, has also worked at the BunnyRanch.