Love Ranch, the legal Nevada brothel famously patronized by Lamar Odom, was recently sold to the founder of The Jensen Project, a nonprofit aiming to end the legalization of prostitution. Should Nevada’s legal sex workers be concerned about this?

Almost a year after the notorious Love Ranch, once a throbbing epicenter of adult entertainment, was scooped up in a $1.3 million deal that included 23 other properties, the once iconic Nevada brothel has lain dormant and forgotten. This is the same site where NBA star Lamar Odom was once found in a drug-induced stupor, catapulting the establishment into a scandalous spotlight.

Today, the only sign of its past decadence is a 10-foot statue of a burlesque courtesan—adorned in ostrich feathers—that stands at the entrance, welcoming non-existent patrons with open arms. A once resplendent figure, she now stands faded and forlorn, her allure long since eroded by the harsh desert elements.

John Clausen, a photojournalist for the Pahrump Valley Times, recently captured the melancholic state of the Love Ranch. He describes the site, almost five years post its closure, as “a labyrinth of deteriorating doublewide trailers.” His images depict the unsettling silence of the brothel, a bathtub discarded in the backyard, and signs of vandalistic trespassing.

Inside the Love Ranch, relics of its salacious past gather dust—an abandoned game of 8-Ball sits on the pool table, and a stained mattress lies amidst the debris of a single, red-carpeted room. This room was once a vibrant fragment of Dennis Hof’s adult entertainment empire.

“Some rooms are stuck in a poignant tableau of their last business transaction, twin-sized beds hastily left undone,” Clausen notes. “Hof’s once-thriving establishment in Crystal is now akin to the numerous mining ghost towns in Nevada, gradually vanishing into the relentless desert sands.”

Hof, an effervescent personality who once owned seven legal brothels in Nevada, including Love Ranch, died at the premises on October 16, 2018. A reality TV star, author, and then the Republican nominee for the state’s General Assembly, Hof ironically won the election posthumously.

Nearly half a decade after his death, the Love Ranch continues to bear silent testimony to its eventful past—the waiting area couches show a layer of dust accumulated since Nye County officials shut down the brothel for unapproved structural modifications, fire safety infringements, and licensing fee defaults.

As for the future of Love Ranch, it remains an open question, though a revival of its old trade seems highly unlikely. Nevada Ranch Holdings LLC, the new owner, includes Janet Jensen among its officers. Jensen, a rape survivor, is the founder of The Jensen Project, a nonprofit striving to eradicate sexual violence and provide resources to survivors.

Unwilling to comment on the future of Love Ranch, Jensen redirected the focus towards her project’s mission—curbing sexual violence, exploitation, and human trafficking. Her views against the decriminalization of prostitution—highlighted in an article for Alliance Magazine—hint at a stark divergence from the Ranch’s past.

Another officer of Nevada Ranch Holdings, David Saddock, remained elusive, stating that the company prefers to “keep a low profile.” However, he teased that potential plans for the Love Ranch could emerge later in the summer, leaving us in anticipation of the new life the site might take on.