PHOENIX - The man who owns a well-known brothel in Nevada tells ABC15 he is submitting plans to Phoenix city leaders asking permission to open a
similar business in the Valley, just in time for the Super Bowl.
"You say you want to stop sex trafficking, ok, I'm going to give you half a million dollars for a lab experiment," said Dennis Hof, who owns Nevada's Bunny
Ranch.
Hof told ABC15 he is making the final touches on a proposal to open the brothel a month before the Super Bowl and then close it down a month after the
Super Bowl.
"It would be called 'The Valley Of The Sun Bunny Ranch' and after that initial $500,000 up front, the city would take in additional tax dollars from me," said
Hof during a phone interview. "I was raised in Phoenix, I know Phoenix well, it needs the money. I remember growing up working at a gas station near 24th
and Van Buren, and prostitution was rampant then and is still a problem now."
Hof said he is looking for a failing hotel to set up shop.
"Something like 25 rooms or so, a bar, a restaurant, a lounge, a good safe place," Hof described. "I do background checks on all my girls, they get tested
frequently, I will cut down on the pimps and the clients will not go to an illegal source for sex if they have a legal source."
Hof is already preparing for a fight, recognizing there are laws against the type of business he wants to operate.
"I think they [Phoenix city leaders] should look at this as an emergency measure, an experiment, we're only talking a couple of months here," Hof said.
"Phoenix is one of the worst sex trafficking places in America and this will combat that."
Tuesday afternoon, Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton had strong words for Hof and his proposal.
In a statement to ABC15, Stanton said, "There's no need to waste anyone's time with this idea. Mr Hof can keep his $500,000, and we'll keep Phoenix safe
from human trafficking during the Super Bowl -- and the future."