Main Mustang may not be an easy buy

While Mound House brothel owner Dennis Hof is among the bidders for the original Mustang Ranch, the purchase may have substantial hidden costs.

Hof's Moonlite Bunny Ranch outbid the competition for the buildings of the Mustang Ranch II on eBay Sunday, with a bid of $8,101.

The current bid for the asterisk-shaped main building is $17,600 by Sunset Thomas, who is one of the women working at the Bunny Ranch.

Bidders have until 2 p.m. Thursday to complete bidding on the buildings, which must be moved within 90 days, according to eBay's Web site.

Perhaps more important, the sale includes the World-Famous Mustang Ranch's trademark, which the federal government has defended since taking over the brothel in 1999.

Hof said he plans to use the Mustang Ranch II buildings for a brothel museum, but said there may be a problem moving the original ranch from its present location.

"There is no way to get those wings out of there without cutting up the building into sections like a pie," he said. "I just got done talking to the house mover, and the road leaving Lockwood is so narrow it is virtually impossible to move the buildings. It is going to be extremely costly."

Hof said it could be more costly to move the Mustang I than to build a replica of it.

The Mustang II's buildings are modulars built to commercial quality and should not be a problem to move off the property, Hof said.

"We were the big bidders," he said. "Out of 220 items, we bought 68 of them. We are going to create a museum to preserve the adult history of Nevada."

The buildings he doesn't use for the museum are in good enough shape to provide living quarters.

"I'll use what I need for the museum and the others could be used for housing by a ranch in the middle of Nevada or for the Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management. They are perfect for housing."

Hof said the only modular used by the Bunny Ranch came from the Squaw Valley Olympics.

He has no doubt his museum will be a popular attraction.

"People are so curious," he said. "The 'Cathouse' show was the highest rated nonfiction show on HBO.

It is airing a second show at 10:30 p.m. Dec. 27."