The owners of the Chicken Ranch brothel are cashing out and selling their cathouse for $5 million to a local businessman with ties to the brothel industry.
According to the Nevada Review-Journal, Chicken Ranch owner Kenneth Green sold the business to Michael Fellen, whose family had owned brothels in Northern Nevada.
The brothel, located just outside Pahrump, 60 miles west of Las Vegas; had been on the market since June 2004 for an asking price of $6.95 million. The sale includes all furniture and fixtures along with the brothel’s Web sites and its logo, featuring a pair of legs wearing high heels, hatching out of an egg.
Fellen told the newspaper that his venture is backed by Jason Mohney, who also owns several strip clubs in New Orleans. Altogether, Mohney’s family owns several strip clubs, including Little Darlings and Déjà vu in Las Vegas, along with clubs in 15 states as well as Canada and France.
According to the newspaper, Fellen’s uncle David Burgess is a member of the Hell’s Angels and is also owner of the Old Bridge Ranch brothel near Reno.
The deal, however, must go through a licensing process before it’s finalized, Fellen’s spokesman said.
The brothel is located just a few feet outside Pahrump, which prohibits the operation of brothels. It’s one of two brothels located just outside city limits.
The Chicken Ranch’s history dates back to the late 1800s when it first opened in Texas, serving soldiers from the Civil War. But it would take more than 100 years for authorities to finally force its owners to close down, only to move the brothel to Nevada in 1973 where it has operated ever since.
It’s story is romanticized in the play and later movie, “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.”
