Hustlin’ a bid for Hef mansion
THE HUSTLER HONEYS could soon displace the Playboy Bunnies at Hugh Hefner’s Los Angeles party palace. Hustler execs want to make an offer on the iconic mansion (photo below) and confirmed that an internal memo obtained by Confidenti@l expressing their interest is the real deal. Though we’re told that the $200 million asking price is out of the question and that the 89-year-old Hefner (below with a sexy pal) and his “sticky sheets” would not be part of the deal.
“Larry (Flynt) and I have talked about it and are preparing a bid,” says Harry Mohney, whose Déjà Vu company operates the Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club chain, which includes a Manhattan location on W. 51st St. “We feel it is an excellent place for the Hustler Club and Hustler Mansion.”
According to Mohney, Hustler would move their own staff into the 29-room estate and host “at least” three parties per week for VIP guests. He also says those gatherings would out-Hef the parties the aging Bunny wrangler has been throwing there for 45 years.
“Hef lost the fact and focus that he was in the sex business and magazine business,” says Mohney. “He thought he was Vanity Fair and lost that he was in the business of the erotic.”
Playboy announced in October that it would no longer have nude women in its magazines.
The 20,000-square-foot Playboy Mansion, which sits on 5 acres of prime property, was built in 1927 and purchased by Hefner in 1971 for $1.05 million. It was put on the market last week with one stipulation: Hef stays. Mohney scoffs at that idea as well as the $200 million asking price.
“We are not going to offer half that much,” Mohney insists. “I don’t know where he got that figure from. Certainly it would require an appraisal of the value.” Mohney also says that “Hefner could not live in the mansion” and that Hef’s old pal — accused serial rapist
Bill Cosby — will never step foot on the estate again if Hustler moves in. The memo states that Hefner would be held liable for any lawsuits that might emerge from past misdeeds on the property. Hustler’s sudden interest in the Playboy Mansion — provided that it isn’t a publicity stunt — has changed dramatically in recent days.
When the estate went up for sale last week, Flynt (inset above) told TMZ he had no interest in getting in bed with his old rival.
“I like my own toys and I don’t want his dirty sheets,” the Hustler honcho said at the time. But according to Mohney, the 73-yearold Flynt’s position has changed. “He gave those quotes before he and I spoke,” says Mohney. “We spoke over the weekend, discussed some figures, and he thought the Hustler Mansion had huge potential.”
A Playboy rep tells us: “We aren’t commenting on who or who may not be interested in buying this property. However, a condition of any potential sale is that Mr. Hefner have the right to continue living at the Playboy Mansion.”