Larry Flynts’ Brother Sues for Half of Hustler Empire

Posted on: February 17, 2022, 07:54h. 

Last updated on: February 17, 2022, 09:49h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More

Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.

Larry Flynt’s younger brother is suing the late tycoon’s widow for half of the Hustler porn and casino empire.

In a lawsuit filed last week in a California federal court, Jimmy Flynt claims he was “wrongfully and inequitably” cut out of his brother’s will. Larry left the entire Hustler enterprise to his fifth wife and former nurse, Elisabeth Flynt, via the Larry Flynt Revocable Trust (LF Trust).

On Larry’s death from heart failure in February 2021, the Flynt Management Group (FMG) comprised adult magazine publishing, video distribution, an adult broadcasting channel, plus Hustler branded strip clubs and retail outlets.

Then there were the card clubs in Gardena, California: Larry Flynt’s Hustler Casino and Larry Flynt’s Lucky Lady Casino. The entire enterprise is worth around $500 million, according to The LA Times.

But Jimmy claims that without his contribution to the business and loyalty to his brother, the Hustler business would have “never achieved the success or growth that it did,” and very likely would not exist today.

‘No Hustler Without Jimmy’

According to the lawsuit, Jimmy provided the capital for the first business venture the brothers started together, a bar in Dayton, Ohio, which opened in 1969. It was the first business to use the Hustler name and “unquestionably” the start of the Hustler enterprise, the lawsuit claims.

“Jimmy was instrumental in the initial development and growth of the business, was instrumental in keeping the company together during a difficult time period in the late 70’s/80’s; and was instrumental in the second and most recent wave of growth and expansion and profitability beginning in or around 1997, including the establishment of the Hustler Hollywood chain of stores and internet retail business, which Jimmy conceived and founded in Cincinnati,” says the lawsuit.

Without Jimmy, there would have been no Hustler Clubs in the early 1970s. Without Jimmy, neither the Hustler newsletter nor Hustler magazine would have existed. Without Jimmy, there would have been no Jackie O. photos and without Jimmy, Hustler magazine would not have been successful,” the lawsuit claims.

In 1975, the Flynts purchased nude pictures of former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis from a paparazzo and published them in Hustler, then a relatively obscure title. A million copies were sold within days of publication.

Brothers Fall Out

Jimmy stood trial with Larry for some of the obscenity charges Hustler fought in the mid-1970s, for which Larry was briefly imprisoned.

While awaiting trial for obscenity charges in Georgia in 1978, Larry was shot on the steps of the courthouse by white supremacist serial killer Joseph Paul Franklin. He was left partially paralyzed for the rest of his life.

The younger brother accused the elder of breaching his contractual promises and assurances that he would be included in the trust.

But the courts ruled that the claim was not relevant until Larry died, because he had up until the time of his death to make good on his promises.

He did not.