Shock waves rock posh neighborhood
Wayne Newton's Graceland-like tourist attraction, a hot-button issue with his neighbors, is taking a back seat temporarily to some other major real estate news along legendary Tomiyasu Lane.
For starters, Vegas Confidential has learned that Newton's next-door neighbor, a Briton who owns Mike Tyson's former home, has approached at least one Clark County commissioner about getting a special permit to create a tourist attraction honoring the former heavyweight champion.
If that's not enough to send more shock waves through the neighborhood, there's this: the Sultan of Brunei's home on Tomiyasu, the second largest in Nevada, is being offered publicly for the first time, and it appears to be a fire sale.
Realtor Zar Zanganeh confirmed that the Sultan of Brunei's 73,000-square-foot residence, the smallest of two in Las Vegas, is listed at $37 million by his company, TheVegasFineEstates.com. It was initially offered at $60 million in November 2009, then dropped to $48 million earlier this year and last Sunday was publicly listed at $37 million.
Construction on the two Sultan of Brunei residences began in 1996. Its bigger brother, which is located in Spanish Trails, was twice the size at 140,000 square feet and reportedly cost twice as much, at $150 million, including the land.
The only residential property in Nevada that eclipsed that cost was the $200 million spent by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar. He acquired 19 custom home sites atop Seven Hills in the past decade and built four structures encompassing 65,000 square feet on the compound.
Zanganeh, who was Michael Jackson's real estate agent in Las Vegas, said Jackson was interested for years in the Sultan of Brunei's Tomiyasu residence, but it wasn't for sale.
When he couldn't purchase it, Jackson zeroed in on Gary Primm's mansion in 2007 and intended to make it "his Las Vegas Neverland," Zanganeh said. At that time, it was listed at $25 million, the most expensive home in Las Vegas, Zanganeh said.
The Sultan of Brunei's brother, Prince Jefri, reportedly transformed the two still-unfinished mega mansions into party palaces. The sultan removed Prince Jefri, nicknamed the "Playboy Prince," as treasurer of Brunei after $30 billion reportedly turned up missing from the tiny, oil-and-gas rich sultanate's treasury.
Tyson was forced out of the 11,000-square-foot property near Newton's Shenandoah estate about eight years ago when the MGM Grand foreclosed on it.
THE SCENE AND HEARD
Country legend Kenny Rogers has apparently reached the stage in his career that he prefers the Barbra Streisand and Prince treatment. Just before he went on stage Friday at the Nevada Wild Fest at the Henderson Pavilion, security ordered everyone out of the hallway. Rogers, 72, is reportedly camera shy since plastic surgery went awry.
SIGHTINGS
Reality TV star Kim Kardashian, holding court at Tao nightclub (The Venetian) on Friday at her 30th birthday party. In her entourage: sisters Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian Odom, mom Kris Jenner and brother Rob Kardashian, along with La La Vazquez, Brittny Gastineau, "Spin Crowd" star Jonathan Cheban, Kelly Rowland, rapper Trina and "Girls Gone Wild" creator Joe Francis. ... Las Vegas music phenom Ne-Yo, celebrating his 30th birthday with cake at Tryst (Wynn). "Peepshow" star Holly Madison presented him with a three-tier chocolate creation with a top shaped like a fedora and a microphone. Also at Tryst: Snoop Dogg. Later Ne-Yo partied at XS at Encore. ... Former UFC champion Frank Mir, dining at N9NE Steakhouse (Palms) on Friday. Also at the Palms: Verne "Mini Me" Troyer at the Playboy Club and hip-hop artist Rev Run at Rain Nightclub before taking the stage about 3 a.m.
THE PUNCH LINE
"Bill O'Reilly appeared on 'The View,' and Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg stormed off the stage. You would think people named Joy and Whoopi would be more cheerful and happy." -- Jimmy Kimmel
Norm Clarke can be reached at (702) 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com.
