Las Vegas Weekly

January 7, 2009 · 8:35 AM

Michael Jackson moves out of Vegas and into a $100K-a-month Bel Air mansion

By Robin Leach

Michael Jackson celebrated his 50th birthday at Planet Hollywood in Caesars Palace on Aug. 29, 2008.

Photo: Denise Truscello

Pop royal Michael Jackson has apparently given up on plans for jump-starting his career with a permanent show here in Las Vegas. He’s moved out of town, and overnight reports from Los Angeles say he’s leased a Bel Air gated estate for at least 12 months. The whopping annual rental of $1.2 million gives him a mansion in the style of a French chateau and comes with 12 fireplaces, 13 bathrooms, a wine cellar and tasting room, a theater and seven bedrooms -- just about the perfect size for Michael and his three kids!

The property was one of the most expensive homes listed for sale in 2008, according to real estate experts, but was taken off the market after Michael signed the $100,000-a-month lease. It’s believed that Michael’s real-estate dealings with Las Vegas Hilton owner and Station Casinos investor Tom Barrack of Colony Capital provided him with sufficient monies for the Bel Air mansion. Colony and Michael entered into a joint venture when the pop star moved to Vegas and surrendered title to the Neverland Ranch to develop the 120 acres of Santa Barbara land.

Apparently, Michael is beginning to get back into showbiz. I know from several sources that he’s been in discussions with new agency manager teams eager to represent him, and even his manager-spokesman Tohme Tohme confirms: “He wants to be where all the action is in the entertainment industry.”

I’m wondering who Tohme Tohme is … it’s a new name to surface from the Jackson camp. I am mighty curious if he was once a struggling, androgynous pop singer in his own right? The name is just too unusual for it to belong to two different people, right? He was managed and funded with staggeringly large financial investments by Los Angeles photographer Richard Franklin, who I once let use the grounds of my Caribbean home in Antigua to shoot Tohme’s music video that turned out to be, ahem, a little risque on the male S&M side when I finally got to see it! Obviously, this is going to be an interesting and developing story that I will follow for all you M.J. fans out there, plus for my own personal curiosity!

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