Las Vegas Weekly

July 14, 2010 · 5:06 PM

Strip Scribbles: Steve Wynn buys Plaza penthouse for $23 million

By Robin Leach

Steve Wynn stands in the atrium of the Encore.

Photo: Barbara Kraft

Hotel mogul Steve Wynn has purchased one of the largest penthouses at New York’s Plaza Hotel after a previous owner backed out of a contract to buy the residence. Josh Barbanel of The Wall Street Journal reported that the sale closed today for about $23 million, about $1 million below the asking price.

The 5,600-square-foot penthouse was in contract three years ago when the Plaza was undergoing a renovation and condominium conversion. At the time, the apartment’s asking price was $31 million. The buyer, identified in court as a limited-liability company, walked away in late 2008, later suing to recover a $6.2 million deposit and saying the developer, El-Ad Properties, had not delivered the apartment promised in the contract. A state judge ruled in favor of El-Ad last September, and the would-be buyer filed a second claim in March.

The penthouse was back on the market in May after an extensive redesign by architect Gal Nauer and sold within two months. The nine-room apartment is entered on the Plaza’s 20th floor, and a circular staircase and private elevator lead to a rooftop extension with a terrace facing Central Park. A statement from El-Ad said Steve toured the penthouse in mid-May and immediately went into contract. He bought the apartment furnished with custom pieces built by Giorgetti.

*Fighting to protect the rights of 220 individuals who purchased condominiums in The Cosmopolitan, the law firms of Girardi & Keese and Lurie & Park announced yesterday that they have filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction against Deutsche Bank, owners of the development. The complaint, filed in District Court for Clark County, Nev., yesterday, charges Deutsche with violations including reports that it has abandoned the condo component and failed to disclose that fact to buyers.

Plaintiffs are seeking injunctive relief to prevent The Cosmopolitan, alongside MGM’s CityCenter, from renting the plaintiffs’ condos to hotel guests; to compel The Cosmopolitan to make required real estate disclosures; and to prevent The Cosmopolitan from accessing the deposit funds placed into escrow by the plaintiffs. The Cosmopolitan has announced that it will open Dec. 15, with a gala set for New Year’s Eve to tie into the opening of the three-story nightclub, restaurant, pool and water garden complex being created by The Tao Group, which operates Tao in The Venetian and Lavo in the Palazzo.

Many of the 220 buyers say they’ve been held hostage for five years while hundreds of thousands of dollars in deposits have been held by Deutsche Bank, said Shahram Shayesteh, lead counsel for the plaintiffs. “It’s a terrible abuse of the legal system.” The federal Housing and Urban Development agency is investigating the complaints.

Photo: Courtesy

Marche Bacchus.

*Bastille Day, the French national holiday, is celebrated worldwide today, and French restaurants are going the extra kilometer to drink up and make merry. Bastille Day marks the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789, that launched the French Revolution. In Paris, there will be mounted military parades along the Champs-Elysees; here in Las Vegas, we have showgirls and sky jumpers instead of uniformed regiments.

MGM Grand’s Crazy Horse Paris will dance a special lakeside performance at Marche Bacchus, and the first glass of champagne is on the house. Owner Jeff Wyatt plans to saber magnums of bubbly on the restaurant terrace to salute the Las Vegas Skydiving Team, who’ll fly over and plunge into the Desert Shores lake with red, white and blue smoke streamers flaring.

On The Strip, special events are planned at the Paris and its Eiffel Tower and Mon Ami Gabi restaurants. Headliner Barry Manilow also is planning something special.

*In recognition of Bastille Day, we’re reporting that Christian Dior is opening its fourth Las Vegas boutique, a 4,000-square-foot outlet, at Crystals in CityCenter, mirroring the flagship store in Paris. There are two sections for men and women, plus an accessories department with watches.

*Jetsetters will love the new charter air service Flying Private from Whispering Giants. The next VIP excursion for 30 is an Aug. 7 trip to Hollywood to “Venue of the Year” Avalon Nightclub. The private Dornier Jet departs at 8 p.m. for Burbank, Calif., with VIP entrance and a VIP concert at Avalon until the 3 a.m. departure back to McCarran. The cost is $500 per person round trip and includes a $400 gift certificate from Gregory’s Boutique in The Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian.

Photo: Bill Cody @VegasBill on Twitter

Mark Cuban at Pure in Caesars Palace on July 13, 2010.

STAR SURVEILLANCE

Singer Rihanna and her Los Angeles Dodgers boyfriend Matt Kemp, who aren't normally seen in public together, lounged in a private cabana at the Hard Rock Hotel’s HRH Beach Club yesterday. The under-the-radar romantic visit comes before her concert Saturday with Ke$ha at MGM Grand Garden Arena. A spywitness said they looked very comfortable and happy together. … Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban partied at Pure in Caesars Palace last night. Thanks to Bill Cody @VegasBill on Twitter, who was coincidentally at a table next to Cuban, for the photograph. … Joe Maddon, manager of the Tampa Bay Rays, dined at Sushi Samba in the Palazzo last night.

*Today’s 2010 NBA Summer League games: Denver vs. Houston, 1 p.m., Cox Pavilion; New York vs. Toronto, 3 p.m., Cox Pavilion; Atlanta vs. San Antonio, 3:30 p.m., Thomas & Mack; L.A. Clippers vs. Chicago, 5 p.m., Cox Pavilion; Cleveland vs. Phoenix, 5:30 p.m., Thomas & Mack; Sacramento vs. Minnesota, 7 p.m., Cox Pavilion; and Detroit vs. Miami 7:30 p.m., Thomas & Mack.

TONIGHT’S TIPS

Singer-songwriter Niles Rivers, currently starring as Simba in The Lion King at Mandalay Bay, entertains at the launch of Children’s Fitness Foundation at the Four Seasons Hotel. Las Vegas fitness guru Nikki Steven is working with first lady Michelle Obama, Opportunity Village and the Shriners Children’s Hospital to get her fitness program into all schools across the Las Vegas. … The Elvis Presley Fan Festival, aka “The Heart of the King,” starts its five-day salute at the Las Vegas Hilton, where Elvis once headlined.

Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Holly Madison hosts a Fourth of July party at Wet Republic at MGM Grand on July 4, 2010.

TOMORROW’S TEASES

Our guest columnists will be Peepshow star Holly Madison and master magician Lance Burton with his pitch to support Shriners Children’s Hospital.

Vegas DeLuxe Editor Don Chareunsy is assisting with Strip Scribbles while Robin Leach is on vacation through Aug. 4.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.

Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

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