Las Vegas’ top 10 real estate deals of 2022
Las Vegas’ wheeler-dealer real estate market didn’t disappoint in 2022.
Here are the top 10 deals of the year, ranked by yours truly. Some blockbusters that closed in 2022, including the $5.65 billion sale of The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, are not listed because they were announced in 2021 and were in that year’s top 10.
1. Tilman Fertitta
Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta planted a flag on the Strip, buying 6.2 acres at Las Vegas Boulevard and Harmon Avenue in June for $270 million.
Clark County commissioners in October approved his plans for a 43-story, 2,420-room hotel-casino. Work crews have since demolished buildings there.
Fertitta’s corporate empire includes dozens of restaurant brands, the NBA’s Houston Rockets and Golden Nugget casinos in Nevada and other states.
2. F1 land
The company behind Formula One bought roughly 40 acres east of the Strip ahead of its high-speed race in Las Vegas in 2023.
F1 parent Liberty Media Corp. said in May it was buying land at Harmon Avenue and Koval Lane for $240 million. Brokerage firm Colliers International announced June 1 the sale had closed.
At the time, the buyer did not say why it bought the land instead of leasing it, nor did it say what it would do with the site when a race wasn’t being held.
F1 announced in March it would hold a 50-lap Grand Prix in Las Vegas in November 2023. The race is expected to draw huge crowds and start on the land Liberty Media bought.
3. MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay
Casino landlord Vici Properties announced Dec. 1 it is taking full ownership of MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay’s real estate.
Vici, which owns a 50.1 percent stake in the properties, is buying financial giant Blackstone’s 49.9 percent stake for $1.27 billion in cash. It is also assuming Blackstone’s nearly $1.5 billion share of the debt on the resorts.
Both properties are leased to casino giant MGM Resorts International.
4. Mark Wahlberg
Mark Wahlberg bought land in a wealthy Las Vegas enclave, raising the prospects he would build a big house in America’s casino capital.
The movie star purchased 2.5 acres in Summerlin’s The Summit Club for $15.6 million in July. The next month, he bought a two-story, 7,327-square-foot townhouse in the same community for $14.5 million.
In October, he said on the CBS show “The Talk” that he had moved to Nevada and wanted to “build a state-of-the-art studio here” and “make this Hollywood 2.0.”
5. Station land
Station Casinos bought roughly 126 acres at Las Vegas Boulevard and Cactus Avenue, several miles south of the Strip, for $172.4 million in July.
The plot is across the street from a roughly 57-acre spread the casino chain has owned for years and tried to sell.
Station has extensive land holdings and has said it wants to double its presence in the Las Vegas Valley.
6. Jean
A Reno developer purchased a big property south of Las Vegas with plans to demolish a closed hotel-casino and build a sprawling industrial park.
Tolles Development Co. bought 142 acres off Interstate 15 in Jean for $44.7 million in February, after it filed plans for a 1.9 million-square-foot warehouse and distribution complex. The shuttered Terrible’s hotel-casino occupies a portion of the site.
Producers of “The Battle of Absolute Dominion,” a post-apocalyptic movie, submitted plans to the state to film the movie at the closed hotel. According to their tax-incentive application, the movie had already secured distribution through Netflix.
7. North Strip
The Siegel Group, known for its Siegel Suites chain of low-priced apartments, purchased roughly 10 acres on and near the north Strip for $75 million in April.
At the time, Siegel Group founder Steve Siegel said he was eyeing a project that could include a hotel-casino, condo units and retail.
Siegel paid a big sum for the properties, but it was a steep discount from years past. One of the parcels, a 5-acre plot next to the Peppermill restaurant, sold for $180 million alone in fall 2007.
8. Tivoli Village
Real estate firm 3D Investments purchased Tivoli Village, a Mediterranean-themed retail and office complex with popular eateries at Rampart Boulevard and Alta Drive.
Its $216 million acquisition included 8 acres of land nearby.
The same day it closed the purchase of Tivoli in April, 3D sold a vacant portion of the site to apartment developer The Calida Group for $27 million.
9. Steve Wynn mansion
British businessman Simon Dolan, who made headlines for challenging the U.K. government in court over its pandemic lockdowns, bought former casino developer Steve Wynn’s Las Vegas mansion.
Dolan purchased the 15,000-square-foot Summerlin estate for $17.5 million in May. The lavish house came with a private movie room, crystal staircase and marble pillars, according to listing materials.
10. Chinatown Plaza
Chinatown Plaza, a strip mall that started Las Vegas’ Chinatown commercial district along Spring Mountain Road, changed hands.
Southern California investor George Lin acquired the 1990s-era retail center for $38 million in June.
Chinatown Plaza boasts restaurants and cafes, the grocery store 99 Ranch Market and other businesses. It has also hosted cultural events including annual Chinese New Year celebrations.
Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Follow @eli_segall on Twitter.