61°F
weather icon Cloudy

Vegas mob associate’s home listing actually features a bullet hole — PHOTOS

Sometimes, it takes a house listing with a bullet hole to bring back a little Las Vegas history.

Two weeks ago, mob associate Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal’s former home at 972 Vegas Valley Drive was placed on the market. The 3,266-square-foot, three-bedroom historical Las Vegas Country Club residence was built in 1970. It’s priced at Vegasy $777,000. Clark County assessor office’s records show a San Francisco-based company purchased the home for $615,000 in 2011. Brian Burns with Synergy/Sotheby’s International Realty has the listing.

The home has a bullet-proof glass wall extending from ceiling to floor behind the staircase. Outside is the 10th tee of the gated community’s golf course where, allegedly, FBI planes landed. The chipped glass, long suspected to be a bullet hole, along with the midcentury modern architecture have been preserved by all the previous owners.

In the garage is a small box of modern technology for a smart home next to a clunky system three times its size — the 1970s version of a smart home. Today, the dwelling is outfitted with a Savant smart-home system, which is controlled by the owner’s smartphone.

Rosenthal, who illegally and with mob influence operated four Las Vegas casinos — the Stardust, Fremont, Hacienda and Marina — from the home, had the place wired with the best technology of the day. He had the house outfitted with heavy front doors that are bullet-proof, sound-proof rooms (said to keep the FBI from hearing his conversations) and hidden gun compartments. Burns said after the neighbor’s home burned a few years ago, it was discovered the two residents were connected with a secret underground tunnel that held an empty safe.

The upstairs master bedroom, which is larger than some studio apartments, houses six closets that are long, mirrored and shallow. There are even more closets in the adjacent hallway. In the living room is a special, temperature-controlled closet that was once used for his wife’s furs. Geraldine McGee Rosenthal was a Las Vegas showgirl and a topless dancer. She died at 46 in 1982 in Los Angeles from an accidental drug overdose. Rosenthal also was known to be a clothes horse. It’s said he owned as many as 200 pairs of pants. The couple, who had two children, divorced in 1980.

The living room, which has a mirrored ceiling, leads to the pool. Off to the side is a swanky sunken bar. One of the owners added a window behind it to let in more sun.

Burns said Rosenthal hired Palm Springs designer Stephen Chase and spent about $500,000 to have the home restored in the mid-1970s after a fire. Wall art that Chase designed remains in the dining and living rooms.

Most people remember Rosenthal as the character that Robert De Niro played in the 1995 movie “Casino” (the house featured in the movie was a much larger one on Desert Inn Road.)

He was the man who invented casino sports books and was the first to hire women blackjack dealers. He would later be blacklisted for life from Nevada casinos.

Shortly after his death, Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Jane Ann Morrison reported he was an FBI informant.

But for most longtime Las Vegans, he is the guy who walked away from a 1982 car bombing in a Tony Roma’s parking lot on Sahara Avenue, a few blocks from the house.

The Tony Roma’s restaurant has been shuttered for a few years; and, in 2008, Rosenthal died in his Miami Beach, Fla., home where he had lived since the 1980s. He was 79.

But that bullet hole remains.

THE LATEST
Ascaya home hits market for $10.3M

“From the second you walk through the door, we wanted to capture the view,” homeowner Dominick Morea said. “That was the main thing. I wanted to see the view from every room.”

$11.25 M sale in The Ridges leads November luxury sales

A home in The Ridges sold for $11.25 million in November, leading the way as the top sale of the month dominated by high-level sales in Summerlin.

Turnberry Place penthouse lists for $2.69M

In a city defined by luxury, a newly listed Turnberry Place penthouse offers an elevated living experience for $2,699,000.

KNB Associates demonstration home to be unveiled at NAHB

Currently under construction, KNB will unveil the 10,459-square-foot two-story property to hundreds of industry professionals during the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) 2025 International Builder’s Show (IBS), held Feb. 25-27. Though the demonstration home is not officially part of IBS, private tours are for invited guests attending the show.

Historic Shakespeare Ranch lists for 188M

The historic Shakespeare Ranch, on the east shore of Lake Tahoe, is listed for $188 million through Chase International. Buyers can purchase the entire ranch or take an a la carte approach and acquire their choice of lakefront residences and homesites starting at $9.95 million.

$15M MacDonald Highlands sale leads October

A $15 million sale in MacDonald Highlands topped the list for the most expensive luxury home closing in October — a month that saw an IndyCar driver set up shop in Las Vegas and former Vegas Golden Knight Jonathan Marchessault sell his Summerlin property.

Two Las Vegas high-rise projects surpass more than $600M in sales

Las Vegas’s first two high-rise projects since before the Great Recession have surpassed more than $600 million in sales combined as construction commences at the end of the year.

High-rise sales are down; prices are up

The Las Vegas high-rise market is on track to record its fewest sales since the 2020 pandemic while setting a record for the price tag buyers are paying for their units.

Irwin Molasky’s former downtown mansion lists for $10M

The former home of the late Irwin Molasky, a prominent Las Vegas developer, has been listed for $10 million. The remodeled mansion is located at 2323 Pinto Lane in historic downtown Las Vegas.

Midcentury home showcases vintage Halloween décor

When guests enter the house at 1680 Silver Mesa Way in the Paradise Palms neighborhood, vintage Halloween décor dominates the midcentury home, which was built in 1964.