Before we address your specific question, here's a little history and clarification. When the Maloof family debuted Palms Casino Resort on November 15, 2001, the hip off-Strip property comprised a single structure, now officially designated the Ivory Tower, which houses the original hotel rooms and casino, plus the main pool complex, the majority of the resort's dining venues, the "Real World Suite", for which an entire upper floor of the hotel was remodeled to accommodate the cast of MTV's reality show in 2002, Rain nightclub, and the 'hidden' Studio at the Palms, where stars including Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Eminem, and Carlos Santana have all laid down recordings.
In 2005, the "Fantasy Tower" was added, supplementing the property's original room inventory with an array of themed suites, including the Hardwood Suite (the only hotel accommodation in the world to include an in-suite basketball court), the bowling-themed King Pin Suite, the Barbie Suite, and the Sky Villas, one of which was designed specifically as Hugh Hefner's pad during the era of the resort's affiliation with the Playboy brand. (For more on that, see the QoD answer that ran on 2/5/15). The Fantasy Tower also houses Moon nightclub, currently closed -- like Rain -- other than for private events.
In 2008, George Maloof -- the 'face' of the whole enterprise -- debuted a third tower named Palms Place -- a 59-story hotel, condominium, and spa tower featuring almost 600 suites, including what's known as the "Founder's Penthouse." This 6,230-square-foot residence, with almost 21,000 additional square footage of outdoor space, was home not to George, but to his younger brother and former New Mexico state senator Phil Maloof, who's famed for his private collection of art, automobiles, pipe organs, and other treasures.
Accessed via a private elevator (naturally), the three-bedroom, five-bath penthouse comes with features including: 30-foot ceilings; a 20-person hot tub; 35 flat-screen TVs; a DJ booth; a wet bar; and an outdoor theater and kitchen. Boasting 360-degree views of the Las Vegas Valley, the penthouse is also often described as possessing its own private helipad, but according to sources including Vegas Inc., it's more accurately described as a "possible helicopter landing pad" (meaning that "with minor construction," it would be helipad-capable," according to Lisa Sutton of Synergy Sotheby's International Realty).
Unfortunately for the Maloofs, their timing with Palms Place could not have been worse and George became badly overextended when the condo bubble (if there ever actually was one) in Las Vegas burst, leaving him with a giant, $400 million, loan hanging over his head. In 2011, Lenders Leonard Green & Partners LP and TPG Capital offered to retire it return for equity in the Palms, in an arrangement that left Maloof with a mere two percent share of Palms ownership. (To compound the indignity, Green and TPG removed the words "A Maloof Casino Resort" from the Palms marquee, although the family does retain the option to repurchase 18 percent of the property.)
Still, it wasn't until June of last year that Phil decided to put his penthouse -- for which he'd paid just $4.5 million back in 2008 (which presumably reflected a "friends-and-family discount) on the market. The original asking price was the princely sum of $38 million, making it by far the most-expensive residence listed in Las Vegas, but that figure turned out -- not surprisingly -- to be somewhat over-ambitious in the prevailing market. Today the property is still available, for a slightly more modest $29 million and, as an added extra touch, it comes with two original works of art by Picasso and another by Salvador Dali, which were originally part of the package, but today are subject to some further negotiation, we understand.
Should you be interested (and you can click here for a virtual tour, note that the homeowners association dues were a whopping $4,481 per month back when it first went on the market, and could be even higher by now, but they do include concierge services, a pre-arrival grocery shopping service, access to the fitness center, two free spa passes a month, and discounts for The Palms’ restaurants, room service, shops, and other amenities.
