What Is the Status of the Old Diamond Inn?

What's the status of the Diamond Inn on the south Strip? It's been closed for years and is certainly an eyesore. Hasn't it been sold by now? And if so, why hasn't the new owner demolished it?

The Diamond Inn, located across from the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, is one of the last of the motels that used to line this part of the Strip. It opened way way back in 1940 when this part of Highway 91 was as far away from the rest of little Las Vegas as Jean is today. Later, it was known far and wide for its larger-than-life pink elephant out front, which is still there, or at least it was the last time we looked. It sits on a 1.4-acre piece of property with 237 feet of Strip frontage, zoned for a hotel-casino, and approved by the FFA for buildable heights of 406 feet to 505 feet, all of which make it very valuable for a developer.

The property was first put up for sale in November 2010 via a sealed-bid auction. Nothing happened. The following May, ground was broken for a big observation wheel on a parcel adjoining the Diamond Inn, part of an amusement park planned for the site. The Skyvue Las Vegas Super Wheel project was planned to feature restaurants, retail outlets, and other entertainment offerings and was slated to debut in 2013. The Diamond Inn was supposed to be demolished to make way for the complex, but the whole thing barely got off the ground.

The motel has been owned by the same guy, Sam Aldabbagh, for nearly 50 years, but it was shut down by Clark County over numerous electrical, mechanical, and plumbing violations. Officials ordered the power turned off in November 2023 and it's been sitting vacant and in disreputable condition ever since.

It was put up for auction last year at a $12.5 million minimum and reportedly generated a lot of interest, but found no takers. The auction house claimed that the process "identified several serious and interested buyers," but the seller apparently wasn't satisfied with any offers that might've come in. In fact, the listing price was raised to $25 million, double the minimum bid that no one, apparently, wanted to pay.

And there it sat until the property was put up for auction again last month at a minimum bid of $10 million. The auction closed on October 16 without selling. Once again, according to the coverage in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, a number of bidders made offers, but "the final amount didn't meet the seller’s expectations." However, he has a "clearer understanding of current market demand for the property.”

By now, 15 years since it first hit the auction block and three failed auctions later, Aldabbagh should have a "clearer understanding."

The Diamond Inn is now for sale via a traditional commercial real estate listing. The R-J reported that Aldabbagh, 83, is "motivated and ready" to sell to a qualified buyer. But who knows?

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Jon Anderson Nov-10-2025

submitting a potential QOD-the despensary lounge jazz club

you guys (and gals) seem cool and i'll bet one of you has been to the despensary lounge where they have live jazz music...it's out on east tropicana...i asked the bartender about the misleading name while playing some bartop video poker...he said it meant at the time of opening to despense liquor, beer and wine...my buddy and i experienced the rick arroyo quartet one night and it was swinging...my buddy was the road manager for stan kenton for many years so he knows good jazz...and that was IT...nice little intimate joint (no pun intended) where everybody was having fun and jumpin to the jazz... anyone of you ever check this place out ????

PJ Stroh Nov-10-2025

VP return when figuring in taxes

Video poker is widely considered to be one of the best rates of return in the casino.    But that’s based on a royal flush that pays 4000 credit.    If you are playing $1 VP and hit that Royal you will be hit with the hand pay tax form.    So that 4000 credit is really more like 3000.   What’s the rate of return when you figure in the hand pay tax.

VegasVic Nov-10-2025

@jon

There is a button right above the comments to "Submit a QOD".  Just click it and submit.

O2bnVegas Nov-10-2025

changes

I think the 'way around' the tax penalty changed a few years ago.  The 'off the top' way of calculating it, anyway.  Now I have Fed taxes deducted from every handpay, to reduce or eliminate the pain at tax time.  One reason I like table games better, no reporting unless a progressive over the limit.

Now, how did the discussion get so far off topic?  My bad as well.  But I'd never seen nor heard of the Diamond Inn or the Pink Elephant.  Interesting!

Candy

O2bnVegas Nov-10-2025

@Vegas Vic

That button has never worked for me.  My cursor lights up, but nothing happens.  Might be my browser, I dunno. I just email them if I have a suggestion.

Candy

[email protected] Nov-10-2025

Damn...

...guess whatever he gets for it will go to his heirs...

John Dulley Nov-10-2025

FAA

My question is how bordering the airport the faa would allow a 500 foot building, I guess it’s the angle of the runways??  Also  the guy obviously doesn’t want to sell  unless it’s a serious windfall which hasn’t happened but  now in his 80’s it’s time.

John Pitcher Nov-10-2025

Diamond Inn Pics

For anyone interested in seeing pics of the current Diamond Inn property, go to www.JPKing.com then the Properties drop down link then Development Property Auctions.
You can't miss the photo with the pink elephant, and clicking on that photo will take you to 6-7 more photos of the property.  I found it interesting to see how close it is to an airport runway and how it is situated among other properties.

Gregory Nov-10-2025

QOD

The QOD submission link works fine if you use an email application (like Outlook) as your email app.  If you use Gmail or access your email from "webmail" the link probably won't work.  LVA really should address this.  These days, most don't people don't use a software email client.

Question of the Day - 10 November 2025

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