Question of the Day - 30 April 2025

This is an interesting game of Las Vegas Strip Monopoly.

When Phil Ruffin purchased the Frontier for $165 million from Margaret Elardi in 1997, he acquired 26 acres of prime Strip real estate. However, Mrs. Elardi retained an adjoining 16.8 acres, which turned out to be a shrewd and highly profitable move, as we'll see. Ruffin Ruffin held an option to lease the acreage he didn't own, thus controlling 42.8 acres of the north Strip.  

Over the next decade or so, Ruffin considered several redevelopment projects for the site, but nothing came to fruition. Instead, in May 2007, he sold the renamed New Frontier to El Ad Properties for more than $1.2 billion, earning nearly $1 billion in profit. The New Frontier was demolished a year later to make room for yet another project that didn't happen. 

The New Frontier land changed hands again in 2014 and was sold once more in 2017 to Wynn Resorts. By then, the 26 original acres had grown to 38. But the Elardis continued to hold onto the 16.8-acre site. The Wynn leases that land from the family. 

Ruffin told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that Margaret Elardi told him she wanted to keep the nearly 17 acres of prime Strip real estate "for her grandchildren." The Wynn and any number of other suitors for the land have attempted to buy it over the years, but reportedly, the Elardis have never responded to any offers. 

In the meantime, the Elardis collect $4 million per year in rent from the Wynn, which also covers the property taxes, netting the Elardis nearly $11,000 per day for the property. 

As for how many grandchildren Margaret Elardi has, no definitive public information available from reliable sources confirms the exact number. In fact, the only way we know she has any at all is from a 1999 Forbes article that described her as a "73-year-old grandmother" without providing any details. Then 25 years later, Ruffin told the R-J about her grandchildren. The Elardis are notoriously tight-lipped when it comes to responding to any inquiries about anything at all from anyone. Ever.