Ellen Ruby Blog's: Las Vegas Legend Wayne Newton’s Former Ranch Now Available for $30M

Wednesday, 26 August 2020

Las Vegas Legend Wayne Newton’s Former Ranch Now Available for $30M

Wayne Newton Las Vegas — realtor.com, Gabe Ginsberg/FilmMagic

The crooner Wayne Newton sang a protracted goodbye to his Las Vegas estate over the last decade. The final toast came in 2019. Now, his former property, Casa de Shenandoah, is back on the market with a big markup. For a buyer looking to go all-in, the lavish spread is available for $29.9 million.

Which is a dramatic price hike, if you consider that the place sold last fall for $10.53 million. For the sellers, it would be a huge return on investment if the Vegas spread sells for anything close to ask. Let’s take a look at the home’s tangled history.

Casa de Shenandoah

The long-time Vegas performer bought the place in 1966, when the land was vacant, and slowly added to it over a generation. He built the main mansion in 1978, and bred Arabian horses. An array of other animals also called the Casa home, including dogs, monkeys, peacocks, and ducks.

The ranch, with over 36 acres, now encompasses the historic main mansion, seven more homes, a car museum, stables, corrals and pastures, a tennis court, private jet and terminal, gaming room, and a zoo. The prime property sits just a couple miles east of the Strip.

Newton lived on the estate—which he dubbed Casa de Shenandoah—from the time he bought it in the 1960s until he departed in 2010.

Wayne Newton’s former mansion in Las Vegas
realtor.com

Newton departs … sort of

Facing bankruptcy, Newton sold the property to a development company in 2010, for $19.5 million.

But rather than strum away into the sunset, the singer retained a 20% stake in the company that purchased the place. There were plans to transform the majority of the property into a museum and to offer tours to the public featuring Newton’s memorabilia and history. The Newtons remained at a home close by.

But complications arose between the Newtons and the property owners, who eventually sunk millions into renovating the place.

The owners put the place back on the market for $70 million in 2013, then cut the price down to $40 million in 2014.

But then, rather than sell, the owners worked out an agreement to let the Newtons take over managing the museum.

Casa de tourists

The place opened to the public in 2015. A visitor center contained shops and memorabilia for tourists to view.

After three years, the museum closed to the public and was placed into Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. The owners, known as ICSD LLC, placed the property back on the market.

In 2019, the place sold in two separate transactions totaling $10.53 million, to a corporation known as Smoketree LLC.

That price represented a steep drop from the 2010 purchase price, not counting the millions spent turning the Casa into an attraction.

Now rebranded with the name Sunset Springs Ranch, the spread is back on the market for a developer or a Wayne Newton fan to decide its next chapter.

Zar Zanganeh with Luxe Estates & Lifestyles holds the listing.