Race car driver looks to future as resident of Lake Las Vegas

     Professional race car driver Sam Schmidt lives life in the fast lane. As a Lake Las Vegas Resort property owner, he realizes it will be a while before he can take full advantage of the lifestyle at SouthShore, a Mediterranean-themed community at the resort in Henderson.
      "My wife Sheila and I first became interested in Lake Las Vegas Resort in 1995 when we were looking to relocate to Las Vegas from Belmont Shores, a suburb of Long Beach, Calif.," Schmidt said. "We thought we would swing in for the weekend and buy a house. Little did we realize Las Vegas has a huge variety of real estate offerings available.
      "We were always drawn to Lake Las Vegas Resort, however, we realized that the infrastructure was not developed as much as we would have liked at the time, so we looked at purchasing property here as an investment for the long term instead of the short term," he said.
      The Schmidts purchased their first lot in 1997 in the community's Monaco neighborhood, where they have since purchased two additional lots.
      "We are keeping two lots for investments, but we've singled out one of the waterfront lots with a view of the 18th green of Reflection Bay Golf Club for ourselves, and we hope to start building in the next three to five years," Schmidt said.
      While three to five years may seem like a long wait to build a house, Schmidt's racing career keeps him busy traveling. Also, the Schmidts are the parents of 2-year-old Savannah and six-week-old Spencer.
      The 550-acre guard-gated development of SouthShore offers custom-home sites priced from the $310,000s to $1.75 million in five neighborhoods -- Barcelona, Biarritz, Marseilles, Monaco and Siena.
      Barcelona offers home sites adjacent to the eighth hole and the first and ninth double fairways.
      Biarritz's home sites are surrounded by five fairways of SouthShore Golf Club, with some offering golf course frontage and views.
      The gated Marseilles neighborhood features the largest home sites planned at SouthShore, ranging from 21,000 to 42,000 square feet, with some adjacent to the golf course or waterfront.
      Monaco offers waterfront home sites and fairway frontage.
      Siena features a gated entrance and some custom-home sites on the sixth or seventh fairway.
      The guard-gated PortaCielo offers 72 homes in three floor plans. Homes range from 2,460 to 3,500 square feet. Prices begin in the high $400,000s, plus additional lot premiums.
      The opening of PortoFino, an offering of 50 waterfront homes, is planned.
      MonteCatini is a multi-acre home site neighborhood priced from $2 million to $5.8 million.
      A gated development of 52 home sites, some with views of the Jack Nicklaus-designed Reflection Bay Golf Club, is also planned. Prices will start at $265,000.
      Lake Las Vegas Resort is being developed by Transcontinental Properties Inc.
      To visit, take Lake Mead Drive, seven miles east of Boulder Highway, to Lake Las Vegas Parkway.
      The sales office is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.