Former Liberace home goes on market

Las Vegas Villa, an estate once owned by pianist Liberace, has come on the market for $3 million minimum, according to listing agents Joe North and Jeff Boughrum of Colliers International-Las Vegas. The property will be sold via sealed bids to be opened May 15, 2003.

Owner Vance Turner, a businessman from Georgia, acquired the property from the Liberace Foundation in 1989 and converted it into a catering and banquet facility with two industrial kitchens and a 4,500-square-foot banquet hall that can host 600 guests. The list price for the property includes all equipment, as well as furnishings from its Liberace days.

"In 1998 the property was valued as an operating business at $8.25 million and with an experienced operator it could easily approximate that value in today's market," Boughrum said. "The most significant factor is the goodwill provided by a universally known entertainer, for which there is no possible replacement. Liberace, like his residence, is truly one of a kind."

The property has hosted events for large companies and wealthy revelers, including Paramount Pictures, Saks Fifth Avenue, Pearl Jam, IBM, MGM Grand Hotel and Sony Music. It was also a location for the movie The Wedding Singer. Turner said more than 50 Fortune 500 companies have rented the property.

Known for his piano recitals involving flashy costumes and candelabras, Liberace, born Wladziu Valentino Liberace, performed all over the world including in Las Vegas. He had a successful television show in the '50s and held concerts for record audiences as late as the '80s.

Located at 4982 Shirley St. in a mature subdivision between UNLV and McCarran International Airport, the former Liberace Mansion was home to the flamboyant pianist from the '60s until his death in 1987, although his latter years were spent mainly in California. Much of his image and tastes are reflected in the property's décor.

When completed in 1967, the home measured about 10,000 square feet. Although only one of seven homes owned by Liberace, it developed a reputation as his party headquarters.

"This was his primary home for throwing parties for the glitterati of his day," North said.

At one time, the property even had gaming. North said Liberace possessed one of only three private gaming licenses ever issued by the state of Nevada (Howard Hughes and Frank Sinatra were the others.). An empty alcove in the home once housed slot machines Liberace installed for his mother.

Measuring more than 17,000 square feet, Las Vegas Villa is lavishly furnished. It includes several themed rooms, including the Moroccan Room, which features imported copper-laced tile flooring, a tiled fireplace and Tivoli lights lining the atrium-style glass ceiling.

The "Eternal Hallway," designed by Liberace, is adorned with 2,000-year-old Grecian marble pillars, Baccarat crystal chandeliers, and etched floor-to-ceiling mirrors.

The master suite features a sunken marble tub. A reproduction of the Sistine Chapel murals, painted by a direct descendant of Michelangelo, covers the ceiling, North said.

Additional features include five fireplaces, seven baths, seven bars and lounges, and two industrial kitchens.

Turner, who owns the Atlanta-based Esquire Insurance agency, purchased the home on one of many trips to Las Vegas after seeing it featured on "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous."

At first, he saw the home as a rental guest house for visiting celebrities, but later decided to use it as Liberace once did -- for entertaining. While preserving the front areas of the home, he filled in two swimming pools and a spa, added a sound-proofed banquet hall, built office space, and expanded the bathrooms and kitchens.

Located in an old neighborhood surrounded by businesses, an airport and university, the facility operates as a business on a special use permit. Turner said it is still a viable business, but that being an absentee owner has made operations difficult. He believes upkeep of the property also would make it attractive to investors interested in the legacy of Mr. Showmanship.

Colliers International is one of the largest commercial real estate firms in the world with 234 offices in 51 countries.

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