No clown tears for Smokey Robinson -- especially with a Seven Hills home on the market for $1.9 million.
In the past few years, Robinson, a frequent Las Vegas headliner, has purchased several homes in the Las Vegas Valley, including a 10,000-square-foot Summerlin residence, according to his Realtors Candy Williams and June Hansen of Beasley & DeVarreau Sotheby's International Realty.
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The singer's 4,420-square-foot, single-story Henderson home was custom built in 2001 for Street of Dreams by U.S. Home, which was acquired by Lennar in 2000. Known as "La Hacienda Nueva" (Spanish for the new house), 14 contractors participated in its construction. The home was first purchased by a prominent member of the Las Vegas Philharmonic. Robinson closed on it in 2003, having paid $1.2 million, according to the Clark County Assessor's office.
Robinson's wife, Frances, an interior designer and art connoisseur, made extensive décor changes with an international flavor: India lighting fixtures, tiles from Spain and window treatments, made by the same designer whose clients are sultans, kings and queens.
Detroit born and Motown bred, Robinson was dubbed "Smokey Joe" by an uncle who took the youngster to Western movies. Later when a teenager, he became Smokey about the same time he formed his first group, The Five Chimes, in 1955.
The singer-songwriter-record producer chose Berry Gordy, founder of Motown records, as his mentor in 1959. That's when Smokey and his Miracles were first to sign with the producer.
From 1961 to 1988, Robinson was vice president of the label.
Last year Robinson received the Kennedy Center Honors Lifetime achievement award. Other recognition includes 1987 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame; 1990 Songwriters Hall of Fame; 1990 Grammy Legend Award and 2001 Vocal Group Hall of Fame.
Robinson will celebrate his 67th birthday tomorrow.
SportsLine.com's Mike Levy turns his annual into perennial
Same time next year no longer applies to CBS SportsLine.com's founder Mike Levy. Levy and his wife, Jodi, first met at a Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas in January 1980, and have returned each year to celebrate the anniversary of that first encounter.
Now they live on the top two floors at Turnberry Place. Goodbye, Boca Raton, Fla., and a 10,000-square-foot waterfront home on the market for more than $11.8 million. Hello, Turnberry and high-rise Las Vegas living.
The original price of their two condos at closing, June 2005, was $4 million. The buildout and design ran $4 million, doubling the total cost of the units.
Levy said he commissioned Phyllis Morris of Beverly Hills, a firm that designs and builds furniture for luxury estates, to provide more than $1 million in custom furniture and another $1 million on furnishings for the condo.
"We also invested over $500,000 in our audio/video/control/security technologies. Our expense in faux painting alone exceeded $200,000," he said.
Levy parlayed his engineering background into an Internet sports media and publishing company. It was at Comdex in 1993 that Levy developed the concept for the original SportsLine.com.
Among Levy business alliances are Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan Shaquille O'Neal, Joe Namath, Jon Elway, Jerry Rice, Mike Schmidt and Wayne Gretzky.
The Internet entrepreneur has been featured on the covers of Forbes, digitalsouth and Florida Trend.
Remodeling Vegas-style began with a complete stripping of the two Turnberry units in December 2005.
More than 100 Boca Raton neighbors, sports figures and investors came to the condo's completion party November 2006.
Just to add more sparkle, the Levys held a New Year's Eve party on their 38th floor rooftop.
"Virtually every person said they had never seen a more spectacular home," Levy said.
The 37th floor measures 6,500 square feet and includes a 2,500-square-foot outside patio. Jodi Levy's closet and bath occupy more than 800 square feet and the master suite is more than 2,000 square feet.
The Levys have a choice of using an elevator or the ornate spiral staircase to go between the floors.
Levy has the entire 38th floor packed with his own recreational gaming room equipped with 10 slot machines, craps table, blackjack, roulette, a money wheel and a sports bar.
The glass doors open onto the roof where there is a pool, hot tub, fireplace and a 270-degree view of the Strip, Las Vegas and the surrounding mountain ranges.
Joan Schiller Travis can be reached at 383-4663 or jtravis@reviewjournal.com. This is a monthly column that will be published on the third Sunday of each month.
