The Villa De Flores, the very last low-rent apartment complex left on the Las Vegas Strip, is located between the Treasure Island parking structure, left, and The Mirage. (Image: vintagelasvegas.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThough Steve Wynn bought up all the land surrounding The Mirage to will his dream into reality in 1987, Mike Flores and his family saw the opportunity to extort the casino mogul for much more than their tiny parcel\u2019s assessed value of $291,870 (including its buildings).<\/p>\n
Flores, whose parents built the apartment building in 1975 on land they had owned for more than a decade before that, demanded $6 million.<\/strong><\/p>\nWynn countered with $2 million. And when Flores rejected his offer, both parties went to war.<\/p>\nLas Vegas fire crews battle a 1999 fire across from the Villa De Flores apartments in 1999. (Image: KSNV-TV<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nReal-Life Pirate Battle<\/h2>\n Wynn buried three huge propane tanks only a few hundred feet from the Villa De Flores. They stored the fuel necessary for \u201cBattle of Buccaneer Bay,\u201d Treasure Island\u2019s fiery free pirate show on the Strip.<\/p>\n
In 1999, one of the tanks went up in flames. Miraculously, none of the apartment\u2019s residents was injured in the blast or ensuing fire. It was ruled accidental, though Flores called it an \u201caccident waiting to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steve Wynn is to the good-neighbor policy what Jeffrey Dahmer is to dining etiquette,\u201d Flores said around that time, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\nFlores fired a return shot over Wynn’s bow in the form of his own proposed hotel on the site. But he dropped his idea for a nine-story tower when Wynn responded with a massive lawsuit claiming the structure would be too big and violate several building codes. \n<\/em><\/p>\nPlans call for the King David to be built on the site of the Villa De Flores apartment building, which is fewer than 50 yards from the Treasure Island\u2019s employee entrance, and only slightly farther from the Mirage. (Image: Google Earth)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nFlores sold the land for $3.8 million in 2004, years after Wynn sold both The Mirage and Treasure Island. Koroghli purchased the Villa De Flores for $6.5 million in 2007.<\/p>\n
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Whether current Treasure Island owner Phil Ruffin, or the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which owns The Mirage and is in the process of transforming it into the next Hard Rock Las Vegas<\/a>, will object to such a large commercial structure as the King David situated so close to their properties is a question that will most certainly be answered later in the permit approval process.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nThough the proposal appeared on the agenda for the April 3 Clark County Zoning Commission meeting, initial public discussion about the proposal is likely to be tabled until June because Clark County staff have recommended minor changes.<\/p>\n
Koroghli did not return voicemails left by Casino.org<\/em> seeking comment for this story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Plans for the Last Vegas Strip\u2019s first Jewish-themed hotel, featuring its first synagogue and kosher restaurants, have been submitted for approval to Clark County. Equally as interesting as the proposed King David Hotel, however, is the history of the strange parcel of land on which its developer wants to build it. The King David, as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":316185,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81886],"tags":[90422,84131,82389,85175,90419,85179,82012,90424,90423,90418,81940,90417,89737],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Vegas Strip\u2019s First Jewish Hotel and Temple Proposed for Half-Acre Once Coveted by Steve Wynn - Casino.org<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n