Inside the ‘Mar-a-Lago of Las Vegas’: Nevada’s Answer to Donald Trump’s Iconic Florida Resort Hits the Market for $21 Million

An expansive and exclusive Nevada resort that has been branded Las Vegas’ answer to President Donald Trump‘s infamous Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida has hit the market for $21 million—offering a rare opportunity for one budding business magnate to build out their own real estate legacy out west.

Long before he became president, Trump was a real estate tycoon who carved out a new blueprint for resorts targeted to the rich and powerful, with his transformation of Mar-a-Lago—originally built as a home for socialite Marjorie Merriweather Post.

The expansive property, which became Trump’s primary residence in 2019, has become a mecca for political power players, wealthy business scions, and socialites alike—providing a sanctuary for socializing under a sunny sky, far away from the hubbub of the big cities where their business is based.

Despite Mar-a-Lago setting a new standard, Trump is by no means the first business magnate to build this kind of power seat.

Thomas Jefferson had his Monticello; Gilded Age scions had their fancy estates in Newport. The magnetic Biltmore Estate in Asheville, which was a mover-and-shaker hot spot for decades, remains the largest privately owned residence in the U.S.; and Hearst Castle on the California coast was a legendary gathering spot for power players in many different fields.

Trump added a commercial aspect to the epicentral grand estate after he bought Mar-A-Lago, a National Historic Landmark in Palm Beach, in 1985. In the early 1990s he suffered financial setbacks and turned the property into a private, for-profit club. He made it his primary residence in 2019.

There, the moneyed could stay and play, or booze and schmooze in a more relaxed and clubby atmosphere, among well-heeled members with similar interests. It also provides a substantial source of income for the owner.

Feels like a winning hand, doesn’t it? Well now, the opportunity to carve out a similarly prosperous property has arisen, miles away from Mar-a-Lago.

The Mar-A-Lago of Las Vegas?

With the listing of Las Vegas’s famous Stirling Club, savvy megamillionaires will have an opportunity to show their hands in their own luxurious power retreat on the other side of the country—in a city where gazillionaires from all over the globe frequently gather to game and gain influence and wealth.

For $21 million, power brokers could live, play, and work in their own elite club, with all the amenities their hearts could desire, surrounded by friends—while having their whims and wishes fulfilled in moments. And they could make a substantial profit while they’re at it.

The Sterling Club was created in 2000, by the same people who developed the adjacent Fontainebleau resort, and the also adjacent Turnberry Place—one of Las Vegas’s first high-rise luxury condo developments. It actually helped to inspire a condo boom near the Strip.

The club has changed hands several times since then, and now the current owners “are looking to sell, mainly seeking more time for travel and leisure,” says residential agent Cristine Lefkowitz, of BHHS Nevada Properties, who is co-listing the property with Jennifer Weinberger, of Berkshire Hathaway NV Properties Commercial Division.

“It’s an excellent opportunity for someone to come in and create their own Las Vegas Mar-a-Lago,” Lefkowitz adds.

Winning features

Located just minutes from the Strip, the Stirling is tucked neatly between the four upscale Turnberry high rises. There are 856 living units in the towers, and many of the residents enjoy Stirling Club membership because of the convenience; but people from all over the valley find membership appealing as well.

The Mediterranean-style club feels like an oasis in the middle of the neon desert, with its lush vegetation and swaying palms.

Built to impress, celebrities, members, and guests alike are awed by the sweeping double staircase in the entry, the towering barrel ceiling tastefully accented in gold, and the dazzling crystal chandelier.

The current owners, who purchased the property in 2018, spent several years and millions of dollars updating the interiors with peaceful, marble water walls cascading in many public areas; up-to-the-minute fitness and spa equipment; and entertainment spaces that reflect today’s upscale aesthetics.

In other words, this is not your grandfather’s fusty old country club. It was refashioned for a whole new, more energized vibe.

The lavish outdoor facilities are proof of that. All told, the property sprawls over about 4 acres, and amenities include Las Vegas’ only clay tennis courts, where Andre Agassi is known to have played—there are also pickleball courts, grand terraces with outdoor dancing, dining and meeting facilities, and a large resortlike pool, surrounded by lounges, cabanas, and a gracious poolside bar.

Inside the Stirling Club’s 72,000 square feet of enclosed spaces, there are extensive spa and fitness facilities, including an indoor lap pool, a large gym, a spacious pilates and cycling room, saunas, hot tubs, and private massage rooms. There are also multiple salon facilities, including rooms for hairstyling, manicures, pedicures, facials, and other cosmetic procedures.

Once members spend some quality time in those rooms, they’re ready to enjoy the club’s posh entertaining spaces—among them, multiple well-appointed bars, lounges, restaurants and club rooms, a wine cellar and tasting room, and a cigar lounge. There’s even a Starbucks!

A variety of elegant rooms await for intimate private gatherings, or large corporate events and weddings, which the Stirling Club is noted for. Not all marriages in Las Vegas take place in quickie little wedding chapels.

“The grand main salon can accommodate up to 500 guests and has hosted numerous weddings, holiday parties, musicals, comedy shows, and more,” says Lefkowitz, adding that there are also other gracious spaces that can accommodate from two to 100 guests.

Guests at these events have their cars whisked away by valets. In a city where parking is at a premium, the club has parking facilities that can accommodate up to 180 vehicles.

And all of these amenities can be enjoyed without the bleeping, buzzing, dinging, and smoking of a casino. The Sterling Club is one of the rare Las Vegas hospitality venues that doesn’t facilitate gambling. Many of the world’s grandest casinos are but a stone’s throw away, and this club provides a blessed respite from that.

Buyers with a little imagination realize that this is a rare location where they can enjoy luxe amenities any time they like—and when they tire of them or yearn for a little peace and quiet, they can take a private elevator up to their own penthouse suite and relax in lavish private quarters of their own design.

It seems the top floor, which includes about 8,000 square feet of indoor space plus a generous outdoor terrace and several balconies, is currently used for offices. However, a tour of the property reveals that this floor is just crying out to be reconfigured into a large, lavish private residence—or perhaps one spacious and two or three smaller units, where the new owners’ favored courtiers, err, friends, could stay.

The actual living accommodations might not be quite as grand as the 124-room, 62,500-square-foot Mar-a-Lago, but the Stirling Club’s interior space is actually bigger—72,000 square feet, remember?

Another feature the Stirling Club shares with Mar-a-Lago is its prime location, situated less than five minutes from one of the state’s premiere golf courses, at the Las Vegas Country Club. The two destinations have an agreement.

But unlike Mar-A-Lago, the Stirling Club is considerably more cosmopolitan and just a quick walk from the Vegas Loop—or “Tesla Tunnel,” as some call it—engineered by Elon Musk‘s Boring Company. The loop carries visitors in provided Teslas to and from various resorts and the massive Las Vegas Convention Center. It’s definitely the quickest, easiest, and most conversation-worthy way to get around this part of town.

Mar-a-Lago may have Musk, but it doesn’t have anything like his Loop.

Speaking of business titans, a number of them, whose names you’d know immediately, have shown interest in The Stirling Club, but no deals are pending at the moment.

That leaves plenty of room for those Bitcoin billionaires or tech titans to swoop in and scoop up the party palace of their dreams—or for the shrewd business consortium to invest in a private residence/resort with lucrative profit potential.

It all depends on who’s wiling to roll the dice and place the highest bet.