Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Offer made on Binion house

An attorney for the estate of Ted Binion says he plans to go before a District Court judge later this month with an offer from a yet-to-be-identified investor to buy the murdered gaming figure's house on Palomino Lane.

"An offer has been made by a local investor," said Las Vegas attorney James Brown, noting that the offer came shortly after another local investor pulled out after inspecting the house. "We hope to have it in court in two weeks."

The Nevada Supreme Court in September refused to block the sale of Binion's home to Las Vegas real estate agent Mary Bartsas, who had offered $900,000 on the home that four years ago was appraised at that price.

However, that sale, which was contingent on Bartsas inspecting the property -- at 2408 Palomino Lane, near Rancho Drive and Charleston Boulevard -- did not go through, prompting the latest offer.

Brown did not give details on the buyer or the offer other than to say that the offer "is reasonable" given the circumstances. Asking prices for the house where Binion, the son of late Horseshoe founder Benny Binion, was found dead on Sept. 17, 1998, have ranged from $1 million to $1.2 million.

The high court has ruled that the Binion estate must place the proceeds of the sale in an interest-bearing account until the legal claim on the house by Sandy Murphy, one of Binion's convicted killers, is resolved.

Brown said the District Court, which has yet to set a date for the hearing on the house offer, has the option of accepting the bid or can order that higher offers be obtained.

If Murphy fails in her bid to gain the property, the proceeds from the sale would go into the estate and eventually into a trust for Binion's daughter, Brown said.

In early September, District Judge Michael Cherry gave the estate permission to sell the home, but the Supreme Court stayed the order at the request of Murphy's lawyers. After reading briefs from both sides, the court declined to intervene in the matter.

The high court currently is considering whether to overturn the murder convictions of Murphy and co-defendant Rick Tabish.

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