Casino owner Cavanaugh selling mansion at bargain

Monday, Aug. 30, 2004 | 9:56 a.m.

Longtime Nevada casino owner John Cavanaugh is ailing, and his doctors have suggested he put his house in order.

The reclusive 63-year-old former owner of the Gold Dust West Casino and Motor Lodge in Reno is doing just that -- by selling it.

The house is his retirement home, a mansion he built for $10 million on the Hawaiian island of Maui. The selling price: $7,777,777.

In addition to his opulent home in Hawaii, Cavanaugh maintains residences in Reno and Las Vegas, where he does residential real estate investments through his company, First Interstate Investments LLC.

Cavanaugh has bought and sold 13 million-dollar homes locally over the past few years, said his Las Vegas real estate representative Geneva Marcus.

"My health challenge required me to be on the mainland where I could be close to my health care providers," Cavanaugh said in a prepared statement. "It meant selling my dream and quite frankly putting my estate in order."

The five-bedroom, nine-bathroom home built of natural Hawaiian koa wood and stone offers an ocean view and overlooks a private gated community and golf course in Wailea. The address of the 11,800-square-foot home with 9,700 square feet of living space is 4340 Melianani Place.

The two-story, fully furnished house, appraised at $9.5 million, also features a 12-person hot tub and a "thunder shower," which is a therapeutic water massage chamber.

Cavanaugh has lived there two years. He built the home after selling his mid-sized casino to Black Hawk Gaming in 2000 for $26.5 million. Cavanaugh had opened the casino in 1977.

In addition to selling the house for the seven-figure of sevens, Cavanaugh says he will give the buyer $50,000 to make decor changes.

A virtual tour of the home can be made on the Internet at mauiluxuryhome.com. A tour of the home can be arranged by calling Marcus at (808) 280-1008.