One man’s Las Vegas home really is a castle

Jennifer Shubinski

Thursday, March 2, 2006 | 7:17 a.m.

Some would call it a stroke of luck, the brief meeting between a Ferrari owner and a young Ferrari lover in a Las Vegas parking lot.

The young man, Frank Napoli II, mentioned that he was a Realtor. The two chatted briefly and parted.

Three years passed. Then late last year, the Ferrari owner, Michelle Black, called Napoli. She wanted help looking for a home - a big home - with a necessary must: an indoor basketball court.

Napoli, 25, found it - a behemoth with 35,000 square feet. Black and her husband, Ken, bought it this week for $14 million. It is the most expensive home ever sold by a Las Vegas Realtor - a guy who just happened to love Ferraris.

But the story doesn't end there. The seller was former strip club mogul Michael Galardi, who is at the center of public corruption cases in San Diego and Las Vegas involving his strip clubs. He has pleaded guilty and is cooperating with prosecutors in the case against three current and former Clark County commissioners.

The house is situated behind two gates - not counting a guard gate at the entrance of the surrounding community.

In this castle of excess - with its 15-car garage, 10 bathrooms, closet space exceeding the size of many homes, an elevator and a 1,600 gallon salt-water aquarium - it is no surprise that the master bedroom has a built-in custom bed that is 10 feet by 12 feet.

"You can comfortably sleep multiple people," Napoli said of the bed.

"But the piece de resistance is the homes' amenities - indoor basketball and racquetball courts, a full gym and a 200,000-gallon pool with waterfall and a three-cave grotto," said Napoli, an agent with the Prudential Americana Group Realtors.

The house is the most expensive ever sold in Las Vegas by a Realtor, said Linda Rheinberger, 2006 president of the Greater Association of Realtors. No Realtor was involved in the sale of the priciest home in Las Vegas history, which went last year for $15.5 million.

Napoli said he has no plans to take time off or otherwise spend his $420,000 commission, although buying a Ferrari "has crossed my mind."

Jennifer Shubinski can be reached at 259-8832 or at js@lasvegassun.com.