Tycoon ups the ante
at the Palms in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (AP) — George Maloof Jr. steps out into the hallway away from a raucous party where his luxurious Sky Villas have just been opened to the public.

The Palms casino owner George Maloof stands on the balcony pool in the Sky Villa room of the new Fantasy Tower just off the Las Vegas Strip.

The marble-encased villas' infinity pools jut out from the futuristic tower and offer a panoramic view of the Las Vegas Strip to the east. In one two-story villa, more than 100 guests are celebrating, among them Paris Hilton, actor Jeremy Piven, and Maloof's ex-girlfriend, Tishara Cousino, Playboy's May 1999 Playmate of the Month.

Maloof, whose family owns the Sacramento Kings, is plowing $650 million more into what will be a $915 million casino, resort and condo development known as the Palms.

The newest addition, the 40-story Fantasy Tower, includes the six Sky Villas, which span up to 10,000 square feet and can go for $40,000 a night. By September, the Palms' second tower will be topped by the first Playboy Club to be in operation in 25 years.

The wide-ranging expansion is a risk for the grandson of a Lebanese immigrant known for pushing the limits in a city that seemingly has none.

But Maloof, 41, is used to winning big. He parlayed an $8 million family investment in a neighborhood casino back in the mid-'90s into what is now a nearly $1 billion resort less than a mile from the Strip.

"As they say, 'All in,'" says Maloof, a former late-night gambler in his college days at UNLV. "We're all in on this. We're all in."

By some accounts, Maloof is a visionary tycoon-in-training, following in the footsteps of billionaire Steve Wynn, who raised the level of opulence on the Strip with The Mirage back in 1989.

Maloof's main contribution to Las Vegas, though, has been to up the star wattage in what has increasingly become a celebrity playground.

Maloof had his eyes set on the Hollywood glitterati even before the Palms burst into the public eye when it hosted MTV's reality show The Real World in 2002, and later two seasons of Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown.

In October 2001, a month before the Palms hotel-casino opened, Maloof hosted a party at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles with his blackjack dealers enticing celebrities and the media to take a hit with play money.

"He made it known that he was going to court the hip L.A. crowd," said Anthony Curtis, president of LasVegasAdvisor.com, who attended the event. "And this was easy for him to do because of his family's background in sports and entertainment."

The sighting of celebrities and pro athletes is now a cottage industry in Las Vegas, providing plenty of grist for gossip columnists, magazines and a permanent bureau for the entertainment TV show "Extra."

Maloof is credited with helping set the trend, especially with his courtship of the MTV generation.

"The Real World was an absolutely staggering hit for all of those involved: MTV, the cast, and most importantly George Maloof and the Palms and then Vegas," says TV personality and AOL blogger Robin Leach. "That opened the floodgates for celebrities. So you've got to give George that."