A pink elephant statue is shown at the Diamond Inn Motel on Las Vegas Boulevard South across from Mandalay Bay Thursday, March 12, 2024. A minimum bid of $12.5 million has been set for the 1.36 acre property which includes 237 feet of Las Vegas Strip frontage.
Thursday, March 14, 2024 | 2 a.m.
Visitors flock from all over the globe to Las Vegas looking to see as many of the city’s iconic sights as possible. They snap photos at these landmarks and proudly share them on social media to document the trip.
There’s the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign on the south Strip, the Bellagio fountain show, Hoover Dam and Red Rock Canyon. Some will tell you — demand, actually — that the pink elephant needs to be part of the list.
The elephant greets travelers to the shuttered Diamond Inn Motel and is visible when driving north on the Strip just steps from the welcome sign at 4605 S. Las Vegas Blvd. The elephant has been around for decades and has noticeable wear and tear.
The motel is up for sale, with online bids ending at noon today. Included in the multimillion-dollar transaction: the iconic pink elephant.
The motel debuted in the 1950s as Desert Isle Motel — when other motels like Lone Palm and Desert Rose were prevalent on the boulevard, according to Travel Nevada — and is considered one of the oldest standing buildings on the Strip. In those days, the casinos operating here didn’t have attached rooms like the megaresorts of modern Las Vegas.
Purchasing the motel is an opportunity for a visionary buyer to shape the next era of the south Strip, said Trey Perman, president and CEO of J.P. King Auction Company, the group hosting the auction.
“(The motel) has been around for longer than most of us have been on the planet,” Perman said. “So it’s really neat to see that something has survived that long on the Strip, and then the opportunity that it presents for the next person … a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a piece of property that could be a blank canvas there on the Strip.”
The property sits on 1.36 acres and has a minimum bid of $12.5 million, not including a $50,000 deposit to register. Perman said there are a handful of registered bidders, a mix of those wanting to save the motel and reopen it, and some wanting to demolish it for new construction.
It is zoned for hotel-casino use with approved buildable heights of 406 to 505 feet, according to J.P. King Auction Company. The motel is located across from Mandalay Bay and within walking distance of Allegiant Stadium, giving the would-be new owners many possibilities.
Perman said he would like to see the property turned into something sports-themed, as a nod to the sports tourism industry — the Super Bowl, Formula One race and more — that have setup shop here over the years.
“The location of this property offers a unique chance to create a standout resort that could become a cornerstone of one of the most frequented and celebrated spots worldwide,” said Steve Ellis, executive vice president of J. P. King Auction Company, in a statement.
The 48-room property was closed by Clark County in the fall for building code violations regarding faulty mechanical and plumbing issues over two years. The county, a spokesperson said, gave owner Sam Aldabaggh chances to fix the issues, but they weren’t addressed and after sine legal wrangling, power to the motel was deactivated Oct. 2, 2023.
Aldabaggh, who also owns the shuttered Can Can Room adult club, couldn’t be reached for comment.
Perman, instead, is speaking about the property and says that the pink elephant is a part of history. The motel’s website says the pink elephant came from Disney World in the 1950s — but some believe that claim is inaccurate.
“There’s a lot of speculation out there and the truth may never be known,” Perman said of the origins of the elephant. “But it’s neat to be talked about anyway.”
“He used to trumpet loudly, but the noise caused some accidents. Because of that, the county made the owner take the sound mechanism out,” the site says.
The site goes on to say thousands of tourists annually stop to take pictures next to it — a claim that’s likely accurate.
The future of the elephant could be determined today. The property could be demolished, with the elephant finding a new home, such as the Neon Museum, or the elephant could remain as an iconic figure for the next ownership group.
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