THE glitzy spot where Tupac was last pictured on the Las Vegas strip has been demolished and stripped down to a dusty parking lot.
Taken 20 minutes before he was killed in a drive-by shooting, the iconic photo shows the rapper posing for a snap in a BMW’s passenger seat with Vegas lights reflecting on the car’s hood in 1996.
The spot where Tilman Fertitta planned to build a massive resort[/caption]
Tilman Fertitta, who bought the Las Vegas property for $270 million[/caption]
Nearly 29 years later, the property next to the intersection where the picture was taken was left deserted after a billionaire bought it for $270 million.
Now, drivers can pay $14.99 for three hours of parking in the sprawling lot, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
A strip mall with a casino and restaurants previously sat on the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Harmon Avenue in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In 2022, Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta bought the 6.2 acres of land on the strip to start investing in Las Vegas.
He made the deal for $270 million, which comes out to over $43 million per acre.
The spot was considered prime real estate as it sits right next to a luxury mall.
Fertitta, who owns the Houston Rockets, set his sights on building a flashy hotel and casino on the impressive property.
He got approval to build a 43-story, 2,420-room resort, according to Houston local outlet Chron.
The billionaire demolished the strip mall on the site to clear room for the massive new project.
However, Fertitta’s big plans fell apart,
In 2023, Fertitta hired casino exec Maurice Wooden to be in charge of the project.
However, Wooden left the job a year later.
Then, after Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election, he appointed Fertitta as the US Ambassador to Italy and San Marino.
To avoid any conflicts of interest, he had to resign from his corporate positions — which includes the company he used to buy the property.
The company also owns the Houston Rockets and the Golden Nuggets Casinos.
Now, Fertitta Entertainment told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “all options remain under consideration.”
However, the company’s legal team told Chron in a statement on Tuesday that the land will stay as a parking lot for now.
“Currently, Fertitta has no plans to continue with the development of the 7-acre tract located on the Las Vegas strip,” a spokesperson for Fertitta Entertainment Inc. told the outlet.
“As the largest shareholder of Wynn Resorts with 13 million shares valued at over $1.4 billion, Fertitta views a competing high-end strip casino as a conflict of interest and therefore, has no plans to continue with the project so long as he maintains his Wynn ownership.”
Instead of a hotel-casino, drivers can now drive into the lot with no ticket machines or attendants and scan a QR code to pay for parking.
Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta speaks at a news conference in Houston on September 24, 2024[/caption]
