Tribes Buying Boarded-Up Motel on LV Strip

Three tribes based in North Dakota—the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation—have begun the process to buy the former White Sands Motel (l.) property on the Las Vegas Strip. The tribe will pay $10.25 million for the 1.1 acre parcel that is surrounded by other land owned by the tribes.

Tribes Buying Boarded-Up Motel on LV Strip

The Three Affiliated Tribes on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, based in North Dakota, have agreed to buy the former White Sands Motel property, which is adjacent to the Luxor. The tribe will pay $10.25 million, reports the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The 1.1-acre parcel is bounded on three sides by land that the tribal nation purchased in 2022. It is occupied by a dilapidated former motel that is known for vandalism and homelessness. Its fate will probably be demolition.

Mark Fox, chairman of the tribal group issued this statement: “The MHA Nation is pursuing opportunities to acquire the property but the process hasn’t been completed.” He added, “There is no guarantee of acquisition at this point in time.”

The tribal nation, also known as the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, operates the 4 Bears casino in North Dakota. The addition of the 1.1 acres would fill out their existing possessions, and make the site more developable.

This land, the former Route 91 site, was the scene of the October 1, 2017 mass shooting, where Stephen Paddock shot and killed 60 people and injured more than 400.

The tribe also recently purchased more than 20 acres along the south end of the Strip. It paid more than $100 million.

The motel was built in 1959, and was closed in 2008. Clark County has declared the structure to be dangerous, and the current owners have written, “Despite putting up chain link fences and boarding up all doors and windows on the property, it has been very difficult to keep vagrants, trespassers and the animal groups from gaining access to and destroying the property.”