After setting out to build a custom house in Las Vegas, movie star Mark Wahlberg instead sold the empty plot of land for a mountain of money, Clark County records indicate.
Wahlberg, who moved to Las Vegas a few years ago and has been a visible presence in America’s casino capital, sold a 2.5-acre parcel in The Summit Club in Summerlin for $17.25 million, property records show.
The sale, to a mystery buyer, closed Dec. 31.
Wahlberg’s name was not on the deed that recorded the sale with the county. But the transaction was conducted through the same trust he used to buy the land in 2022 for $15.6 million, county records show.
He was named as trustee in the deeds that recorded his purchase, and his mailing address in those records was the same as his charity, the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation.
Wahlberg, whose movies include “Boogie Nights,” “The Departed” and “The Fighter,” has been a vocal advocate for turning Las Vegas into a hub of movie productions. He has also pursued other ventures in Southern Nevada, including plans for a luxury gym in Downtown Summerlin that he announced with a video of himself outside the new space.
Efforts to reach Wahlberg or a representative for comment on the land sale, including through the actor’s foundation and some of his business interests, were unsuccessful.
$25M project
The Summit Club, off Town Center Drive between Tropicana Avenue and Flamingo Road, spans more than 600 acres. It features a golf course, recreational programming, a big clubhouse and round-the-clock security.
It’s also a place where wealthy buyers spend millions on plots of land and build big, luxury houses.
According to county records, Wahlberg pursued plans to build a custom home on the land he recently sold.
Those records put the contract valuation at $25 million and the square footage at 37,694. The records do not provide additional information on those figures, detailed descriptions of the envisioned house or any architectural drawings.
Wahlberg wrote a letter to the county in October asking for a time extension on the project’s plan review because he needed to “finalize and secure construction financing.”
Ultimately, no building permits were issued by the county, records show, and a buyer purchased the land through an entity called Summit PS LLC.
Property records do not show who is behind the entity. The company is not registered in Nevada, and while an entity with the same name was registered in Delaware last year, its certificate of formation there does not explicitly show who controls it.
The Review-Journal mailed a letter to the buyer’s post office box in Las Vegas that was listed in Clark County records, in an effort to identify and speak with the new owner. No one replied.
Brian Dentel, co-trustee of the trust that sold the land, signed the deed that recorded the deal.
County records indicate he works for Gelfand, Rennert & Feldman, a business management firm that caters to the entertainment industry.
He did not respond to requests for comment.
Summit sales
Wahlberg has purchased more than just land in The Summit Club, a self-described “uber-luxurious” enclave.
He bought a townhome, spanning more than 7,000 square feet, in the community for $14.5 million in 2022, property records show.
Property records indicate – and published accounts say – that he also purchased a single-family house, spanning 8,400-plus square feet, in The Summit Club for more than $21 million in 2023.
He sold the townhome for around $16.6 million soon after he bought the other house.
Following the sale, he told Today.com that his family had been living in a temporary place and moved to another home, though he still wanted to build one.
“The plan was always to build, not only a studio but a family home,” Wahlberg said at the time.
Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342.
