‘Thriller Villa’ listed for $9.5 million

Michael Jackson rented the Palomino Lane home for years

When Aner Iglesias purchased the oneof-a-kind Spanish Mediterranean-style estate at 2710 Palomino Lane in 2004, the businessman knew that it was special.

But at the time, he had no idea that the mega residence would garner international attention as “Thriller Villa” — the Las Vegas residence that music icon Michael Jackson was renting at the time of his unexpected death in 2009.

The privately gated 1.7-acre estate is in the international media spotlight again because Iglesias has listed it for sale with an asking price of $9.5 million through Kristen Routh-Silberman of Synergy Sotheby’s International Realty.

Headlines calling the estate “Thriller Villa” as a nod to Jackson’s “Thriller” album and single could not have been predicted when Iglesias originally bought the 24,276-square-foot, super-sized residence and 2,983-square-foot guest house for $3.5 million.

“I originally bought the home to use personally because I had businesses in Las Vegas. I have a similar-style home in California, and I wanted my family to have the same type of home in Las

Vegas. We mainly purchased it for the architecture and the size,” explained Iglesias, a noted businessman and real estate investor who is also the Honorary Consul of El Salvador with the Nevada Consular Corps and president of King’s Ranch Markets.

Business led Iglesias to the decision to rent it out. “When I sold my Las Vegas supermarkets, I began to only go to Las Vegas once or twice a month and didn’t need the house on a daily basis. That’s what led to it becoming a rental,” he said.

Jackson’s search for a different Las Vegas estate to rent led him to Palomino Lane. JACKSON AT THE ‘THRILLER VILLA’

It is perhaps the residence’s curbside appeal, the SpanishMediterranean architecture or the residence’s privacy that drew Jackson.

From the quiet street northwest of Rancho Drive and Charleston Boulevard, a bell tower can be seen above the privately gated residence.

What sits behinds the gates is truly one-of-a-kind: A horse-zoned property with a 24,276-squarefoot main residence with seven bedrooms, 12 baths, and a medievalstyle chapel and theater with ceilings spanning two stories tall; a 2,983-square-foot guest house that Jackson used as his own; and a 8,500-square-foot, subterranean basement and tunnel that connects the two houses to each other as well as an expansive garage.

Jackson rented the home from Iglesias and lived there part-time, away from the paparazzi’s intrusive eye with his three children, from 2007 until he died unexpectedly at the age of 50 in 2009. His death led to the estate’s “Thriller Villa” nickname.

Iglesias was surprised when he learned that the King of Pop would become his tenant.

COURTESY Businessman Aner Iglesias purchased this Spanish Mediterranean-style estate at 2710 Palomino Lane in 2004. It was dubbed “Thriller Villa” when it was rented by music icon Michael Jackson for several years before his death in 2009. It’s on the market...

COURTESY The theater has a blue sky painted on its ceiling and second-story balcony seating overlooks the first floor. The acoustics and sound quality of the room are described as “pitch perfect.”

Aner Iglesias, owner