Assuming Milam also made the $2.9-million payments required forApril and May, he and his equity partners have made approximately$70 million of non-refundable payments to Archon Corp. -- includingmore than $24 million that will not be applied to the purchaseprice, which jumped from $450 million last year following a missedoption payment.

Located immediately south of the Sahara hotel-casino, the siteis one of the last large available properties on the Strip that hasnot recently traded. Milam tied up the property in June 2006. InMay 2007, Australian billionaire James Packer invested $22.5million to gain a 37.5% interest in the ownership entity, which hadinitially had plans for a multi-billion-dollar, 5,000-room casinoresort on the property that would include the tallest building inthe Western Hemisphere at 1,888 feet.

Later that year, those plans were shot down by the FederalAviation Administration due to its proximity to McCarranInternational Airport. In December, Clark County commissionersapproved the site for 1,064-foot tower, which would be the tallestbuilding in the US, but plans have since been revised to a shorter,twin tower concept, sources familiar with the situation recentlytold GlobeSt.com.