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In business transportation real estate rapidly growing spirit airlines posts another profitable year billionaire ruffin out $3 million in home sale By Richard N. Velotta���senior staff writer By Eli Segall���staff writer Treasure Island owner Phil Ruffin sold a Summerlin mansion at a steep discount, causing him to take a nearly $3 million loss. But don���t worry, the 77-year-old billionaire hasn���t exactly been kicked to the curb: He still owns an 11-acre estate he bought a few years ago for $15 million. Ruffin sold the Summerlin property at 2689 Red Arrow Drive for $2.8 million in January. It was listed for $3.6 million and before that for $4 million. Property records indicate the casino mogul bought the home in October 2007 for $5.7 million. The 9,158-square-foot Tuscan mansion has five bedrooms, nine bathrooms and eight fireplaces and sits on a small .4-acre lot, according to Clark County records. It features custom stonework and a home theater. His other Las Vegas mansion, on Tomiyasu Lane, used to belong to the Sultan of Brunei. The main house alone is roughly 33,300 square feet and has eight bedrooms and 14 bathrooms, county records show. Ruffin bought that estate in April 2011. Ruffin lived in the Summerlin house until he moved to Tomiyasu Lane, said Las Vegas broker Florence Shapiro, who represented him in the Summerlin deal. She could not confirm if that house has been vacant or rented out since Ruffin moved. According to Forbes magazine, Ruffin has a net worth of $2.5��billion. Spirit Airlines, the fastest-growing air carrier at McCarran International Airport last year, reported its fourth straight profitable year and improved financial results in 2012, despite a fourth quarter hampered by cancellations resulting from Hurricane Sandy. The Miramar, Fla.-based discount airline reported fourth-quarter earnings of $19.6�� million, 27 cents a share, on revenue of $328.3��million. That compared with earnings of $24��million, 33 cents a share, on revenue of $273.9��million for the same quarter a year earlier. For the year, Spirit reported earnings of $108.5 million, a 41.9 percent increase over 2011, and revenue of $1.32 billion, a 23.1 percent improvement over the previous year. Spirit averages 19 flights a day to 11 destinations from McCarran. The company has more Las Vegas flights a week than US Airways or Allegiant Air. The company estimated it took a $25 million financial hit as a result of Hurricane Sandy, which ravaged the East Coast in late October. 12 20130304_VI12_F.indd 12 Highlights from Spirit���s earnings report: n Spirit reported a 33.3 percent increase, to $139.5 million in the fourth quarter, and a 40.4�� percent increase, to $535.6 million for 2012, in ���nonticket operating revenues,��� much of which was generated by the airline���s ancillary fee structure. n The company reported a dip in spring bookings attributed to customers canceling spring break trips because several school districts canceled their spring breaks as a result of Hurricane Sandy. n The company will get nine new aircraft delivered this year. n Spirit began or reported 28 new routes and markets in the fourth quarter, three of them involving Las Vegas. The company began flights between McCarran and Houston in October. Service will begin between Las Vegas and Baltimore-Washington International Airport and Philadelphia on April 25. Executive quote: ���We���re a growth company and we expect to expand by 15 to 20 percent with the acquisition of new aircraft.��� ��� Ben Baldanza, Spirit Airlines CEO | 4 MARCH 2013 | 2/28/13 2:40:30 PM