It looks like the Noels haven't been banned from Greenwich's Round Hill Club, after all. Daily Intel spoke with the club's manager who assured them that the Noels remain members "in good standing," and also happen to be "very nice people." [Daily Intel]

Bernie Madoff was kicked out of the Palm Beach Country Club a couple of months ago, as we first reported. Now it looks like the Walter and Monica Noel are facing the same sort of rejection. A tipster tells Guest of a Guest that the disgraced family has been booted from Greenwich's Round Hill Club. Update here. [GoaG]

For the past few weeks, newspapers in Connecticut have been buzzing about a wealthy man who used SeekingArrangement.com to meet young women for sex and who became the victim of an extortion attempt when a lady he encountered on the site vowed to publicly expose his taste for prostitutes if he didn't come up with $100,000. (The site, which is designed for sugar daddies and the women who love them, was profiled in New York Times Magazine last month.) Over the weekend, the name of the mystery man was revealed—he's DuPont heir and money manager Stephen Dent. And it turns out this isn't his first time he's been down this road. According to the police in Greenwich, at least three women he has met on the site over the past few years have tried to blackmail him. Even more surprising? He says he's coping with the saga just fine thanks to the "tremendous support he has received from his wife." [Greenwich Time]

• Leona Helmsley's former estate in Greenwich is now available at a discount. Priced at $125 million when it first went on the market last year, the 40-acre manor-style property known as Dunnellen Hall is now just $75 million. [GT, DO&A]
• Investor Paul Cejas has put his two-bedroom, fifth-floor apartment at 834 Fifth—the building that's home to Rupert Murdoch, Woody Johnson, and socialite Carroll Petrie—on the market for $18.5 million. [NYO, BHS]
• John Legend has cut the price of his apartment at 72 East 3rd Street, which he purchased in 2005 and originally listed for $1.245 million last December. The two-bedroom condo is now priced at $1.195 million. [NYM, PDE]

Good news! It looks like Russian mogul Valery Kogan and his wife Olga are finally on their way to building the 21,127-square-foot mansion of their dreams! After more than a year of battles with neighbors and the Greenwich planning commission over plans to tear down the existing 19,000-square-foot mansion to build an even bigger manse in its place—one with 15 bathrooms, Finnish and Turkish baths, and an electric guitar-shaped outdoor patio surrounded by "guitar god" statues, no less—the board has finally relented and given the Kogans the go-ahead. The board concluded it couldn't "make decisions on aesthetics," even though the home would probably be a "sore thumb for the neighbors." Naturally, the prospect of increased property taxes for the cash-strapped town had no influence in the decision whatsoever.

• Lenny Kravitz has been trying to sell his penthouse at 30 Crosby Street for the past few years; most recently, he slashed the price of the loft from $18.75 million to $14.995 million. Is he now planning to give up entirely? Over the weekend, the listing for Kravitz's 6,000-square-foot pad (which used to be located here) was pulled down from the Corcoran website, although whether the rocker plans to try again with a new broker is anybody's guess. [Cityfile]
• Richard Gere and wife Carey Lowell aren't just trying to unload their apartment at Palazzo Chupi. They're looking to sell their farmhouse in Water Mill, too. The 1.2 acre estate, which includes a guesthouse, art studio, and pool, is currently listed at $8.8 million. [NYM]

Those interested in pissing off their neighbors could learn a thing or two from Russian mogul Valery Kogan and his wife Olga. The two purchased a 20,000-square-foot Greenwich mansion back in 2005, then infuriated neighbors by announcing plans in May 2008 to tear it down and build a new 27,000-square-foot palace—replete with 26 toilets—in its place. That plan was rejected by the Greenwich planning commission, which led the Kogans to propose a somewhat more modest plan, which called for a mere 21,000-square-feet of living space and 15 bathrooms.

Grim news for residents of Greenwich: Real estate prices plunged the most in three decades in 2008—the median home price fell 7 percent—and the number of houses sold dropped by more than a third as the financial crisis roiled the finance-heavy suburb. Billionaire hedge fund manager Steve Cohen isn't selling his 31,642-square-foot, nine-bedroom palace, as far as we know. But if he were going to do so, it's safe to say having a 6,734-square-foot ice skating rink on your property isn't worth as much as it once was. [NYP]

You're going to be shocked to hear this, but it turns out lots of Wall Streeters are looking to sell their lavish, eight-figure homes, a process that isn't quite so easy given the state of the economy. Today's Wall Street Journal has details on a collection of former high-flyers at Lehman and AIG who are now (desperately) looking for offers. But not everyone is moving out because they're suffering! It's unlikely any one in New York is making more money right now than John Paulson, the hedge fund mogul who bet against the housing market and won big. (He'll probably continue to rake it in: Just today he announced plans to launch a new distressed investment fund.) Just in case you're still sitting pretty—or you're playing the lottery this weekend and you're an optimist by nature—you'll find details on four of the homes after the jump.

Steve Cohen's Greenwich estate might be expanding, but things aren't looking quite as rosy for most residents of the tony suburb. According to a new report, the number of foreclosures increased by 42 percent between January and the end of November. Not that the greatest economic decline since the Great Depression is sinking in much: Local real estate agents claim "there was little empirical evidence to show a direct link between Wall Street's woes and new mortgage defaults." [Greenwich Time]

It looks like the Greenwich planning commission is giving hedge funder Steve Cohen an early Chrismukkah present: It voted 5-to-0 in favor of his application to add an additional 1,145 square feet to his already-ridiculous 35,084-square-foot house. (Yes, he's the guy with a Rockefeller Center-sized ice rink and Zamboni on his property.) Coming soon to the Cohen residence: A bit more storage space, a "breakfast room," and an expanded "his" dressing room, which he'll undoubtedly fill up with those fleece jackets he's so fond of. [Dealbook]

One of most poignant—and adorable!—symbols of the recession yet: In Greenwich one recent morning, "the only creature strolling the showroom floor of Carriage House Motor Cars was a tiny mouse." The Connecticut town that has traditionally been home to the Wall Streeters and gazillionaire hedge funds is swathed in gloom, reports Reuters. Car salesmen, jewelers, florists, real estate agents, and interior decorators, all accustomed to lavishly catering to well-heeled local residents, are suddenly finding themselves high and dry.

Like most hedge fund moguls, Steve Cohen hasn't been having a very good run recently. (His flagship fund is reportedly down 18 percent so far this year.) But that isn't stopping the billionaire from making some home improvements: The proud owner of one of the most over-the-top estates in America is now looking to make his mansion even bigger. Last night, an application by Cohen and his wife, Alexandra, was put before the Greenwich Planning and Zoning Commission. The couple is seeking permission to add another 1,145 square feet to their already-massive 35,000-square-foot Crown Lane home. There's no word just yet as to whether the request was approved. There's also no word on what exactly the Cohens plan to use the additional space for, especially since the estate already has a basketball court, indoor pool, 6,734-square-foot ice skating rink (along with a separate structure to house the Zamboni), and about half a billion dollars in art scattered in every direction. A few photos of Cohen's estate are located here.

It turns out that Greenwich, the enclave that is home to some of the richest people in the New York metro area (like Steve Cohen, whose mansion is pictured to your left), went for Obama last week: "Perhaps most surprising was the result from Greenwich, Conn. The Versailles of the tri-state metro area, the most golden of the region's gilded suburbs, the childhood home of George H.W. Bush, went for Obama by a 54-46 margin—the first time Greenwich went Democratic since 1964. Who knew the back-country estates and shoreline mansions were populated with so many traitors to their class?" [The Big Money]

You may have heard about Russian mogul Valery Kogan and his wife Olga when they purchased a mansion in Greenwich for $18.5 million and then applied for permission to raze the house to build their 27,000-square-foot "dream home." In May Greenwich's planning commission denied the Kogans a permit following complaints from residents, who voiced concern that the mammoth manse would—gasp!—dwarf their own mansions and be a "vulgar" addition to the neighborhood. But Valery and Olga haven't given up on the dream. They resubmitted plans for a scaled-down version of the home just last week. And what exactly does "scaled-back" mean in rich Russian-speak? The new plan features 25 percent less square footage and just 15 bathrooms, down from the 26 they initially proposed. Alas, the revised application does not indicate if some of the other amenities they said they planned to install—like Turkish and Finnish bathing facilities and a "dog grooming room"—made the final cut.

Stanley Cheslock is the former merchant banker who spent four years building the Greenwich estate pictured above, which comes with a 26,000-square-foot house, indoor pool, movie theater, 12-car garage, and 3,700-bottle wine cellar. Pretty nice place, eh? Poor Stan spent some $21 million building it from the ground up. Except when he was done, he and his wife realized they'd overextended themselves a wee bit and decided to put the property up for sale. Unfortunately, the Cheslocks didn't find anyone interested in writing a check for $31 million. So he and his wife did the unthinkable: They put the property up for auction. (Like a rundown apartment in foreclosure! The shame!) The sealed bidding process started at $19 million—or $2 million less than what Cheslock paid to build it—and it ends precisely two weeks from today. More photos follow below.

Today's WWD teaches us that because more hedge fund zillionaires are moving into fun old Greenwich, CT, retailers are rushing to set up shop in the town to take advantage of their hedge-wives. What are these women like? WWD turns to jewelry store owner Lisa Moskowitz, who doesn't seem concerned about alienating her clientele: "The women are very dedicated to their children, but spend a great amount of time playing tennis, dining and meeting with their book clubs. They have a lot of money to spend." Yes. Yes, they do. Let's learn more about this wonderful place!