Crystal Bonin's Baton Rouge Listing Goes Viral
Apr 08, 2025 01:33PM ● By Jen Gennaro
Local Realtor Crystal Bonin’s latest listing in Baton Rouge has made the feed of Zillow Gone Wild, a popular real estate account with more than 1.5M followers on Facebook and 2.1M on Instagram.
The jaw-dropping house, situated on 6 acres on Old Perkins Road, is listed at $12.5 million and offers more than 22,000 square feet of total living space, including a 13,000-square-foot main residence. “I did NOT know they had mansions like this in Louisiana,” reads the caption on ZGW.
BOWLING ALLEYBonin describes the listing as “a rare opportunity to own one of Baton Rouge’s most extraordinary residences,” and she’s not exaggerating. Designed for entertaining on a grand scale, the estate’s interior includes a Brunswick two-lane bowling alley, private home theater, wine cellar, 5,000-gallon double sided, built-in aquarium, and an elevator.
Outside, the estate rivals the finest luxury resorts. A 1,500-square-foot pavilion serves as a fully equipped outdoor kitchen and entertainment area, complete with a hibachi grill, pizza oven, high-end appliances, and a grand fireplace. Phantom screens allow year-round comfort, and the resort-style infinity pool includes a grotto, waterfall slide, lazy river, spa, and swim-up bar. A guest retreat offers comfortable accommodations for visitors.
TURRET BAR IN THE LIVING ROOMBonin’s connection to the sellers runs deep, dating back more than 15 years to when her son and the owners’ daughter played golf together. “She was only 12, already on the high school team, and one of the top-ranked junior golfers in the country,” Bonin says. “I had no idea who they really were—we just got along,” she says, laughing as she remembers taking their daughter to California Pizza Kitchen because she said she liked it. “The sellers gave me my first big break in real estate,” she says.
At the time, Bonin was still getting her real estate license. After casually mentioning it, the seller encouraged her: “She told me I’d be great.” When their previous agent failed to follow up, Bonin got her chance. “They said they had some things to sell, so I went to the basement at Burk Baker to research and print out their properties and mortgage balances and presented it. He hired me,” she says, adding that back then, research required a lot more leg work than it does now.
Over the years, the couples’ professional relationship strengthened. Bonin even credits the seller with helping kickstart her husband Joey’s clinic, The Bonin Clinic. “I was working on site in Greystone [Country Club] with the seller one day. He said, ‘You’re off your game—what’s going on?’ I told him I was trying to get Joey to open his own office. That night, he came to our house and we talked it out. That conversation is what led to Joey opening his practice.”
Bonin was their agent when they bought the lot nearly a decade ago. Now she’s marketing the home on a national scale. In addition to the Zillow Gone Wild spotlight, the listing will be featured on the Travel Channel on April 15, as part of Crystal’s ongoing feature on The American Dream TV show. “I wish I could feature the owners on The American Dream,” Bonin says. “Because they quite literally are.”
The seller owns Baton Rouge’s Environmental Specialties International (ESI), the nation’s largest installer and provider of environmentally-responsible containment materials used in fracking and oil spills.
Though the listing has yet to have a showing–despite several people generating false preapproval letters to attempt to get in– it’s already generating buzz. The home will be featured on the Travel Channel on April 15.