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backed us again in building Circus Circus, but he was no pushover,” says Mallin, co-founder of Caesars Palace and Circus Circus. “He was one of the smartest, toughest and shrewdest people in town. For some people, the currency in Las Vegas is dreams, but with Kerkorian it was always dollars.” As we now know, Caesars Palace was not just to invent the modern casino resort, but was also to inspire Kerkorian to move into development of his own casino resorts.
Birth of the International Eyeing the profits that Caesars Palace generated, Kerkorian invested in 85 acres of land to the east of the then-center Strip, behind the Riviera and adjacent to the convention center. His company, International Leisure Corporation (ILC), bought the Bonanza and Flamingo hotels, ostensibly to train staff for his next projects, but ILC was also active in renovating and investing in the existing properties. This period coincided with the “corporatization” of Las Vegas, as long-held mob interests were replaced by Howard Hughes and Kerkorian, who gave the old mobsters a legitimate exit as they were coming under renewed federal scrutiny. Legendary architect Martin Stern Jr. was employed to design Kerkorian’s first property, coming up with the “Y-shaped” design that is now commonplace on the Strip, and which formed the basis of the Mirage, Bellagio and many more properties built over the subsequent decades. The International was unlike anything in Las Vegas at that time. Not only was it bigger than anything else—over double the size of Caesars Palace—but it featured so much more than the typical Las Vegas hotel. It had a place for children to play as their parents gambled, a range of resort amenities to compete with the best, and the entertainment was revolutionary. The International was the first property to bring in the next generation of iconic entertainers; Elvis Presley and Barbra Streisand played the main showroom and Hair, the coun-
terculture hit from Broadway, was in the smaller showroom. The hotel made headlines and featured heavily as the Whyte House in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever. However, behind the scenes, Kerkorian and ILC were facing questions from the federal Securities and Exhange Commission, which was investigating all things Las Vegas with an overtly critical eye, relating to the previous ownership of the Flamingo. With pressure coming from previous European loans taken by Kerkorian, he was forced to sell his stock to Hilton, which had made a previous investment in the company. The International became the Las Vegas Hilton. It was to become the best-performing property in the entire Hilton portfolio. Today, it is the Westgate.
The First MGM Grand In 1969, now firmly based in Los Angeles, Kerkorian acquired a substantial stake in MGM Studios, attracted by the significant land holdings in Los Angeles and the brand name that conjured the glamor and legacy of Hollywood. This brand was subsequently attached to his next project, the MGM Grand, again designed by Martin Stern Jr. The Grand opened in December 1973, with a movie theater, retail and multiple showrooms, including the largest showroom in Las Vegas with both residencies and nightly performances from America’s leading entertainers, including Dean Martin singing on opening night. The hotel cost $106 million and was the largest hotel in the world, again. The MGM Grand was a solid and successful operation, but sadly, the hotel is now mostly remembered for the fire in 1980, the darkest day in the history of Las Vegas and one that cost the lives of 85 people. Kerkorian settled all claims and personally oversaw that this tragedy would not be repeated in any of his properties. The property was sold at a profit in 1986 to the former Bally Manufacturing, the slot manufacturer, but Kerkorian smartly kept the MGM brand out of the sale. Today, as Bally’s, the resort is part of the Caesars Entertainment portfolio.
The Second MGM Grand Kerkorian built the largest hotel in the world three different times (top to bottom): The International (home to Elvis Presley), the original MGM Grand (sold to Bally after a tragic fire that killed 85) and the current MGM Grand, still one of the largest hotels in the world
Kerkorian, flanked by the former CEO of MGM Resorts, the late Terry Lanni (l.) and the current president and CEO, Jim Murren
Undeterred by the tragedy, Kerkorian was to acquire the Desert Inn, and briefly, the Sands hotel. In 1989, he bought the Marina hotel at the southern end of the Strip and several parcels of land in the surrounding area which were to form the footprint for what is today’s MGM Grand. The context of the acquisition was the unexpected success of Steve Wynn’s Mirage and the expansion of Circus Circus Enterprises’ offerings with Excalibur and the Luxor on the southern Strip. At $1 billion, with 5,005 rooms and on 112 acres, the Veldon Simpson-designed MGM Grand opened in late 1993. The MGM Grand was conceived and built as a full-scale theme park, rather than an integrated casino resort, with Disneyesque characters, including a Mickey Mouse-inspired “Looey The Lion” greeting guests. In the age of themed hotels,the MGM Grand fit in. Kind of. The 30-story green building was reminiscent of MGM’s Emerald City from The Wizard of Oz, and references to the iconic movie were peppered throughout the property, from the Flying Monkey Barn to the Wizard’s Magic show and a full animatronic Wizard of Oz show. There was a clear strategy to advance on Kerkorian’s past ventures by targeting families, with investments in a midway and arcade, successfully employed in Circus CirDECEMBER 2017 www.ggbmagazine.com
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