The Gambler

by William C. Rempel

“No, it just means I’m unemployed for now.”

  Ten days later, Alex got a phone call that Kirk was slipping. He found his old mentor and friend asleep. He sat on the edge of the bed and took Kirk’s hand. He held it for a very long time. And then he left. The call came later that night.23

  Kirk died June 15, 2015. An invitation-only private funeral was held at Inglewood Park Cemetery under the final approach pattern of big jets landing at LAX. Kirk’s parents are buried there, along with sister, Rose. Formal proceedings were slow getting started, prompting a grandnephew to remind the crowd that Kirk was never late for anything.

  “We’d better get this funeral started,” he said. “Otherwise, Kirk’s gonna get up and leave.”24

  Epilogue: Kirk’s Last Deal

  “My birthplace was California, but I could not forget Armenia.”

  —William Saroyan, author

  April 12, 2017

  On Hollywood Boulevard

  Traffic barricades funneled a slow-moving line of black limousines toward the TLC Chinese Theatre’s famous pagoda entrance. Its marquee announced that evening’s American premiere of The Promise, a $100 million historical saga set during the Armenian genocide. The independent film was financed entirely by Kirk Kerkorian.

  As Hollywood movie premieres go, the opening-night gala was tame. No fireworks. No parachute jumps. No footprints in the cement. When Kirk’s friend and rival Howard Hughes premiered his 1930 war picture Hell’s Angels at the same site, tens of thousands lined Hollywood Boulevard to watch low-flying biplanes engage in mock aerial dogfights—accompanied by fireworks and parachute jumps.

  Still days ahead of general public release, the film already was suffering from mixed reviews, distribution delays, and a dirty tricks campaign launched by Turkish partisans. After its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival where an audience of a few hundred got a first look at The Promise, more than fifty thousand negative online reviews flooded the Internet. The Wall Street Journal traced much of the critical commentary to Turkish social media sites.

  The film was set to debut in the nation’s movie capital on a mild and breezy Southern California evening in the ninety-year-old grande dame of Hollywood movie palaces. The main spectator sport for the well-mannered crowd was watching those limousines deliver film stars—Leonardo DiCaprio with his mother, Cher with a couple of Kardashians, Orlando Bloom, and former Kirk neighbor Sylvester Stallone. The film’s Oscar-winning director Terry George strolled the red carpet along with stars from the cast: Christian Bale, Charlotte Le Bon, Angela Sarafyan, and James Cromwell.

  Though decidedly low key, it was still the kind of celebrity-studded party with cameras and flashing strobes that Kirk would have hated. The movie project itself was his baby—Kirk’s last deal, his last big investment—and a looming financial flop.

  But would Kirk have cared about box office numbers? The story was an ode to his Armenian ancestors, a tale with political implications intended to raise awareness about century-old human rights abuses that the Turkish government still fiercely denies. Making the movie had been a Kerkorian dream for years.

  “Finally, in the last few years of his life he said, ‘I am not waiting for anybody else. I’m going to finance it myself. And I want it to be epic. I want people to come to it,’” Kirk’s lawyer Patty Glaser told an Armenian newspaper. She, along with his physician Eric Esrailian and longtime accountant Anthony Mandekic, also served with Kerkorian as film producers.

  Kirk envisioned the film as an Armenian-centric wartime romance like one of his favorites, Dr. Zhivago, a 1965 classic with an original budget of about $11 million. That would have been about $83 million in 2015 when production started on The Promise.

  It was never Kirk’s goal to profit personally from the movie. He directed that all proceeds flow to charities. But Kirk also never made an investment with the intent of losing money.

  “Businessmen like Kirk don’t like to make fiascos,” observed his widow, Una Davis. “I know he was being assured all along that he might win an Oscar. You can make money with an Academy Award.”

  She agreed that Kirk was “a proud Armenian” and loved being involved in making the movie. “But he would be extremely upset to spend a hundred million to gross nine.”

  Two months after its nationwide release, The Promise had grossed a disappointing $8,224,288.

  The bulk of Kirk’s estate was his 100 percent ownership of Tracinda Corp., the holding company through which he held shares in MGM Resorts International, the hotel and casino giant he founded. When he died, the value of Tracinda-held stock was nearly $1.8 billion. An audit of his additional worldly goods showed some of the differences between estates of billionaires and most mortals—with a couple of modest similarities.

  The ready cash in Kirk’s various personal bank accounts amounted to $1.25 million in a pair of Wells Fargo checking accounts, $7.1 million in a Bank of America money market savings account, and $8.95 million in U.S. Treasury cash reserves held by UBS AG, a Swiss bank. The loose change in his home safe totaled $165,000.

  He also owned his Roxbury Drive residence worth an estimated $19 million, maintained a $10,000 membership in the Beverly Hills Tennis Club, refundable upon his death, and was the registered owner of two very ordinary vehicles—a three-year-old Jeep Patriot and an eight-year-old GMC Yukon.

  Kirk’s last will, drafted and signed in the immediate aftermath of Lisa Bonder’s attempt at a court-ordered conservatorship, included a number of personal bequests—cash gifts to Glaser ($6 million) and Mandekic ($7 million), to Kirk’s longtime secretary, Jaclyn Thobe ($5 million), and to Terry Christensen’s wife ($15 million). About a year after Kirk’s death, Christensen lost his final appeal of the 2008 conviction over wiretapping Bonder’s phones. And in 2017 the former attorney began serving a three-year term in federal prison. It wasn’t quite the last episode in the long-running Kerkorian-Bonder paternity soap opera.

  In probate court, Bonder’s daughter, Kira Rose Kerkorian—who had just turned eighteen—opened negotiations with the estate to increase the $7 million trust fund Kirk left her. She settled for $8.5 million.

  One of Kirk’s real estate agents—a Beverly Hills saleswoman who said Kirk asked her to keep him company in his final months—filed a claim against the estate for $20 million. She said that was what Kirk promised for her companionship. Kirk’s daughter Linda, who had received a $30 million trust fund as a gift outside the will, took legal action trying to set aside the 2013 document that left the rest to charities selected by Glaser, Esrailian, and Mandekic.

  Una Davis also filed a claim against the estate as Kirk’s surviving spouse. Although she had filed for divorce after their row, Kirk never signed the divorce papers. He also never signed their prenuptial agreement. He died still wed to Una.

  Beyond her claim against the estate, Una also challenged Patty Glaser’s dual role as a beneficiary of Kirk’s will and as legal counsel to the estate. Underneath it all were lingering hard feelings between Davis and Glaser dating back to prewedding negotiations. Those issues figured to continue playing out in court for years to come.

  Alex Yemenidjian says he imagines that Kirk has moved on to new realms of deal making somewhere in the Great Beyond. At Kirk’s funeral he told the crowd of invited mourners:

  “For those of you who are wondering what Kirk’s doing right now—I’d like to think he’s just acquired 9.9 percent of heaven. He’s meeting with his lawyers about that other 90 percent he doesn’t own.

  “But if the deal were based on what he did for all of us here on Earth, they should just give him the rest of heaven free.”

  Acknowledgments

  The late Dial Torgerson’s 1974 biography, prominently mentioned in my earlier Note to Readers, covered a broad swath of Kerkorian’s youth and his rise to business prominence. But it was published years before Kirk became a billionaire and decades before some of his biggest achievements. For invaluable details that came later and opened up much more of Kirk’s
wide-ranging business life to this narrative treatment, I am particularly grateful for these extraordinary books and the superb storytellers who wrote them:

  Robert J. Serling, The Only Way to Fly: The Story of Western Airlines, America’s Senior Air Carrier (Doubleday & Company, 1976).

  Ted Turner with Bill Burke, Call Me Ted (Hachette, 2010).

  Christina Binkley, Winner Takes All: Steve Wynn, Kirk Kerkorian, Gary Loveman and the Race to Own Las Vegas (Hyperion, 2008).

  Bill Vlasic and Bradley A. Stertz, Taken for a Ride: How Daimler-Benz Drove Off with Chrysler (William Morrow, 2000).

  For access to a treasure trove of Las Vegas history and archives, I am indebted to the UNLV Lied Library staff, most notably the Special Sections crew that included Su Kim Chung, Claytee White, and Delores Brownlee.

  I was most fortunate on this book project to be guided from its start by my friend and counselor on all matters literary David Halpern of the Robbins Office in New York. He always brings heart and humor and a generous measure of wisdom to both the business and the mission of storytelling. And he knows all the best steak houses in Manhattan.

  My brother Carl Rempel has saved me from computer meltdowns and electronic file disasters of all kinds over the years. He came to my tech rescue again and again to help keep this project on track while also donating untold (and unbilled) hours to website design and repair. Every family needs a genius. He’s mine! My friend Roger Smith, a longtime colleague and editor devoted for years to keeping me out of trouble at the Los Angeles Times, was an early sounding board and, as always, a valued consultant.

  I am especially grateful for my cheerleaders—Jason, Lara, and Emma—for making their Dad richer than any billionaire.

  Selected Bibliography

  Books

  Agassi, Andre. Open: An Autobiography. Alfred A. Knopf, 2009.

  Barlett, Donald L. and James B. Steele. Empire: The Life, Legend, and Madness of Howard Hughes. W. W. Norton & Co., 1979.

  Bart, Peter. Fade Out: The Calamitous Final Days of MGM. William Morrow and Company, 1993.

  Bibb, Porter. Ted Turner: It Ain’t as Easy as It Looks. Crown, 1993.

  Bingen, Steven, Stephen X. Sylvester, and Michael Troyan. M-G-M: Hollywood’s Greatest Backlot. Santa Monica Press, 2011.

  Binkley, Christina. Winner Takes All: Steve Wynn, Kirk Kerkorian, Gary Loveman, and the Race to Own Las Vegas. Hyperion, 2008.

  Breffort, Dominique. Lockheed Constellation: Legend of the Sky, from Excalibur to Starliner. Translated from French by Alan McKay. Histoire & Collections, Paris, 2006.

  Christie, Carl A. Ocean Bridge: The History of RAF Ferry Command. University of Toronto Press, 1995.

  Chung, Su Kim. Las Vegas: Then & Now. Thunder Bay Press, 2012.

  Coakley, Deidre with Hank Greenspun, Gary C. Gerard, and the staff of the Las Vegas Sun. The Day the MGM Grand Hotel Burned. Lyle Stuart Inc., 1982.

  Cobello, Dominic and Mike Agassi. The Agassi Story. ECW Press, 2004.

  Denton, Sally and Roger Morris. The Money and the Power: The Making of Las Vegas and Its Hold on America, 1947 to 2000. A Borzoi Book by Alfred A. Knopf, 2001.

  Dole, Bob. A Soldier’s Story. HarperCollins, 2005.

  Donaldson, Maureen and William Royce. An Affair to Remember: My Life with Cary Grant. G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1989.

  Drosnin, Michael. Citizen Hughes: In His Own Words, How Howard Hughes Tried to Buy America. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1985.

  Evans, Robert. The Kid Stays in the Picture. Hyperion, 1994.

  Fischel, Daniel. Payback: The Conspiracy to Destroy Michael Milken and His Financial Revolution. HarperCollins, 1995.

  Gladstone, B. James and Robert Wagner. The Man Who Seduced Hollywood: The Life and Loves of Greg Bautzer, Tinseltown’s Most Powerful Lawyer.” Chicago Review Press, 2013.

  Grant, Jennifer. Good Stuff: A Reminiscence of My Father, Cary Grant. Alfred A. Knopf, 2011.

  Holder, Jack. Fear, Adrenaline, and Excitement: A WWII Naval Aviation Story. 2014.

  Holloway, Rory and Eric Wilson. Taming the Beast: The Untold Story of Mike Tyson. Rough House, 2014.

  Hopkins, A. D. and K. J. Evans. The First 100: Portraits of the Men and Women Who Shaped Las Vegas. Huntington Press, 1999.

  Kessler, Lauren. The Happy Bottom Riding Club: The Life and Times of Pancho Barnes. Random House, 2000.

  Kornbluth, Jesse. Highly Confident: The Crime and Punishment of Michael Milken. William Morrow and Company, 1992.

  Maheu, Robert and Richard Hack. Next to Hughes: Behind the Power and Tragic Downfall of Howard Hughes by His Closest Advisor. HarperCollins, 1992.

  McCann, Graham. Cary Grant: A Class Apart. Columbia University Press, 1996.

  Ministry of Information for United Kingdom Air Ministry. Atlantic Bridge: The Official Account of R.A.F. Transport Command’s Ocean Ferry. University Press of the Pacific, 1945.

  Nelson, Nancy. Evenings with Cary Grant. Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, 2012.

  Roberts, Randy and James S. Olson. John Wayne: American. Free Press, 1995.

  Schwartz, David G. Grandissimo: The First Emperor of Las Vegas; How Jay Sarno Won a Casino Empire, Lost It, and Inspired Modern Las Vegas. Winchester Books, 2013.

  Serling, Robert J. The Only Way to Fly: The Story of Western Airlines, America’sSenior Air Carrier. Doubleday & Company, 1976.

  Sheehan, Jack. The Players: The Men Who Made Las Vegas. University of Nevada Press, 1997.

  Shernoff, William M. Payment Refused: How to Fight Back and Win When Your Insurance Company Turns You Down. William & Sons, 2004.

  Sinatra, Barbara. Lady Blue Eyes: My Life with Frank. Three Rivers Press, 2011.

  Smith, John L. Of Rats and Men: Oscar Goodman’s Life from Mob Mouthpiece to Mayor of Las Vegas. Huntington Press, 2003.

  ______. Sharks in the Desert: The Founding Fathers and Current Kings of Las Vegas. Barricade Books, 2005.

  Stewart, James B. Den of Thieves. Simon and Schuster, 1991.

  Torgerson, Dial. Kerkorian: An American Success Story. The Dial Press, 1974.

  Turner, Ted and Bill Burke. Call Me Ted. Hachette, 2008.

  Vlasic, Bill. Once Upon a Car: The Fall and Resurrection of America’s Big Three Automakers—GM, Ford, and Chrysler. William Morrow and Company, 2011.

  Vlasic, Bill and Bradley A. Stertz. Taken for a Ride: How Daimler-Benz Drove Off with Chrysler. William Morrow and Company, 2000.

  Waldman, Allison J., The Barbara Streisand Scrapbook (revised and updated). Citadel Press, 2001.

  Weiss, Stephen L. The Billion Dollar Mistake: Learning the Art of Investing Through the Missteps of Legendary Investors. John Wiley & Sons, 2010.

  Wynn, Edgar J. Bombers Across: The Story of the Transatlantic Ferry Command. E. P. Dutton & Co., 1944.

  Videos

  100th Humanitarian Airlift. United Armenian Fund gala banquet, videotaped at the Century Plaza Hotel, September 26, 1998.

  Flying the Secret Sky: The Story of the Royal Air Force Ferry Command. Produced by William VanDerKloot Film & Television, Inc., forWGBH Boston, 2008.

  Jewish Leaders of Las Vegas Series: Burton Cohen. University of Nevada Las Vegas, Lied Library, Special Collections, 2005.

  Kerkorian: His Story. Produced by George Ann Mason and Charliedog Productions in association with Kirk Kerkorian, unreleased, 2001.

  The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding Club. Written and produced by Nick Sparks, Nick Sparks Productions, for KOCE Orange County, 2009.

  The Search for the Ruby Slippers. Written and produced by Rhys Thomas, Greystone Communications, for A&E Network, 1998.

  Major Articles

  Bedingfield, Robert E. “An Armenian with a Flying Carpet.” New York Times, February 16, 1969.

  Cassidy, John. “Kirk’s Enterprise: What is Kirk Kerkorian, the Reclusive Las Vegas Billionaire, Up To at Chrysler?” The New Yorker, December 11, 1995.

  Colker, David and David Streitfeld. “Kirk Kerkorian Dies at 98; Shook Up the Car, Movie and Casino Indust
ries.” Los Angeles Times, June 16, 2015.

  Dallos, Robert E. and John F. Lawrence. “Millionaire in Motion.” Los Angeles Times, October 26, 1969.

  Demick, Barbara. “The 400 Richest: Many Folks Try to Stay Off List.” Philadelphia Inquirer, October 7, 1990.

  Greenspun, Hank. “Where I Stand.” Las Vegas Sun, October 16, 1971.

  Kandell, Jonathan. “Kirk Kerkorian Dies at 98; Made Billions by Remaking Hollywood and Las Vegas.” New York Times, June 17, 2015.

  Katz, Jesse. “The Game of Love: Sex, Lies & Dental Floss.” Los Angeles Magazine, September 2002.

  Pulley, Brett. “The Wizard of MGM.” Forbes, May 28, 2001.

  Ross, Irwin. “Kirk Kerkorian Doesn’t Want All the Meat Off the Bones.” Fortune, November 1969.

  Schwartz, David G. “The Long Hot Summer of ’55: How a Season of Hubris and Disappointment Helped Reinvent Vegas.” Vegas Seven, August 4, 2015.

  Sklarewitz, Norman. “Enigmatic Howard Hughes’ Real-Life Game of Monopoly Uses All Las Vegas as ‘Board.’” Wall Street Journal, October 6, 1967.

  Streitfeld, David. “A Born Gambler Rolls the Dice at 88.” Los Angeles Times, June 9, 2005.

  Stutz, Howard. “Kerkorian Negotiated Blockbuster Deals But Shunned Limelight.” Las Vegas Review-Journal, June 17, 2015.

  Archives

  Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Margaret Herrick Library, the Fred Zinneman Papers.

  Statue of Liberty–Ellis Island Foundation, Port of New York air and sea passenger records, 1944–1945.

  University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Lied Library, Special Collections, oral histories recorded by, among others, Benny Binion, Kirk Kerkorian, Alex Shoofey, and Steve Wynn.

  Notes

  Prologue: Introducing Kirk Kerkorian