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LA Observed
Aug 26 2011
Kirk Kerkorian's slow fade from Vegas
Mark Lacter - August 26 2011 12:02 PM
There's a great story (maybe apocryphal) about how the L.A.
billionaire wound up with the property that became the site of the Las
Vegas Hilton. Back in the 1960s, so the tale goes, Kerkorian and real
estate mogul Marvin Kratter were flying in their respective private
planes somewhere over the Strip when Kerkorian spotted a big chunk of
land behind the Sahara Hotel. "Nice piece of land," Kirk radioed
Kratter. "How much?" The two guys supposedly did the deal right then,
or at least that's how Vegas columnist Phil Hevener heard it. Point
is, there was a time when Kerkorian used Vegas as his personal craps
table. Now, he seems to be cashing out. The L.A. billionaire sold off
20 million shares of MGM Resorts stock for around $215 million,
lowering his stake in the resort and casino company to 22 percent from
27 percent. Thing is, he held a majority stake only a few years ago
when his investment firm sold off much of its holding as part of a
stock offering. From Bloomberg:
Kerkorian is "raising cash to have fun with it," MGM Resorts Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer Jim Murren said in a phone interview. "His
two passions in life are philanthropy and investing, and you have to
have cash to invest cash."
Business in Vegas has held up reasonably well, but Motley Fool's
Travis Hoium is not encouraged:
If the U.S. economy does take a turn for the worse, as the market
fears, MGM will be the hardest hit. Most of MGM's revenue still comes
from Las Vegas, and if we remember what happened to gaming, room
rates, and earnings during the last recession, the damage wouldn't be
pretty.
http://www.laobserved.com/biz/2011/08/kirk_kerkorians_slow.php
From: A. Papazian
Aug 26 2011
Kirk Kerkorian's slow fade from Vegas
Mark Lacter - August 26 2011 12:02 PM
There's a great story (maybe apocryphal) about how the L.A.
billionaire wound up with the property that became the site of the Las
Vegas Hilton. Back in the 1960s, so the tale goes, Kerkorian and real
estate mogul Marvin Kratter were flying in their respective private
planes somewhere over the Strip when Kerkorian spotted a big chunk of
land behind the Sahara Hotel. "Nice piece of land," Kirk radioed
Kratter. "How much?" The two guys supposedly did the deal right then,
or at least that's how Vegas columnist Phil Hevener heard it. Point
is, there was a time when Kerkorian used Vegas as his personal craps
table. Now, he seems to be cashing out. The L.A. billionaire sold off
20 million shares of MGM Resorts stock for around $215 million,
lowering his stake in the resort and casino company to 22 percent from
27 percent. Thing is, he held a majority stake only a few years ago
when his investment firm sold off much of its holding as part of a
stock offering. From Bloomberg:
Kerkorian is "raising cash to have fun with it," MGM Resorts Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer Jim Murren said in a phone interview. "His
two passions in life are philanthropy and investing, and you have to
have cash to invest cash."
Business in Vegas has held up reasonably well, but Motley Fool's
Travis Hoium is not encouraged:
If the U.S. economy does take a turn for the worse, as the market
fears, MGM will be the hardest hit. Most of MGM's revenue still comes
from Las Vegas, and if we remember what happened to gaming, room
rates, and earnings during the last recession, the damage wouldn't be
pretty.
http://www.laobserved.com/biz/2011/08/kirk_kerkorians_slow.php
From: A. Papazian