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Since April 1, 2006 (c) 2006-2025 Uesugi Hayato（上杉隼人）
An English Abstract for “The Making of a Man” of
The Gambler: How Penniless Dropout Kirk Kerkorian Became the Greatest Deal Maker in Capitalist History (3)
by Hayato Uesugi
*I don’t know why, but we cannot use the word “gambling” on the Goo blog. I changed the word to “G” in all three articles “An English Abstract for ‘The Making of a Man’ of The Gambler: How Penniless Dropout Kirk Kerkorian Became the Greatest Deal Maker in Capitalist History” (1)(2)(3). Sorry for your inconvenience.
■Back to the Hotel Industry
Kirk's TIA had now grown into a profitable company. About that time, Sherwood Harry Egbert, president of Indiana's established vehicle manufacturer Studebaker Corporation, flew in to make a deal. He wanted to acquire Kirk Kerkorian’s TIA. Egbert’s company launched a stylish car called Avanti and made various investments.
Upon the acquisition, Egbert and Studebaker suggested as follows: TIA would be a member of Studebaker, but Kirk Kerkorian would continue to serve as President of TIA, and at the same time become Vice President of Studebaker. In addition, he would get 120,000 shares of Studebaker stock for $8.25 per share. The company would also bear the remaining debt of DC-8 Kirk had to pay. Other attractive suggestions were also made.
By accepting all of these conditions, Kirk indeed became a millionaire.
Kirk Kerkorian had already looked at new challenges beyond managing air services: Investing in Las Vegas land.
Kerkorian frequently made round trips to and from the San Francisco Bay Area and Las Vegas, but all aircrafts were already under the control of Studebaker, so he had to get his private Cessna (twin-engine Cessna 310) for $50,000. He had not invested in real estate for a while since the failure of The Dunes' investment in 1955, but he now decided to go back to the hotel industry. The native gambler was finally awake.
In 1962, he received $1 million from Studebaker and purchased eighty acres of sand and bush across the Strip from the Flamingo Hotel for $960,000.
Shortly thereafter, Jay Sarno, a real estate developer visited the city. He was funded by Jimmy Hoffa, chairman of the Trucking Union, and Allen Dorfman, chairman of the National Trucking Pension Fund. Sarno considered building an ancient Roman-themed casino hotel in the area including on Kirk’s land. Sarno came to see Kirk to exchange a land lease agreement with him. They had a business meeting over a dinner on a summer evening in 1963. Kirk had 15% of the casino's profits and a $15,000 lease, plus a personal suite room when the hotel opened.
In 1966, the hotel opened under the name of Caesars Palace. Born as an unencumbered child of Armenian immigrants, dropped out of school in grade 8 (second year of junior high school), set up an aviation service company after learning to fly, Kirk Kerkorian, a gambler in Las Vegas, at last owned his own casino interest as the landlord of Caesars Palace at the age of 46.
■Buying Back TIA and Becoming a Legendary Billionaire
Kirk Kerkorian valued his relationship with Armenian Americans. In 1963 when he had a dinner with his wife Jean at a restaurant on the Strip, a Persian American who had Armenian parents served them. Kirk came to like the Tehran-born young server named Manny who loved boxing and tennis. And they became good friends in their future life. Manny already had two children, and his next child was given a middle name to prove his friendship with Kirk. The child, named André Kirk Agassi, would be a major tennis star in the future.
Kirk was greatly indebted to Armenian Americans in business. He met George Mason, who ran the English-language Armenian newspaper California Courier.
Studebaker, the automaker that bought Kirk's TIA, was in trouble. Their major reduction plan was announced in December 1963. As a result, some companies tried to buy TIA from Studebaker. Kirk was determined to oppose the sale of his air transport service company. He tried to get it back in his hands. With another $2 million in funding, including the one from Walter Sharp of the Bank of America, he succeeded in returning TIA to his hands in September 1964.
In 1964, Kirk experienced a lot of things. He met Jay Sarno and became the owner of the Caesars Hotel. To his sadness, his mother Lily died in January. Immediately after buying back TIA, his father also passed away.
Kirk went even further. He went public with TIA's shares in August 1965 with the help of George Mason and his magazine California Courier. The company’s stocks were traded double and three times higher than was expected. Kirk regained $2 million in months to buy back TIA from Studebaker.
(The translator wrote in more detail about what Kerkorian did to get his company back.)
Kirk was about to turn 47. It was the age some might consider retiring. But Kirk Kerkorian's legendary “G” life had just begun. By repeatedly buying and selling hotels and movie companies as well as automobile companies, he kept on growing into a businessperson who represented capitalism in the 20th century. Until he died at the age of 98, he would try every possible challenge he could do.
This book is a marvelous non-fiction book about the life of a Man of whom little had previously been written about. This person's life will surprise and impress not only Americans but everyone in the world. This great author William C. Rempel’s masterpiece will knock everyone's socks off.
Also check
An English Abstract for “The Making of a Man” of
The Gambler: How Penniless Dropout Kirk Kerkorian Became the Greatest Deal Maker in Capitalist History (2)
by Hayato Uesugi
*I don’t know why, but we cannot use the word “gambling” on the Goo blog. I changed the word to “G” in all three articles “An English Abstract for ‘The Making of a Man’ of The Gambler: How Penniless Dropout Kirk Kerkorian Became the Greatest Deal Maker in Capitalist History” (1)(2)(3). Sorry for your inconvenience.
■ His Business Went Well
One of the regular customers of Kirk's air transport service company was Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, who was familiar with the casino world in Las Vegas. Siegel often arrived at Kirk’s Los Angeles Air Services just before closing and asked to fly to Las Vegas immediately. In such cases, Kirk piloted the plane himself.
Siegel was also the owner of the Flamingo, a new hotel in Las Vegas at the time. The hotel, with its casino and nightclub, was considered to represent a new era in Las Vegas.
Kirk himself also was into “G”. He was spreading his name as a casino high roller in the city.
(The translator also writes about Kirk’s relation with Ralph Lam.)
Los Angeles Air Services continued to expand, moving its headquarters to the Lockheed Air Terminal in Burbank in 1950, and purchasing a number of aircraft cheaply.
At the same time, Kirk started a new business buying aircraft owned by the company and selling them to other companies, which also hit the jackpot. Los Angeles Air Services continued to grow with two pillars: air services and aircraft sales.
In the early 30s, Kirk Kerkorian was already quite successful as an entrepreneur and was on the road to a billionaire.
(The translator also writes about an interesting episode when Kirk Kerkorian was extremely courteous in winning and losing “G” at the “G” table at the casino such that he was called "Perry Como of the craps table.")
However, his dedication to business and his frequent “G” trips to the casino reduced the time he spent with his wife Peggy, and they finally divorced on September 27, 1951.
■Into the Casino Business
Since the mid-1950s, new hotels and casinos have been built lining the streets of Las Vegas. Among them are seven popular casinos.
Kirk Kerkorian always went to a casino and gambled. Although losing more than winning, he still enjoyed “G” and came to understand the casino business. He made a lot of friends. One of them was Marion Hicks. Hicks called upon a young female dancer, from the UK, to hold a music show in his hotel showroom. He introduced Kirk to the dancer, Jean Maree Hardy. Kirk immediately fell in love with Jean. They married on December 5, 1954. The groom was 37 and the bride was 23.
Kirk considered business expansion after his second marriage. He wanted to get into the casino industry. Indeed, the casino business in Vegas culminated in 1955. Kirk bought a three percent stake in the newly opened Dunes Hotel for $50,000. However, because of various reasons, Kirk's 3% stake for the hotel became almost worthless.
Kirk learned a lesson: "Do not invest in businesses that you do not own."
(The translator wrote more about our hero’s struggle to get into hotel and casino business.)
■ Trans International Airlines (TIA)
In 1961, six years after marriage, Kirk had a two-year-old girl with his new wife. His Los Angeles Air Service was stable and had new business outside Burbank and Los Angeles. The company's name was changed to Trans International Airlines (TIA). His annual income had reached $300,000 or $350,000.
He always sought new challenges, new risks and new thrills.
(The translator also wrote an episode about Kirk’s boxing betting in 1961 and his trouble after that in detail.)
In 1962, competition in air service became fierce. Kirk considered purchasing the jet passenger aircraft DC-8. But it cost $5 million. To beat the competitors, he needed a modern jet airliner. TIA also had undertaken U.S. military work since 1959, which could be expected to expand.
Kirk decided to get money in a straightforward manner. Running the Los Angeles Air Service and TIA for nearly 20 years earned the trust of the industry. He consulted Walter Sharp, an old-timer at Bank of America's Montebello branch. To his gladness, Kirk was offered $2 million from the Bank’s headquarters.
Kirk was grateful for the offer, but one day he went to Long Beach to see an airplane, and found a used model of the early DC-8 that Douglas Aircraft sold in 1958. It was equipped with a more powerful engine, and the indoor equipment was further upgraded. Fortunately, with the $2 million loan from Sharp’s Bank of America, combined with Douglas Aircraft agreeing to finance the final $3 million, Kirk completed purchase of this DC-8.
Kirk eventually acquired a jetliner and started a new business to transport goods from Travis Air Force Base in California to Guam. His company continued to work well, and its revenue jumped from $250,000 to $1.1 million in less than a year.
(The translator wrote more about exciting development of his airline company.)
To be continued to
An English Abstract for “The Making of a Man” of
The Gambler: How Penniless Dropout Kirk Kerkorian Became the Greatest Deal Maker in Capitalist History (1)
by Hayato Uesugi
*I don’t know why, but we cannot use the word “gambling” on the Goo blog. I changed the word to “G” in all three articles “An English Abstract for ‘The Making of a Man’ of The Gambler: How Penniless Dropout Kirk Kerkorian Became the Greatest Deal Maker in Capitalist History” (1)(2)(3). Sorry for your inconvenience.
■ Born in an Armenian family and moved to Los Angeles as a penniless boy.
Kirk Kerkorian was born on June 6 in 1917 in Fresno, California. He was the youngest son of Armenian immigrant parents, Ahron and Lily. Kirk had two brother Art and Nish and sister Rose.
In the early 20th century, Ahron Kerkorian followed his father Kasper and arrived on Ellis Island in New York before arriving in California. Ahron, a teenager in those days, was so ambitious that he wanted to be a millionaire in this country in the future.
Ahron started a business buying fruits from local farmers and selling them in the cities, and it went quite well. He married Lily from Armenia, and they were blessed with four children, including Kirk.
Although having been illiterate, Ahron Kerkorian became well-known as a fruit seller around the San Joaquin River, where he lived with his family in those days. However, his sailing was not always smooth. With a large debt on Ahron’s shoulders, the family lost everything, including their family farm, when Kirk was 5-year-old. They were forced to move to Los Angeles and start over. Kirk only spoke Armenian then, but learned English by himself, while selling newspapers on the street. In 1926, he was nine years old.
(The translator wrote about the Kerkorians’ history in more detail.)
■ Dropped out of school and became a boxer
Kirk dropped out of school education in his eighth grade in the early 1930s during the Great Depression. After that, he began working like his other brothers and sisters to support his family by playing a golf caddy or selling oranges on the streets. His brother Nish started earning money as a boxer under the name “American Assassin.”
Kirk had a close friend named Norman Hungerford in those days. Kirk and Norman worked as porters at the MGM studio in Culver City at night. At that time, Kirk never dreamed that he would buy this studio.
By performing a range of physical labor, Kirk's body gained plenty of muscle. Nish invited his brawny brother to boxing. Kirk demonstrated his talent as a boxer under the ring name “Rifle Right” Kerkorian, and set a record of 33 wins in 37 rounds without any knockout defeats by mid-1939. However, because he was so thin, Kirk would suffer serious damage like his brother, Nish. He decided to leave the ring at the age of 22.
■ Becoming an Airplane Pilot
Kirk Kerkorian’s next love was flying. After having studied at a local aeronautical school, he became a commercial pilot. In the 1940s, airplane pilots were urgently needed for the future war. Kirk then got a job teaching future pilots in California.
There were also changes in his personal life. He married Peggy on January 24, 1942. He was 24. Later, Kirk and his new wife, Peggy moved to Montreal in the spring of 1943 to take a job at the Royal Air Force. He. He demonstrated excellent maneuverability there, and performed a number of difficult tasks over the Atlantic Ocean.
Flying in the sky was always precarious. Traveling to Scotland in early June 1944 was extremely dangerous. He escaped death by the skin of my teeth in the accident then.
(The Translator wrote more about episode about Kirk’s adventure as a pilot.)
■ Launched an Air Transport Business and Focused on Las Vegas
Kirk was thinking of something else in the spring of 1945 after the War. He came to meet Water Sharp, the manager at the Witter Boulevard branch of Bank of America, to seek finance. He purchased a plane and tried to launch an air transport business. Las Vegas had been developing after the war, and while luxurious hotels were being built, nightclubs and casinos were being lined up in the Las Vegas Strip. “G” was legal in this city.
Kirk Kerkorian found this city exciting. He started a business to fly people from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and visited the city of Nevada every week with customers on a purchased plane. Kirk was immediately captivated by “G”. One of his “G” associates at that time was Jerry Williams, who frequently used Kirk's air transport service. He and his company were also honored to be patronized by the famous actor John Wayne.
Kirk's business became thriving enough to buy additional aircraft. He decided to hire a pilot he met during the RAF era.
In 1947, he borrowed $15,000 from Bank of America and $5,000 from his sister Rose, and put the money towards his purchase of an airline for $ 60,000. Kirk Kerkorian finally launched his airline company, Los Angeles Air Service.
Kirk was at just 30 years of age.
(The translator wrote more about his first company, Los Angeles Air Service.)
To be continued to
AN INTERVIEW WITH WILLIAM C. REMPEL
Now, online!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V809w-WpgeE
Hello everyone. This is Hayato Uesugi, a Japanese editor, translator, writer, and English and translation lecturer in Tokyo.
With me online today is the one and only William C. Rempel, the author of The Gambler: How Penniless Dropout Kirk Kerkorian Became the Greatest Deal Maker in Capitalist History. That national best seller which was highly acclaimed by The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Seattle Book Review and other media, is finally being released in Japan!
Hello Bill.
......
Check it out!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V809w-WpgeE
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
An English Abstract for “The Making of a Man” of
The Gambler: How Penniless Dropout Kirk Kerkorian Became the Greatest Deal Maker in Capitalist History (1)
https://blog.goo.ne.jp/getupenglish/e/70e301cd65a28896fa695736065bb84c
An English Abstract for “The Making of a Man” of
The Gambler: How Penniless Dropout Kirk Kerkorian Became the Greatest Deal Maker in Capitalist History (2)
https://blog.goo.ne.jp/getupenglish/e/a768b9286031f59068c6bd60419b390d
An English Abstract for “The Making of a Man” of
The Gambler: How Penniless Dropout Kirk Kerkorian Became the Greatest Deal Maker in Capitalist History (3)
https://blog.goo.ne.jp/getupenglish/e/fa86a03c333b7aa46e785be888f49634
Or go to:
https://blog.goo.ne.jp/getupenglish/e/cb93be9c9841007c1e401fed00e91e69
こちらもいよいよ❗ 9月発売。
Star Wars全作（エピソードI～９）の小説を訳させていただいたのは、翻訳者として身に余る光栄なことです。
2020.09.16
スター・ウォーズ スカイウォーカーの夜明け
デレク・コノリー，コリン・トレヴォロウ，クリス・テリオ，ジェイ ジェイ・エイブラムス，マイケル・コッグ，上杉 隼人
ウィリアム・C・レンペル『ザ・ギャンブラー ハリウッドとラスベガスを作った伝説の大富豪 』は8月10日発売。
https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4478106916
著者William C. Rempelにオンライン・インタビューをして公開する予定。
最近は著者に翻訳者がインタビューするケースも増えていると思うし、わたしの英会話力はいまひとつではあるが、楽しんで取り組んでいる。
本日のGetUpEnglishはレンペル氏に初めて宛てたインタビュー依頼文を紹介する。
Dear Mr. Rempel,
I am Hayato Uesugi, a Japanese editor, translator and lecturer at a few universities in Tokyo.
I translated your masterpiece The Gambler: How Penniless Dropout Kirk Kerkorian Became the Greatest Deal Maker in Capitalist History and am now proofreading for the translated book, which will be on store shelves on August 10th.
I would like to hold an interview with you and edit our video discussion before posting it online in order to interest Japanese readers in our translated book.
Could you let me know your available times to talk with me online this month? I am afraid that we have to conduct our interview and edit the video as soon as possible, because the translated book will be released early next month.
I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Hayato Uesugi
レンペル氏からは3時間も経たないうちに快諾のメールが来た。
今週中に行い、刊行前に編集、UPしたい。
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