Section 2: Legends and Architects of Vegas

Howard Hughes is an American aviation legend, film producer, engineer and real estate developer, whose life became the standard of the American dream and at the same time a deep personal tragedy. At the height of the Cold War, he was approached by the CIA to raise a sunken Soviet submarine. On November 27, 1966, Hughes arrived in Las Vegas by train and took over the entire penthouse of the Desert Inn. A few months later, the hotel management demanded that he vacate the floor for wealthy players. Instead, Hughes simply bought the Desert Inn for $13 million. This marked the beginning of a huge buying boom: Hughes acquired the Sands, Frontier, Castaways, and Silver Slipper casinos for a total of about $300 million. His Summa Corporation became the first legal corporation in the punting industry. The presence of such a powerful and legal billionaire dealt a mortal blow to the influence of the Mafia on the Strip. In 1967, under his influence, Nevada passed the Corporate Gaming Act, allowing casino ownershipjoint stock companies without the need to license each small shareholder. Hughes ended his life tragically: due to severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, he spent his last years in absolute isolation in the Desert Inn penthouse, rarely washed, collected his body fluids in vessels, and died in 1976 on the way to the hospital, weighing only 42 kilograms.

Kirk Kirkorian was born into a family of poor Armenian immigrants, was involved in boxing, small business, and during World War II he made deadly flights, ferrying military planes across the Atlantic (earning $1,000 per flight, where every 40th plane crashed). Having accumulated capital, he created a charter airline that transported tourists from California to Vegas. Initially, Kirkorian himself lost huge sums at the tables until he decided to make money exclusively from the casino industry. His arrival in Nevada was cautious and strategic. In 1969, he opened the International Hotel (later the Las Vegas Hilton), the largest hotel in the United States with 1,500 rooms. To open, he signed a million-dollar contract with Elvis Presley, who performed a phenomenal 58 consecutive sold-out concerts. In 1969, Kirkorian acquired the legendary Hollywood film studio MGM and made its brand the hallmark of his new MGM Grand hotel, opened in 1973 on the Strip. The 2,100-room hotel became the largest inworld. In 1980, a terrible fire occurred at the MGM Grand, killing 85 people. After the tragedy, Kirkoryan completely reconstructed the hotel in 8 months, which led to a radical tightening of fire safety standards throughout the world. After selling his assets in 1986 for $594 million, Kirkorian devoted himself to charity, donating more than $1 billion to his historic homeland of Armenia through the Lincy Foundation. He lived a bright 98 years, dying in 2015.

Steve Wynn grew up in the family of a bingo hall owner, but dreamed of creating elite world-class casinos. He brought in Frank Sinatra as the headliner for his first Golden Nugget casino. In 1989, Wynn achieved an architectural coup by building the megaresort The Mirage for a then-staggering $630 million, raised through junk bonds from Wall Street's Michael Milken. Skeptics predicted collapse, saying the casino would not be able to cover its million-dollar daily expenses, but the Mirage, with its gold glass, artificial volcano and luxurious interiors, was a financial triumph, ushering in the modern era of mega-resorts. In 1998, Wynn outdid himself by building the opulent Bellagio for a record $1.6 billion, with its famous dancing fountains and butterfly garden. In the 21st century, the developer built Wynn Las Vegas ($2.7 billion) and Encore ($2.3 billion), setting the absolute standard for luxury. In 2018, after a sex scandal, Wynn, 76, was forced to leaveyour company. To the accusations of one of the dancers, he ironically replied that he had been practically blind for a long time and physically could not see her naked.