Las Vegas Strip

Frank Sinatra: On his way to becoming a casino magnate, he befriended Rat Pack stars Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and other Las Vegas headliners, according to Globe and Mail. Kerkorian owned some of the biggest and best-known Las Vegas hotels and casinos, at one time owning more than half the hotel rooms on the famous Las Vegas Strip. Three different times - in 1969, 1973 and 1993 - Kerkorian built the world biggest hotel in Las Vegas, the desert gambling capital where he first made his fortune in the 1950s and 1960s. He also was instrumental in turning Las Vegas into a family destination rather than merely a naughty pleasure spot for adults. Yet, even as a studio chief, he would stand in line to buy movie tickets at a theater with everyone else rather than attend private screenings. Kerkorian bought and sold the venerable MGM film studio three times, acquired the United Artists studio and tried to buy Columbia Pictures. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.