KERKORIAN PUTS A NEW SPIN ON DETROIT GAMING
"Kirk Kerkorian ... reclusive 87-year-old billionaire threw Detroit casino scene into further disarray … his Vegas-based MGM Mirage announced $7.9-billion bid for Mandalay Resort Group … must sell MGM Grand Detroit Casino or MotorCity… Kerkorian decides who will be new owner … further delays in permanent casino-hotels in Detroit Kerkorian owns 53% of MGM Mirage … merged entity will control 10 casinos ½ the hotel rooms & gaming tables in Vegas, plus 18 other properties. Kerkorian’s Detroit ties: bought Chrysler; trying to takeover GM, second home in Detroit ... The upshot: Kerkorian gets to decide who will join MGM and Greektown as Detroit's newest casino owner ... unclear whether Kerkorian, of Las Vegas, spends any time in Detroit ... Former Chrysler executives don't recall Kerkorian visiting here ... don't discuss his personal whereabouts, but no reports of him ever visiting the MGM casino in Detroit.
"Kerkorian ... married for a month in 1999 ... longtime companion Lisa Bonder, formerly of Saline (Michigan), but given squabbling later in court over paternity of a child ... turned out not to be Kerkorian's -- unlikely he spent much family bonding time in Michigan ... here or not ... What we do know is that he's shaking things up around Detroit more than any other 87-year-old. "
Other Kirk Kerkorian Resources:
The New York Times: News, commentary and archival articles published on Kirk Kerkorian
About.com: Kirk Kerkorian - Father of the Mega-resort
Answers.com: Kirk Kerkorian
Las Vegas Review Journal: The First 100 Who Shaped Nevada
Forbes 2006 "Richest Americans:" #53 Kirk Kerkorian