The Gambler audiobook

William C. Rempel was an investigative reporter for the Los Angeles Times. He has written the biography of Kirk Kerkorian (1917-2015). The author covers Kerkorian’s life from boyhood to death. The book is full of all types of celebrities from business to sports. Rempel states that Kerkorian was a big-time gambler in casinos, business and life.The book is well written and researched. The writing is in the style of a journalist. While researching this book, Rempel interviewed many people and worked these interviews into the book. I enjoyed reading this book. The style of writing and the narration made it an easy listen. I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is thirteen hours. Fred Sanders does a good job narrating the book. Sanders is an actor and audiobook narrator. This is the first time I have read a book by Rempel or listened to Sanders.

Fascinating true story of Kirk Kerkorian who dropped out of school after the 8th grade and became a billionaire. He enjoyed the game of making deals and was very good at it. His handshake was his word and he believed in treating everyone fairly. His business involvements included airlines, professional boxing, Las Vegas, movie studios. He was intensely private, generous, and loyal to friends. Because he trusted those he was close to, he fell prey to a woman who claimed he was the father of her child in a scheme to marry him and inherit his money. Despite later proof that he wasn’t the father, he continued to support the child. A fire at his MGM casino later led to stronger fire codes in Vegas. But what caused the fire? I had to look it up on Wikipedia. Against the wishes of his insurance company, he never disputed victims’ claims and paid many out of his own pocket. For someone so wealthy, money wasn’t the most important thing to him. He felt he could always make more. The book focuses mainly on business deals and his love life. His two daughters are hardly mentioned and there’s very little mention of his siblings. And there are no photos other than the cover! Otherwise, a very interesting book.

The pop-culture historical narrative of Las Vegas includes such figures as Bugsy Siegel, Howard Hughes and to a lesser extent Benny Binion. But none of these figures has had even a fraction of the impact as Kirk Kerkorian, whose reign over the Las Vegas Strip extended from just after WWII until his death in 2015. His absence in the mind of the public was by design. While Kerkorian was a player in the biggest business deals of the 20th century, he valued his privacy and worked to maintain a low profile.Unlike Vegas' other founding fathers, Kerkorian was humble, measured, disciplined and incredibly honest. This is in stark contrast to colorful, yet loathsome figures like Jay Sarno. The author tells a compelling story and has researched the topic with diligence. Kerkorian's handling of the 1980 MGM Grand fire is extraordinary. Anyone who is serious about studying the history of Las Vegas must read this book.

** spoiler alert ** Great man!!!

Giving this book 5 stars is probably a bit of a reach, but I REALLY enjoyed it. It was a fun ride through Kirk Kerkorian's life, all of his business deals, and insights into his personal life. I was familiar with him by name, but didn't have any deep knowledge of his background going into the book. He had an amazing career, starting with running a smaller charter airline operation (clients included famous icons like Bugsy Siegel), grew into owning his own fleet (Trans Intercontinental Airlines), became a major investor in Vegas (starting with a failed investment in the Dunes, but then the first MGM, later the current MGM, Mirage and its properties, Mandalay, and even the City Center), and also several major media companies (MGM, UA, etc). He never owned an auto company but took several bites at the apple and made significant gains on investments, with one exception of betting on Ford right before the 2008 collapse. His sense for what deals to make, when to make them, and how to behave in the deals were all interesting. He was incredibly fair, extremely generous, and totally loyal to his people. Overall, just a really fun and enjoyable read.

This was an interesting biography about someone I knew little about, Kirk Kerkorian. He managed to work his way up from poverty to one of the richest men on earth. This book tells that story, and it's generally well written and engaging. I barely put it down. There are a few sections that are repeated, and the other quibble is that there's something missing. The author clearly likes KK, although he never met him, but there are times where the portrayal of KK and his motivations don't seem to match with his behaviors. I suspect he was a good person with a ruthless side, and that latter doesn't come through all that clearly as the story is told. You need to read between the lines. And the story of his late divorce - my word, what manipulation he had to endure. In any case, this is an entertaining read and I can recommended it for history/biography fans.

Unauthorised biography of Kirk Kerkorian. A self-made Armenian-American Billionaire who built his fortune during the post world war 2 aviation boom and later, the Las Vegas real estate boom. The book is titled “The Gambler” because Kirk always went all in. Many of his investments bet his entire net worth - sometimes more. Fortunately for Kirk, those bets paid on handsomely. His fortune peaked at 16 Billion in 2008, making him the 41st Richest man in the world. Not bad for a guy who never even finished high school. My biggest lesson from this book, and something I’ve known for the past 2 years, is realising how important it is to choose the right industry. Choosing the right industry determines a very large part of your success. I’ve met bankers who were no smarter than used car salesmen and yet, earned 10 times the salary. Kirk understood this. He picked the right industry not once, but twice!

4.5 / 5 because the book could have been shorter, the second half especially. But Kirk was amazing, such an ethical businessman, so likable, yet so successful. As always, stories and biographies can be the source of greatest lessons for we remember those stories better than bullet lists. The biggest take-away from me was: when in business you are offered something good, do not say YES, but keep on a poker face and tell them You'd think about it. In this way You get offered even more :) It's even more true in today's fast communication - remember that You don't need to reply FAST to an email/offer. Take Your time, it's on Your side ;)

Having spent 40+ years in Los Angeles I knew the name Kirk Kerkorian, but never quite understood the depths of his influence and wealth until reading this fascinating biography. He is a humble reluctant public figure and in a world of ruthless businessmen, he truly seemed to be a very honorable man and that was inspiring to say the least. The parallels with Howard Hughes (aviators, Las Vegas real estate tycoons and movie studio owners) was particularly intriguing, although as much as has been written about Hughes, it is Kerkorian that needs to be studied and lauded for the way he led his life

Surprisingly great book that I had never heard of. I am in Las Vegas often, so this helped paint the backstory of many landmark properties on the strip. Kerkorian has to be respected for how little media attention he desired. This is an inspiration to everyone that wants to make it on their own and a passive reminder of how great our country is. As an aside, if these allegations of Lisa Bonder are all true, she is nothing short of a despicable human being, absolutely disgusting on all levels. That is definitely one "deal" that the late Kerkorian likely wishes that he "passed" on.

Next to Steve Jobs, this is the best biography I’ve ever consumed. I learned through Kirk’s ups and downs and was educated in a completely new business to me of casinos and film while being engaged by his personal life, understanding his emotional responses, and learning about his drive to succeed. He also breaks the mold of ultra successful business people who are brash and don’t care about people, he was a very calculated man, but had compassion and empathy for the people with whom he dealt, especially those in his personal life.

Interesting biographyI knew the name Kirk Kerkorian, but I didn't know anything about his life. This book is well researched and well written. The emphasis is on Kerkorian's business dealings. His personal life is dealt with in a detached manner.That said, it wasn't as interesting as I'd hoped. You need to get excited about business deals to really appreciate it. It's not the writing, which is great, that slowed me down. I just couldn't get into all the stocks and takeovers and such.

An Extraordinary read for someone like myself who fancies himself as a future dealmaker as well. Kerk Kerkorian was the kind of man that I wished I could have worked for and with. I would have enjoyed it and I would have learned so much. Again, a truly great story of someone from humble beginnings and who shunned the spotlight. I thoroughly enjoyed this read and can hardly wait to read it again.

Kirk Kerkorian's story of rags to riches. Rempel traces Kirk's history well. Amazing how he bought and sold MGM so often. He truly made big bets and influenced industries from aviation, movies, & Vegas. Also interesting with his involvement and patience with Lisa Bonder. I knew a little about his business deals but not much at all about his personal life and ties to Armenia. This is really a good story. Reads more like a novel than a biography.

This book was a very well done biography on a lesser known billionaire businessman. I had never heard his name before, but he had an amazingly lengthy career building his businesses in aviation, leisure, and movies. Quite an impressive story, and an enjoyable read if you're interested in finance/investing, the creation of the Las Vegas industry, or the Hollywood movie industry of the 1960s-80s. A sad personal life, with multiple divorces and everyone trying to get a piece of his fortune.

Excellent excellent excellent really interesting story Kirk really did do an amazing job of being a serial in successful individual he’s over soon probably by a few people although Elon musk would be one of them a worthwhile read if you’ve never read it before the saddest part is the end and how alone he ended up being because of all of the entourage he had to keep around him from a legal and accounting standpoint to protect his money.