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Kirk Kerkorian

Kirk Kerkorian repeatedly changed the scale of the Las Vegas hotel. The International, the original MGM Grand and the later MGM Grand each opened as the world's largest hotel, making his career a useful guide to the growth of the enormous casino resort.

Born Kerkor Kerkorian in Fresno in 1917, he was the son of an Armenian fruit grower. Before becoming a major investor, he boxed as an amateur and worked as a pilot. MGM's account of his career places his first Las Vegas visit in 1945, when he arrived flying a Cessna. A stake in the Dunes in 1955 marked an early casino investment, followed by substantial land purchases. His influence came through investment and development rather than a celebrity persona on the casino floor. The resorts became far more publicly recognizable than the intensely private man behind them.

The International opened in 1969 with entertainment central to its identity. Barbra Streisand was its first headliner; Elvis Presley followed in the main showroom. In 1973, Kerkorian's company opened the original MGM Grand, with more than two thousand rooms and attractions beyond the casino. After that hotel and its Reno counterpart were sold to Bally's in 1986, he backed a separate MGM Grand that opened in 1993 with five thousand rooms. These are distinct developments, not successive expansions of one hotel. Keeping them separate helps explain why the MGM name appears in different chapters of the Strip's history. His later corporate interests also encompassed the acquisition of Mirage Resorts and the development of CityCenter.

Kerkorian's philanthropy extended beyond resort building. UNLV describes extensive support for medical, educational and other charitable work through his Lincy Foundation, often given without publicity. He died in 2015. In 2021, the university named its medical school in his honor following support from his estate and other donors for its development. That legacy places his name in a different part of the city: the institutions serving the people who live and work in Southern Nevada. His casino projects explain the ambition and changing dimensions of the tourist city; his charitable giving helps explain why his name also belongs to the wider community beyond the Strip.

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