Las Vegas’s Deadliest Disaster: The Troubled History of MGM Grand Hotel

in the 1960s one man would purchase the MGM movie studio turning it into a gambling and Leisure Empire some consider him a villain of Hollywood others as the savior of a failing company welcome to the very first episode of expedition hotels [Music] [Music] growing up Kirk Korum was no stranger to Poverty taking any job to try and get the family by after dropping out of high school he scraped together money anywhere he could eventually falling in love with flying he used what little he had to earn a commercial pilot's license later fing planes across the Atlantic during the war after the war he would use a small plane to go into the Charter Business noticing that many using his Services were wealthy gamblers flying down to a small desert town in Nevada called Las Vegas buying and selling planes chartering and reselling engines was making Kurt Koran a nice profit and during that time he fell in love with Las Vegas his company trans International Airlines was making good money and continue to expand he had become a keen businessman master in making deals and turning a profit he would use these profits to buy 80 acres of land on the Las Vegas Strip later leasing it to Jano to create Caesar's Palace earning a share of the huge casino's profits Caesar's Palace ignited the imagination of the city and Kirk in 1968 Trans America acquired his airline for $150 million he sold the land under Caesars and was sitting on millions of dollars from the sales with his newly amassed riches he would go on to build the biggest casino hotel in Las Vegas this new Venture was seen as a risk and it wouldn't be located on the Strip but Kurt Koran didn't care he stated multiple times it would become a second strip the media called him the shy millionaire as he often would not be interviewed or make public appearances some called him another Howard Hughes though unlike Hughes he didn't plan to just buy up casinos he had plans to build them forming the international Leisure Corporation they would Acquire The Flamingo Hotel as a training ground for the much bigger planned Resort this resort called the international will begin a rivalry with Howard Hughes who would tried to stop the new mega hotel using fake announcements stories about nuclear testing and whatever means he could find unable to stop the new resort Hughes would acquire an 80% complete casino right across the street from korans called The Landmark that would be set to open one day before Howard Hughes would aim to make the opening bigger and a more star studed Affair than the Internationals it was not cost him $40 million to build 10 million of which would be korean's own money with 30 million financed the international would open on July 2nd 1969 the tallest building in Nevada at 30 stories 365 ft with 1,000 568 rooms a large entertainment area and of course a casino Phase 2 would be planned to expand it even more Barbara strand would perform in a deal that made her one of the highest paid performers in nightclub history with an opening residency they would also sign another performer for a residency after agreeing to the deal as long as he wasn't the First Act to perform and The Kinks were ironed out Elvis Presley walked out on the stage for the first first time on July 31st 1969 his first Major Performance in 9 years playing hit after hit in an instant the Troubles of his past decade were gone Alvis had entered a new phase Jean B the host of International Hotel we're happy to see you all here tonight with the Elvis Presley Show Elvis Presley would perform shows at the resorts theater up until his death in 1977 which would cut the residency contract short every single show had been sold out Las Vegas was finally good for Alvis but now anyway he would make the resort the most visited in the world and create a legacy that will forever entwine Alvis Presley with that of Las Vegas the international while not on the Strip was a success at the opening Carrie Grant welcomed the 2,000 people at the Celebration by saying Kirk I know you don't like this kind of thing but I want everyone here to see the guy who made this hotel possible as KT stood there blushing he never wanted to go up on on stage and make a speech or speak to the press in his whole life Kurt Koran had made enough money to retire but he deemed that a dull life comparisons came constantly to Howard Hughes he was called the next Limelight shunning millionaire of Vegas Kirk said comparing him to Hughes was like comparing a shotgun to a BB gun Kirk being the BB gun both had an affinity for privacy casinos and Airlines the mighty Roar of a lion the Lush sets and lavish costumes the glittering cinematography no Studio could boast the opulent production values that epitomized Metro Goldwin mayor just a few months later Koran was working on a new business idea he was always looking for undervalued assets to acquire and make money from he would borrow millions and buy 40% of the struggling Metro Goldwin mayor Studio one of the original big Hollywood Studios and after a battle with the board Kirk korium would now own his own movie studio Koran wasn't interested in the film aspect of the studio he wanted the real estate assets and the glamour of the legacy of the MGM name James Aubry former CBS TV Chief was appointed as president and told to cut costs the company was losing money and was found to be $82 million in debt it was ordered that the props sets and memorabilia from Decades of film making were to be sold off the MGM bat Lots were also sold for Real Estate development garnering KK Koran the nickname the most hated man in Hollywood known for simultanously destroying the legacy of MGM but yet also saving the failing business MGM Studios would never be the same again by the end of 1969 Kirk was going at bre neck speed only visiting his International Hotel three times since its opening rather focusing on what was next with the MGM acquisition korean's loans were starting to catch up with him to try and pay off his big loans he was confident he could use a second offering of international Leisure stock to cover them the SEC refused to allow the sale due to korean's failure To decloseting Go's previous owners the mob which was really needed to be used in an ongoing Justice Department investigation rather than this be a normal requirement within a year of opening the international he had sold it he was reportedly worth 200 million but had huge loans and MGM and Western Airlines were both losing money he was forced to sell his own shares in international Leisure to Hilton Hilton would buy a controlling interest in the international and Flamingo hotels for around $20 million much less than and it had been worth just a few months earlier as the town was in a recession the international was renamed Las Vegas Hilton many years later they would be home to the extinct Star Trek The Experience attraction and today is called Westgate Las Vegas Elvis would continue to be honored throughout the hotel over the years and continues to be today and without Kurt Koran his legacy might not be as tied to Las Vegas as it now stands Koran sold his Vegas home his private plane and Yacht but throughout remained calm and stated he was proud of what he had made in Vegas ktk korean's net worth had dropped by $100 million in a short time however he still had a way to make money the MGM name in late 1971 the MGM group with Koran at the helm would start their Fay into the world of leisure with a 129 Mill million doll plan that would create a fleet of luxury cruise liners for the moderate price tourist market and create the world's largest Resort Hotel in Las Vegas merging MGM with korean's own interest in a new gamble the money used from selling mgm's assets will be put into the new Venture along with a large amount of financing from Bank of America and Chase while MGM will continue producing movies at a scale back operation Koran said each would cost no more than $2 million per film he generally distanced himself from the Hollywood movie making aspect of MGM and his ideas would changed the company's Direction Forever there were not many complaints from MGM shareholders as profits before the Takeover were incredibly small in recent years and at times non-existent earning only 7.8 million profit in 1971 which one Casino alone could potentially earn Kirk owned the Bonanza Casino a buil hotel and casino on the Strip which had opened in 1968 and closed shortly after and was sold though he had now regained it through foreclosure surrounding land of the Bonanza began demolition in 1972 and work would begin on what would once again be the largest hotel resort in the world groundbreaking from the hotel was on April 15th 1972 in a star studded party the $75 million 2000 room Hotel and Casino Ino would take what it had learned and would once again try and woo a big star to perform at the hotel it had worked at the international where Alvis was still selling out every single show he would aim to convince Frank Sinatra to come out of retirement or get Alvis to switch hotels to his new one because nothing brought people into casinos like entertainers and Korum wanted the best you know if only it was a few years later you know who he could have got behind schedule and millions of dollars over its 75 million budget the MGM Grand Hotel would open in Las Vegas in December 4th 1973 the resort would be named the MGM Grand hotel after the 1932 MGM film Grand Hotel Alvis or Sinatra didn't perform but many MGM stars were in attendance with Dean Martin providing entertainment originally there was a plan to create a remake of the Grand Hotel movie to help promote the new resort though these plans never materialized the hotel would be designed by Martin Stern Jr who had previously designed the international and whose designs will become a near template for future Vegas high-rise hotels the resort emphasized Hollywood luxury would be found within with $15 million spent on furniture and fixtures for the rooms alone requiring 125,000 square yards of carpe in inside guest could find two huge showrooms the zek foud room and the celebrity room the first High ey Court West of Florida eight major restaurants the world's largest casino with more games than any other and two large swimming pools to fit with the MGM name and brand a movie theater could also be found within originally only showing MGM films the hotel would be a throwback to the Grand hotels of Europe pre World War I each of the the 2,100 rooms or petite Suites as the resort called them would run around $30 a night and would have a gold star on the door to imitate the old MGM dressing rooms of the past according to one newspaper some rooms even boasted mirrored bed Chambers with huge round beds for the swingers these would cost a little extra of course 26 stories up you would find the half dozen Imperial suits which would cost $800 per night and included all the scotch or bourbon you could drink for the duration of your stay high rollers only of course they would experience unheard of luxury on the 26th floor private Metro Club open to those with the highest credit ratings only the MGM Grand Hotel would feature the largest shopping mall in any hotel in the world with its 32 shops rooms in the resort would be named after old MGM films the food areas used a movie studio Recreation of old streets made using sets taken down at the MGM Studios names included the XII The Gourmet dining room a steakhouse that will be called barrymor and the Italian Caruso which along with convention offering allowed the resort to see 11,000 diners within with 350 Cooks the hotel commissary would carry at all times a qu of a million dollars worth of food with £1,000 of shrimp in the freezer and any moment I could go on listing how much stuff it needed for its giant size but you get the idea though one of my favorite measurements released by the hotel was that it had enough cocktail olives that if laid end to end would reach to the moon and back dreaming of some real excitement get it at the MGM Grand Las Vegas with a grand spectacular vacation imagine Grand accommodations for one night plus The Late Show of Don Arden's spectacular Jubilee all for less than $50 per person so for your dream vacation call your travel agent or toll-free 800 634 6363 for the MGM Las Vegas grand spectacular vacation and have a roaring good time managed by Alvin Benedict who had years of experience running some of the top places on the Strip for decades success was all but guaranteed he knew the success of a great Hotel came from the staff and he brought with him many of the key people that he had worked with for years to operate the hotel with its more than 3,000 employees after the MGM auction some remaining costumes that didn't sell were put on display in the resort and could be purchased developers had visited many European hotels to learn from some of the fanciest Resorts around and aimed to bring it to Vegas in the 2 and 1/2 million square ft of the resort theme Resorts were about to become bigger and better than ever before the cost of the resort was huge and it was predicted that nothing would be able to beat its size for many many years as prices continued to rise Las Vegas had changed again Resorts were expected to be more and the MGM Grand Hotel would Encompass that no longer were TVs not allowed in the rooms and long shows considered distractions from the money making Gamblin MGM Grand hotels would be a total entertainment package the distraction would now be moneymaking attractions they hope to make the hotel learn from the international and make it reflect 50 years of MGM history where here at the casino the odds of making a profit were much better than making movies in Hollywood the opening was as Grand as expected the largest Resort in Las Vegas seemed like a success however they still needed another $2 million to finish off the resort taking the total to build the MGM Grand Hotel to $16 million MGM was still struggling and the overrun on the budget of the resort was hurting the company more many questioned and speculated that mgm's movie making days would be over once the resort started making a profit Aubrey had left MGM and korium was now in charge and rumors started that he was in financial trouble many citing that the experience with the international would happen again the resort wasn't sold and was kept by MGM during 1975 the average occupancy rate of the giant hotel was at 93% and the following year MGM reported the highest revenue in the company's history reporting for the third year that MGM had established alltime High profits the majority of which was coming from the MGM Grand hotel construction was announced on a second hotel for the company the MGM Grand Reno home to what would now be the world's largest casino complex in 1979 with a company seeing record profits MGM would announce plans to expand the MGM Grand hotel and build a third Resort in Atlantic City 800 new rooms will be added in Vegas taking the total to 2,900 with an expansion to the convention center and casino also coming since opening they had continued to operate at near for capacity MGM had now split into two different firms MGM film company and MGM Grand hotels the film company would be merged with United Artists creating MGM UA for the hotels both expansions were hoped to be completed by the fall of 1980 in the deli fire in the deli Fire Control Battalion 2 stand by for dispatch we have a reporter of fire in the building in the deli of the MGM on November 21st 1980 a refrigerated pastry display in the Delhi restaurant set on fire it was not correctly secured which led to vibrations corroding the electrical Wass and ignite him the fire would be the deadliest disaster in Nevada history and the third deadliest Hotel fire the fire spread to the casino taking just 6 minutes from when the fire was found until the entire casino floor was a flame and erupted into a giant Fireball Hotel fire safety regulations were lack at the time of the hotel's creation the first two floors and top floor the High Roller level were the only floors within with sprinklers the casino and restaurant did not have a system as they were exempt from Rules requiring sprinklers in areas that would be open 24 hours a day the deli was closed at the time the fire began the minimum number of sprinklers have been installed and was required by the building code during the Resort's construction the alarm was not sounded as the Flames destroyed the amplif fires on the manually operated alarm system while the fire did not spread up the floors toxic flumes and smoke ascended throughout the tower a total of 85 people lost their lives 78 guests and seven employees the damaged resort was closed in the aftermath reports came in that looters had entered the resort and stolen money just 81 days after the fire another fire killed five people in a Las Vegas hotel this time in the Las Vegas Hilton the former International change would have to happen as the expansion of the resort was underway the MJM Grand Hotel was rebuilt costing $50 million including more safety features $250 days after the fire a lowkey reopening took place on July 28th 1981 with the second new tower opening shortly after making it again the biggest Resort in the world mg M had reached a $75 million settlement deal for victims of the blaze 112 cases remained and lawsuits will continue for the next 5 years Kurt Koran who was in New York at the time of the fire remained mostly quiet as usual about it though he said publicly that the people standing in the hotel were his guests and he was committed to provide for and settle all the claims against MGM from the fire he would use some of his own money to settle the claims as fast as possible and continue to pay employees who were out of work even to the point that his insurance company would sue him for giving them too much many report that he was legitimately compassionate and had real concerns for the victims and the families of the fire at his hotel and was often called humble throughout his lifetime he supported and helped many families and donated a large portion of his wealth to charity the MGM Grand would never be the same again a hotel spokesman stated it would seem inappropriate to have a grand celebration on its reopening the hotel now had over 30,000 sprinklers within and smoke detectors were added in each room a 5-minute video hosted by Jean Kelly would play on the TV in each room explaining to guests about the hotel's new Safety Systems as too often is the case it took tragedy to spark change major change in fire safety guidelines and codes were implemented and all buildings open to the public in Nevada were required to have fire sprinklers smoke detectors and exit maps in hotel rooms since buy an MGM 16 years earlier Koran had successfully transformed it into two separate and mostly now profitable companies he had owned and sold companies for profit multiple times and continued looking to purchase movie studios perhaps to do the same as he had done with MGM including Colombia which he wanted to merge into MGM he tried to buy Fox but was outbid and instead acquired United Artists and even attempted to take over Walt Disney Productions the MGM Studios were not making hits during 1985 Ted Turner from Turner Broadcasting would negotiate to purchase the MGM Studios company it would later be sold back to Koran minus the pre-1986 film Library korean's time owning the MGM Resorts company would also be at an end it was announced that Bal Manufacturing Corporation a Chicago firm who owned a Casino Hotel in Atlantic City would purchase MGM Grand hotels for $560 million valys were expanded owners of the Six Flags amusement park chain health clubs and more they wanted to become a big player in the casino market after the sale was complete they would take over the remaining $110 million in loans that the resorts were built on and the MGM gr Resorts would soon be renamed under the bal's brand it remained as such until 2022 when it became the Horseshoe Las Vegas the original tower created in 1973 still exists today after selling his companies many questioned if Kirk korean's time in Las Vegas had come to an end in 1986 after the sale Koran with many of the main management team from his Resort business would create a new company brand name Co with the deal selling the resorts he had stipulated that after a transition period he would still be able to use the MGM name in 1987 Grand name company would be renamed to MGM Grand Inc while the cruise ships never came to fruition in his earlier Leisure years there was one thing he knew the air and with his brand brand new company he would launch MGM Grand air a luxury Airline service a year later they had acquired the Desert Inn and San casinos in Las Vegas two former Howard Hughes properties they had even bigger plans than the original MGM Grand mgm's Yellow Brick Road would once again lead to Vegas they had plans in the works to build a $700 million Hollywood themed entertainment complex that would not only consist of the biggest hotel anywhere in the world once again but KK Koran was about to enter the world of themee [Music] parks thank you so much for watching the very first episode of expedition hotels if you enjoyed it make sure you subscribe to join the expedition follow us on social media for updates on upcoming episodes and a special thank you to our patrons for supporting the channel we will see you next time that was stupid that was really [Music] [Applause] stupid and don't forget the most important thing have fun if you're having fun so will the audience good luck

Channel: Expedition Theme Park

Views: 343,982

Keywords: expedition theme park, expedition hotels, extinct, las vegas, mgm studios, mgm grand hotel, mgm grand hotels, mgm grand adventures, theme park, history, ballys, horseshoe, mgm fire, las vegas fire, kirk kerkorian, vegas

Id: yiye3Mxxg7I

Length: 26min 37sec (1597 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 09 2024