Las Vegas King Kirk Kerkorian dies

Kirk Kerkorian, an American billionaire nicknamed the King of Las Vegas for his enormous contribution to recreation and gambling, has died at the age of 98, Interfax reports.
Kerkorian opened his first casino hotel in 1960. He founded MGM Grand, it purchased the Mirage Resort for $6.4 billion in 2000 and Mandalay Resort Group for $4.8 billion in 2004, converting them all into MGM Resorts International. The latter owns half of the hotel rooms in Las Vegas Strip. The company runs such casinos as Bellagio and Mandalay Bay.
Kerkorian's assets were worth about $3.6 billion.
Kirk Kerkorian was born in Fresno (California) on June 6, 1917. His parents had migrated from Armenia not long before his birth.