1. Hungry to start recouping（收回） its investment as soon as possible, Hilton began construction at the same time it filed for a gaming license. As I explained earlier, the risk of getting turned down for a license midway through construction was the reason I’d gone after licensing first. But everyone else had done it Hilton’s way, and I could understand Hilton’s confidence about licensing.
2. The Hilton name was about as all-American as you could hope to find. The licensing process seemed like little more than a formality for Hilton. The problem was that the Hilton people got a little too smug and full of themselves. They assumed they were doing Atlantic City a favor by coming to town, when in fact the licensing authorities see it just the opposite way. The burden of demonstrating suitability for a license rests entirely with the applicant, no matter who it is. Hilton took the view that it was entitled to a license. It was a critical mistake. I began to hear rumblings that Hilton
3. I began to hear rumblings that Hilton was in trouble early in 1985. Atlantic City is a very political town, and everyone who does business there knows that. Hilton, trying to be smart, hired a very political lawyer. On the face of it, that seemed like a savvy move. However, according to people I knew who were familiar with the Hilton licensing hearings, it may have backfired. The second mistake Hilton made was ignoring the experience of previous applicants. Playboy, for example, had been turned down for a license three years before. The reason, at least in part, was its past associations with a lawyer named Sidney Korshak, who supposedly had a history of organized-crime connections. For ten years he’d also been on retainer to Hilton at $50,000 a year to help negotiate labor disputes. I have no idea whether
4.
Korshak is a good guy or a bad guy, but the only issue that matters is pleasing the commissioners. They’d made it very clear that they didn’t like Korshak. Instead of quietly severing the tie, Hilton kept Korshak on his retainer right up until the Division of Gaming Enforcement raised specific objections to him in mid-1984.
5. Virtually the next day, Hilton fired Korshak. Barron later acknowledged to the commission that he’d taken the action only because “we know how strongly you people feel about the matter.” That was the worst thing he could have said. As one of the commissioners who voted against licensing Hilton put it later, “The corporation apparently didn’t get religion until it was pounding on the pearly gates of licensure.”
6. The board, it turned put, was deeply split about how to handle the Atlantic City situation. The Casino Control Commission had just agreed to the rehearing Hilton had requested on licensing. Nonetheless, several board members, including Ben, believed that it made more sense to sell the facility immediately, if the right buyer could be found. Their argument was that if the commission didn’t reverse itself and grant Hilton a license, the consequences could be truly disastrous for the company. By that point, a couple of months down the line, they’d be carrying several thousand employees. Worse, by selling the hotel under pressure, they might get a bad price.
7.Once again the conversation was nonspecific. Mostly, Barron vented his frustration about Atlantic City, while I listened sympathetically. Barron is wary and reserved by nature. He’s not the kind of guy who makes impulsive decisions, so I played it very low-key. We got along very well, and afterward I heard from Ben that Barron felt very comfortable with me. There are times when you have to be aggressive, but there are also times when your best strategy is to lie back.
8. Steve Wynn helped me in two ways. By pursuing a takeover, he put Barron on the defensive and kept him from focusing on his relicensing hearings. At the same time, the more Wynn’s aggressive style offended Barron, the more likely it was that Barron would turn to me as a white knight. It’s not a role I’m accustomed to, but Wynn played right into my hand. Wynn grew up in his father’s bingo parlor, the son of a compulsive gambler. Later he made the right friends in Las Vegas, managed to buy a small stake in the Golden Nugget Hotel, and eventually took over. His entire world has been Las Vegas and Atlantic City and gaming. He’s got a great act. He’s a smooth talker, he’s perfectly manicured, and he’s invariably dressed to kill in $2,000 suits and $200 silk shirts. The problem with Wynn is that he tries too hard to look perfect and a lot of people are put off by him.
9. Although Steve would probably never admit it, I’m convinced that he thought he was in a no-lose situation when he launched his takeover bid against Hilton. I believe Steve figured he’d end up buying Hilton’s Atlantic City hotel, and quite possibly at a favorable price. Many people thought that the hotel was all Steve really wanted. There was even a certain logic to it. Under siege from all sides, Barron could kill two birds with one stone by dealing with Steve. He could say, “Look, I’ll sell you my hotel if you’ll agree to give up trying to get control of my company.” But Steve Wynn underestimated how much he’d become anathema to Barron. That’s where I came in. One day after Wynn made his takeover bid, Barron Hilton became much more serious about negotiating with me.
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I stood up and began my pitch, How could they shake my hand and then not stand by the commitment?
How could they negotiate for three days and then walk away?
How could they force me to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on lawyers and not follow through?
It was a disgrace, I said.
it was immoral, it was wrong, it was dishonorable.
My tone was more hurt than outrage or angry. I can be a screamer when I want to be, but in this case I felt screaming would only scare them off.
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Much of the deal had already been negotiated, and under the circumstances, unless I gave Hilton a good excuse, it would be hard psychologically for them to walk away. It’s also possible, of course, that Hilton’s hard line（强硬） was all a pose—a way of trying to ensure that they closed the deal with as few contingencies（偶发事件may or may not happen） as possible.
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