Howard Hughes was one of the most colorful figures of the twentieth century. Hughes moved to Las Vegas in 1966, although he had visited the city many times before that. In 1967, Hughes began to build his empire by purchasing four hotels and six casinos through his company, the Summa Corporation. He acquired thousands of acres of property in the Las Vegas Valley, but he was limited by governmental fears that he might monopolize the area's lodging industry. While Hughes lived in seclusion at the Desert Inn, which he had purchased outright because he had not been allowed to rent a room there, he eventually lost control of his business affairs.
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In 1970, Hughes would leave Las Vegas in poor health, and would die in 1976 while on his way to Houston, Texas. Hughes had invested heavily in Las Vegas, and many other prominent people would be inspired to do so as well, due to his inspiration. Hughes almost managed to buy out the mafia's interests during his time there. At the time of his death, much of the Las Vegas Valley's land was still owned by his companies.
Hughes had developed a taste for the night life from the actions of his father, who had introduced young Howard to the pleasures of wine, women, and song, and Las Vegas certainly offered plenty of those things.
The review of this Book prepared by Nathaniel Ford
