Lion of Las Vegas, Tiger Mike commence legal catfight

When the Lion of Las Vegas takes on Tiger Mike, the fur is sure to fly.

That lion is none other than billionaire businessman Kirk Kerkorian, who owns the distinction of building the largest hotel in the world three times in Las Vegas. The Tiger is formally known as Edward Mike Davis, a wealthy oil and gas speculator with innumerable Las Vegas connections. For many years Kerkorian called Davis his friend.

It's safe to say that friendship is a thing of the past. Through his Tracinda Corporation, Kerkorian last week in Clark County District Court sued Davis and others for fraud in connection with the billionaire's $684 million investment in Denver-based Delta Petroleum.

Kerkorian accuses Davis of conspiring with Roger Parker, Delta's former president and CEO, to carry out a "fraudulent and unlawful scheme" that funneled the money to another "energy-sector company" controlled by Parker. Davis was paid a finder's fee of
$5 million in Delta stock at $19 a share, but he also is accused of getting from Parker "additional compensation in the form of lucrative contracts and business arrangements with Delta as a quid pro quo for Davis having deceived Plaintiff into making its initial Delta investment."

"Although Davis agreed to serve as Plaintiff's advisor on the deal, Davis in fact secretly conspired with others to defraud Plaintiff into investing in Delta in order to enrich himself to the detriment of Plaintiff," the lawsuit said. It was filed on behalf of Tracinda by attorneys Patricia Glaser, Peter Sheridan and Jennifer Sanders.

Parker's attorney, Norman Brownstein, founding partner of the prominent Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck law firm, also takes a hit in the lawsuit.

In late 2007 in Las Vegas, Brownstein was present during discussions of Tracinda's proposed investment and is accused of taking an active role in highlighting Delta's "growing investments" in oil drilling sites in Utah's Paradox Basin and the "great" prospects of new wells in Greentown, Utah.

Those over-hyped wells turned out to be drier than James Bond's martini, according to the lawsuit.

"Within a year of Plaintiff's investment in Delta, on March 9, 2009, Delta publicly stated that the results of its 2008 drilling at Greentown were 'frustrating at best,' " the complaint said. "Shortly thereafter, Delta acknowledged that its investment in Greentown was a complete failure and that any further development of Greentown would be discontinued based on the company's determination that the Greentown wells were 'dry holes.' "

By then, the lawsuit asserts, Kerkorian's $684 million investment was gone and Delta stock had plummeted to approximately $1.82 per share.

Parker announced his resignation from the company on May 22, 2009, but he was sorely mistaken if he imagined his departure would put his Kerkorian troubles behind him.

In Las Vegas, Davis might be best known as singer Phyllis McGuire's companion. The two have often been seen at fine restaurants and high-end charity fundraisers.

Back in 1959 in Denver, a 28-year-old Davis gained celebrity when he married 69-year-old Denver Post owner Helen Bonfils. "After Davis' marriage to Bonfils ended in divorce, Davis used the money he received from his divorce settlement in part to expand his work in the oil industry," the current litigation said.

That the lawsuit took pains to note such a juicy biographical nugget should tell you where this legal catfight is heading.

Fact is, Kerkorian, 94, and Davis, 81, might be two of the more colorful characters ever to set foot in Las Vegas, a place with no shortage of them.

In the long run, Kerkorian's greatest challenge might be persuading skeptics that someone of his vast business experience could be hoodwinked by anyone -- even a sharpie like Davis.

Now that the Lion of Las Vegas has drawn first blood in his fight with Tiger Mike, no one figures to escape without a scratch.

John L. Smith's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Email him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or call 702-383-0295. He also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/smith.