Fabrizio Boccardi

Fabrizio Boccardi, investor, producer and CEO of King Midas World Entertainment

Fabrizio Boccardi is an Italian entrepreneur, investor, producer, and CEO & Chairman of the Board of Directors of King Midas World Entertainment Inc. Boccardi is the owner of the multimedia brand the Tyrant.^[1][2][3] In addition, he controls several investments in the United States and abroad.^[4][5] Boccardi has made three failed attempts to buy a Las Vegas casino.

Early life

Boccardi was born in Milan, Italy in 1967. His father was the founder of the Istituto Finanziario Ambrosiano, a financial institution with interests in construction, real estate, and insurance. Boccardi attended the Leone XIII school in Milan, and then the Ophenaimer. He continued his studies in the United States, attending Villanova Preparatory School, in Ojai, California, but was unable to finish his junior year when his family’s holding company's collapsed.

At age 19 Boccardi established himself as a commodities trader in Monte Carlo. In his early twenties he began to invest in condominium development in Italy and in the South of France.^[6]

Las Vegas casinos

Boccardi has made a series of failed attempts to buy a Las Vegas casino, since 1999.^[6][7] At that time, he attempted to buy the New Frontier Hotel & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip, owned at the time by Phil Ruffin. But the deal fell apart.

In 2000, Boccardi offered $200 million for the Desert Inn Hotel & Casino, but his offer was considered too low by owners Starwood Hotel & Resorts and was then sold to Las Vegas casino owner Steve Wynn for $275 million. ^{[8] [9][10]}

To publicize his bid for the Desert Inn, Boccardi invited Prince Albert of Monaco to Las Vegas.^[11] Wynn Resorts subsequently used the Desert Inn site to develop Wynn Las Vegas that opened in 2005 on the Las Vegas’ Strip.

In 2003, Boccardi bid $8.50 per share for control of Riviera Holdings, owners of the Riviera Hotel & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip and a casino in Black Hawk, Colorado.^[12][13]

The offer was subject to a change of ‘control put’ and bondholders’ approval, at that time required of a public company trading on the American Stock Exchange. Management rejected the offer, causing some shareholders to file suit against Riviera’s management for not considering the offer.^{[14][15][16][17][18]}

Litigation

In April 2004, DE Shaw Laminar Portfolios announced in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) pending strategic discussions with Fabrizio Boccardi of Las Vegas regarding the Riviera Casino, and bought 10% in Riviera Holdings from Donald Trump.^[19][20]

In May 2004, in subsequent filings with the SEC, DE Shaw Laminar Portfolios announced the termination of its discussions with Boccardi regarding Riviera Holdings. Stock of Riviera Holdings trading on the American Stock Exchange subsequently split 3 for 1 and was trading at a substantial premium.^[21]

In 2005 Boccardi Capital Systems filed suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan, against DE Shaw Laminar Portfolios for breach of contract and other allegations in connection with Riviera Holdings, asking for compensation of approximately $140 million. The suit was finally dismissed in February 2009, and despite an appeal that Boccardi Capital filed immediately thereafter, the judgment was reaffirmed in December 2009 by the United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.^[22]

The Tyrant

The Tyrant is Boccardi's franchised fictional character, first appearing in 2008 in the book “The Seven Sins: The Tyrant Ascending,” written by Jon Land ^[23] and published by Macmillan.^[24]

Boccardi worked with Land to create the story, which is loosely inspired by Boccardi's own life.^[25]

Book

In 2008, The Seven Sins: The Tyrant Ascending was published by Forge Books/Saint Martin's Press.^[26] The Library Journal selected The Seven Sins: The Tyrant Ascending as a "Best Thriller of 2008."^[27]

References