In my last post I introduced readers to Dr. Elias Ghanem aka Dr. Feelgood, physician to the stars.
For those in the know, Ghanem’s name often evokes a mix of awe, affection and wistfulness. From his arrival Las Vegas in 1971 to his death in 2001, Ghanem amassed a stable of powerful friends across the entertainment, medical, sports, real estate, finance and political circles that was the envy of all.
Ghanem’s funeral illustrated to perfection the impact he had made on Las Vegas, the state of Nevada and beyond. Over 1,400 people attended, making it the largest and most well-attended funeral Las Vegas had ever seen.
Barron Hilton and Senator Harry Reid were pallbearers. Seven eulogies were delivered including ones given by Steve Wynn, Brian Greenspun (son of deceased Hank Greenspun, the iconic founder and editor of Las Vegas Sun), Senator John Ensign, Irvin Molasky and his doctor, Tony Alamo Jr. (the son of Cuban immigrate and casino legend Tony Alamo).
A letter from close friend President Bill Clinton was read to the mourners. Clinton apparently couldn’t make the funeral but had visited Ghanem in the hospital the week prior. Other close friends attended including ex Governors Mike O’Callaghan and Bob Miller, and legendary boxing promoter Don King. His life and death were later formally and solemnly recognized in the Las Vegas senate.
Ghanem was so much more than just a celebrity doctor. He created the Las Vegas Medical Centers in 1976, a network of the first 24-hour urgent care and family practice clinics. He was a pioneer in the medical PPO (preferred provider organization) model, founding a company called Prime Health in 1984. His company was immediately successful, securing a multimillion-dollar contract with the Culinary Union to provide health care to more than 30,000 union members and their families.
As one doctor would be quoted saying "Ghanem became extremely powerful in the medical community because he was the man referring all those Culinary patients to specialists," Goldsmith said. "He had a huge impact on the livelihoods of physicians."
Ghanem was a huge force in the boxing world. Starting as a ringside physician for the Vegas boxing scene, he was appointed to the Nevada State Athletic Commission where he served as chairman for 14 years. Ghanem was recognized as being instrumental in instituting mandatory health and safety measures for boxers. He is so admired in the Vegas boxing circles that he even has a boxing team named after him at UNLV.
Ghanem presided over some of the most famous and controversial boxing decisions of history including the revocation of Mike Tyson’s license after he bit Evander Holyfield’s ear; the selection of the winner of the Mike Tyson v. Buster Douglas heavyweight championship match; and the suspension of Tommy Morrison after rumors were leaked to the press that Tommy had tested positive for HIV (allegations that were later demonstrated to be untrue).
The stories of Ghanem never cease to amaze. There was the time Elvis gifted Elias one of his prized possessions, a 1971 Stutz Blackhawk. Elvis even added a plaque to the dashboard that read “Elias Ghanem, A True Friend, Elvis Presley”. There was the time Ghanem offered free medical services to striking workers and families during the Frontier Hotel strike, delivering 107 babies. The strike was one of the longest successful strikes in history, lasting six months, four months and ten days. The stories go on and on.
Throughout his life, the local Las Vegas Sun (owned by Ghanem’s good friend, Hank Greenspun) was always full of praise for the good doctor with never a bad word uttered. Criticism over his role in Elvis’s death was swiftly deflected or ignored as were accusations that he was too close to promoters.
Turns out they’ve even made a movie about him. As I am not currently in the US, Prime is blocking me from watching it, so I can’t say I’ve seen it. Maybe one of my readers can watch and comment below.
In any case the message is clear: for Vegas, Ghanem was the eternal golden child.
But sometimes all that that glitters isn’t gold. Despite all of his achievements throughout his life, I just don’t buy Ghanem’s origin story.
He arrived in Las Vegas in 1971. He walked into a Vegas world dominated by influential figures such as Moe Dalitz, the Teamsters, Hank Greenspun, and Howard Hughes. A fierce battle for control was being waged between the FBI and other agencies, the new breed of mega-corporates, media and organized crime. The city was at a pivotal juncture, teetering between the forces of "good" and "evil” where underworld blurred with upperworld.
From 1970 to 1980, visitors to Vegas nearly doubled, while gambling and room revenues more than quadrupled. By 1980, Las Vegas had firmly established itself as the most visited city in the US, attracting a diverse array of tourists, gamblers, entertainers, and professionals looking to mix pleasure with business.
In this charged atmosphere, Elias Ghanem’s meteoric rise seems almost too convenient. He was a poor Palestinian-Israeli who had just graduated from Duke in 1971, yet by early 1973 he achieved the crown of “physician to the stars”, and by the mid-1970s was dabbling in businesses as wide ranging as pharmaceuticals, restaurants, airlines, and financial services. Are we really to believe that an appealing bedside manner, strong work ethic, and a desire to be at the center of the action were all it took?
As the Australian saying goes: “Yeah, nah.” And as my father often says, “Yeah, pull the other one.”
My next few installments will walk through some of the things I’ve unearthed that back-up the reasons for my skepticism. It’s way too much to share in a single article, so I’ll do it over a series of posts. My head is still spinning, so I can only assume it would make readers’ heads spin too. Best to keep it in more bite-sized pieces.
Incidentally, I have found some interesting connections that bring Dr. Ghanem dangerously close to the Octopus discovered by Danny Casolaro that I touched on in an earlier post.
Stay tuned.