entrepreneurs and casinos. A relationship that we’ve seen so many times and that hasn’t always been beneficial. Perhaps it is because of this character of superiority that power and money can evoke in a man and that sometimes diverts him from the right path. We’ve revived stories of all kinds with tycoons who could spend big bucks on blackjack tables, poker games, roulette, etc. And we have also seen desperate cases where The game became someone’s last resort. That’s what we’re focusing on today.
We can be sure that Las Vegas casinos will play a role in all of this, as they are the common denominator of all these stories, so to speak. A good time to remember Sin City now that its casinos have reopened. The very critical health situation experienced by the country in 2020 resulted in the gaming city being held without a game and entertainment venues being closed, which had not happened in 57 years. What happened then? President Kennedy’s death shocked the United States.
Players were able to continue their rhythm of life in online casinos, but it was already necessary to reconnect with the tables. And that’s exactly what we want to talk about when we talk about the tables in Las Vegas FredSmith. For some he will be a complete unknown, while others know him as the current founder of the package, postal and logistics services company in general, Federal Express, better known as FedEx. Fred has an amazing history behind the game that has made him a billionaire today and his company one of the largest and most important in the world.
As we search for Smith’s roots, we find a boy who had a difficult early life with the death of his father and the development of an illness that prevented him from walking normally. Fortunately, he managed to redeem himself and overcome it while in his school he began to develop the spirit of a young entrepreneur with an ambition uncharacteristic for a boy of his age. After successfully completing his studies and making the leap to university, he graduated and enlisted in the Navy. A turning point in the life of the American.
He spent three years that weren’t easy for him, serving as a pilot in the Vietnam War and returning home with several medals. This hardened him and helped him to continue living with the illusion of They have their own company with a fleet of aircraft capable of sending deliveries to any part of the planet. Perhaps that’s why he previously invested in a company dedicated to this industry, soaked up what he could, and a few years later founded his own company: FedEx.
This happened in the early 70’s when the company had only 8 aircraft and 35 destinations. However, the rise in fuel prices began to become a bottomless pit for the Smith Institution. In a short time he accumulated millions of dollars in losses that left him no room for reaction to give him credit. If he couldn’t resolve the situation quickly, he would end up having to file for bankruptcy. And that’s where the game came in, because with the last $5,000 in the FedEx reserve, Fred took a plane to Las Vegas.
The American was willing to gamble all on one card, especially two when it comes to blackjack, and had no choice. With that $5,000, he didn’t even have enough to pay the following week’s fuel bills, so the money would go up in smoke if he was left alone. Certainly the business people on his board would have been strongly opposed to the idea, so he decided to go it alone, but not without a network. Smith had a basic knowledge of blackjack which he would have acquired at another point in his life. Maybe the social life among the soldier battalions taught him this kind of lesson, or maybe he was just fascinated by the game deep down.
We later learned that Fred Smith was very interested in card games and regularly participated in poker tournaments. It is not known today what kind of blackjack strategy the Mississippian used in American blackjack, but it is known turned the $5,000 into $32,000 after a very happy weekend in Las Vegas. Spectacular gains for a player who was not yet an absolute expert in this field. Which, to be precise, wasn’t professional.
With that money, FedEx was able to salvage his account for a few more weeks and convince banks and mutual funds to fund him for a while. For those who don’t have it in mind, the company is currently the second largest airline with the largest fleet of aircraft in the world, makes thousands of deliveries daily and is valued at over $40,000 million. Smith is now a man with an estate of over 5 million.
Risks have consequences, but also great opportunities for profit. Smith perfectly portrays this dual aspect of the game, in this case blackjack, and also shows the audience what it means to place a bet, but with foreknowledge and a defined strategy. Nothing he did was thoughtless and impulsive. You have to know how to bet and when to do it.
