Christopher Hemmeter Christopher Hemmeter ( October 8 , 1939 - November 27 , 2003 ) was a real estate developer who pioneered the concept of the destination resort in Hawaii and was involved in casino gaming development , primarily in New Orleans and Colorado . Real estate development . Christopher Hemmeter was born in 1939 in Washington , D . C . and grew up in Los Altos in the San Francisco Bay area . After attending Cornell University and graduating first in his class in 1962 he moved to Hawaii and got a job as a management trainee at the Sheraton Royal Hawaiian . Hemmeter ' s development career began in the 1960s when he partnered with Henry Shigekane and Diane Plotts to develop resorts in Hawaii . Projects he was involved with included developing the Westin Kauai , Hyatt Waikoloa and the Westin Maui . Hemmeter ' s signature " . . . is best known for the extreme - some would say outrageous - lavishness of the Hawaii hotels he built in the 1980 ' s . " When the Westin Kauai opened in September , 1987 , suites cost up to $ 1 , 800 and rooms ran double the island ' s average at $ 180 per night . The hotel was set in and boasted two golf courses and a reflecting pool , adding to the reported $ 775 million development cost . Former Hawaii Governor Ben Cayetano called Hemmeter , " . . . a man of great vision and energy , More than anyone else , he changed the nature of resort development in Hawai ' i . The four - and five - star hotels on the Big Island and Maui are the products of his work . " In 1988 he ranked 389th on the Forbes Wealthiest American list . In September 1987 Hemmeter made a $ 100 million bid for Hawaiian Airlines which was accepted , but which was withdrawn in December of that year after the October 19th stock market crash . Casinos . Hemmeter returned to the mainland in 1991 when he began to develop casino gaming projects . His biggest project was a proposed $ 1 billion casino in New Orleans . Billed at the time as " the world ' s largest casino " . The original design resembled Monte Carlo ' s 1861 casino , intending to evoke the New Orleans 1885 Cotton Exposition and Chicago ' s 1893 World Columbia Exposition . The developers estimated the casino would attract one million additional visitors to the city and would generate annual revenues of as much as $ 780 million , estimates that were based in part on the proven success of dockside gaming in the Mississippi Gulf Coast area . In 1993 a partnership of Hemmeter and Caeser ' s World obtained the lease on the Rivergate property , which by law was the only place the land - based casino could be built in Louisiana , beating out a rival bid by Harrah ' s . In August , 1993 , however , the State Casino Board awarded the state ' s sole casino license to Harrah ' s and not the Hemmeter - Caesar ' s partnership . The impass of one company owning the only license and another owning the only lease was resolved when the two entities formed a joint venture under pressure from then - Governor , Edwin Edwards . The new entity , known as " Harrah ' s Jazz " established a temporary casino in the Municipal Auditorium in order to establish a cash flow while the main facility was under construction at the Rivergate . The temporary facility opened in May , 1995 and a week later was closed due to a flood . The poor location of the site resulted in the actual gaming take falling 60 % below projections at only $ 13 . 1 million per month . Equally concerning was the fact that 60 % of gamers at the temporary facility were locals and not out - of - town tourists , undercutting the economic benefit backers hoped gaming to provide to the tourist industry . Harrah ' s Jazz halted construction on the permanent facility at 3 am the day before Thanksgiving , 1995 and laid off 1 , 600 construction workers , 2 , 500 casino employees , and filed for bankruptcy . Later , the project was taken over by Harrah ' s who built the Harrah ' s New Orleans Casino on the site of Hemmeter ' s project . He also saw failures of his New Orleans riverboat projects and Colorado gaming property , Bullwackers . Hemmeter filed personal bankruptcy in 1997 . Christopher Hemmeter World Football League . In 1974 , Hemmeter was granted a franchise in the fledgling World Football League . This team , known as The Hawaiians , represented a serious attempt at a viable professional football organization . Hemmeter was one of the few owners who was reasonably well financed . After a financially disastrous first season , Hemmeter replaced league founder Gary L . Davidson as the league ' s commissioner . and proposed a plan of restructuring for the league which was known as the " Hemmeter Plan " . The plan envisioned restoring the league to financial health by restructuring players ' salaries to a $ 500 per game minimum with a profit sharing arrangement with the teams , and a fresh cash infusion from the team owners . Ultimately , those efforts were brought undone when a failed effort to sign Joe Namath for the league ' s Chicago franchise caused television partner TVS to back out . The lack of a national television contract , combined with the league ' s already damaged reputation , resulted in the league folding in the middle of the 1975 season . Personal . Hemmeter was friends with former President Jimmy Carter and hosted both him and President Ronald Reagan at his various homes . He originated the design concept for the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum . Hemmeter was diagnosed with liver cancer shortly before he died of the disease and had been dealing with Parkinson ' s disease as well . He died at his home in Brentwood , California . Hemmeter was married to his wife , Patricia for 25 years . Awards . Hemmeter received the following awards : Charitable work . Hemmeter was active in a number of charities , including :