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32-406: The hotel is the smaller of two major hotels built on a large parcel of Wailea coast real estate under development by Hawaiian developer Christopher Hemmeter together with his Japanese partner, Takeshi Sekiguchi. The Four Seasons hotel was developed by Four Seasons in collaboration with Sekiguchi's TSA International and Shimizu Corporation , with a construction cost of approximately $ 180 million. It

64-569: A latchkey child . In Kalihi, he attended Wallace Rider Farrington High School , a public school aptly known locally as "Home of the Governors" as its buildings were named after several early Hawaiʻi statesmen. The school was only a few blocks from his home. Cayetano received poor grades throughout his years at Farrington and was often disciplined by his teachers and counselors. He barely made marks qualifying him to graduate. Upon graduation Cayetano married Lorraine Gueco, his high school sweetheart. After

96-604: A $ 100 million bid for Hawaiian Airlines which was accepted, but which was withdrawn in December of that year after the October 19th stock market crash . 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

128-730: A Democrat representing Pearl City . Cayetano joined the John D. Waihe'e III gubernatorial ticket in 1986 and became the first Filipino American lieutenant governor in the United States. The Waihee–Cayetano ticket was re-elected to a second term in 1990 . In his capacity as Hawaii's lieutenant governor, Cayetano established the A+ Program, a state-funded, universal, after-school care program with chartered organizations at each public elementary school in Hawaii. Term limits forced Waihe'e into retirement and

160-451: A ceremony that was attended by a veritable “Who’s Who of Hawaii” along with celebrities including Dionne Warwick and Burt Bacharach who performed at the event. At a cost of $ 360 million, the Hyatt was reportedly the most expensive hotel ever built at the time, and changed the way resorts would be built not only in Hawaii but around the world. Featured guest, author James Michener , wrote of

192-425: A plan to build a 20-mile elevated steel on steel rail system in the city. In the primary election on August 11, 2012, he received more votes than either of his pro-rail primary opponents, Kirk Caldwell and Peter Carlisle . He did not achieve the majority required to win the election outright, and faced Caldwell in the general election on November 6. Cayetano subsequently lost the mayoral election to Kirk Caldwell, in

224-432: A second term by a single percentage point validated by an official recount of ballots. Throughout his tenure in office, Cayetano had to contend with economic uncertainty and serious fiscal problems. Declining tax revenues led to budget shortfalls, and the governor often found himself at odds with his fellow Democrats in the state legislature as he attempted to implement budget cuts to balance the state budget. On education,

256-472: 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. Hew proposed a plan of restructuring for the league which was known as the Hemmeter Plan . The plan was intended to bring a measure of fiscal sanity to

288-656: A vote that was widely viewed as a referendum on the rail project. He continued his opposition to the rail, in 2017 urging the Federal Transit Authority to terminate further funding for it. In an ad paid for by the Abigail Kapiolani Kawānanakoa Foundation, Cayetano asked President Donald Trump and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao to withhold $ 800 million for the project. Cayetano and his first wife, Lorraine Cayetano (née Gueco), divorced in 1996, ending their 37-year marriage. He became

320-561: Is an American politician and author who served as the fifth governor of the State of Hawaii from 1994 to 2002. He is the first Filipino American to serve as a state governor in the United States. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii , Cayetano was estranged from his mother at a young age. Cayetano was raised by his father in Kalihi , an ethnic Filipino neighborhood west of downtown Honolulu . He would grow up as

352-644: The University of California, Los Angeles in 1966. In 1968, he graduated from UCLA with a major in political science and minor in American history . In 1971, he earned his Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School at the Loyola Marymount University . In 1972, Cayetano was appointed to the Hawaii Housing Authority by Governor John A. Burns . In 1974, he was elected to the state house as

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384-525: 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 Regency Waikiki, Hyatt Regency 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 (a redevelopment of

416-520: The 383 rooms and suites were updated, a new art collection was installed, the resort grounds were revamped, and new event spaces were added. The penultimate episode of the first season of Modern Family , Hawaii , took place at the resort in 2010. The White Lotus was filmed at the resort in 2020. The resort has three par-72 championship golf courses , one of which hosted the ConAgra LPGA Skins Game in 2003. The Spago restaurant,

448-499: The Cayetano administration built thirteen new schools, and he was able to persuade the teachers' union to extend the school year by seven days. Also under his administration, the University of Hawaiʻi system gained autonomy over internal affairs. On the other hand, labor disputes with UH professors and public school teachers in April 2001 led to simultaneous strikes by both unions that crippled

480-620: The Democratic Party nominated Cayetano to run for Governor of Hawaiʻi in 1994 . With attorney Mazie Hirono as his running mate, Cayetano was voted into office. In 1998 , Mayor of Maui Linda Lingle was nominated by the Republican Party to run against Cayetano on an agenda of government reform. For months leading into election day, Cayetano trailed Lingle in the major media polls. In the closest election in Hawaii's history , Cayetano won

512-538: 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 Caesars World obtained

544-498: 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,

576-448: The birth of his son Brandon in 1959, he worked a variety of entry-level jobs, such as a metal-packer in a junkyard , truck driver , apprentice electrician , and finally as a draftsman . Frustrated by what he felt were racially motivated and politically unfair hiring practices, he and his family moved to Los Angeles , California in 1963 in pursuit of an education in law. Cayetano attended Los Angeles Harbor College and transferred to

608-623: The event, “It’s the kind of place God would have built if he had sufficient cash flow.” 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

640-610: The first sitting governor of Hawaii to divorce while in office. Cayetano is married to his second wife, Vicky Cayetano (née Tiu), whom he married on May 5, 1997. Vicky was president of United Laundry Services at the time of their wedding. She played a major supporting role opposite Elvis Presley in the musical film , It Happened at the World's Fair . Ben Cayetano has five children. He has three children from his first marriage to Lorraine Cayetano: Brandon, Janeen, and Samantha. Vicky Cayetano also has two children, Marissa and William, from

672-574: The league folding in the middle of the 1975 season. 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

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704-495: The league. It restructured 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 Chicago Winds caused television partner TVS to back out. The lack of a national television contract, combined with the league's already damaged reputation, resulted in

736-626: 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 impasse of one company owning the only license and another owning the only lease was resolved when

768-517: The old Kauai Surf Hotel) 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 560 acres (2.3 km ) and boasted two golf courses and a 2-acre (8,100 m ) reflecting pool, adding to the reported $ 775 million development cost. The Hyatt Regency Waikoloa (now the Hilton Waikoloa Village) opened in 1988, with

800-454: 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. In 1974, Hemmeter was granted a franchise in the fledgling World Football League . This team, known as The Hawaiians , represented

832-476: The resort for $ 280 million. After running into cash-flow difficulties and defaulting on its loan payments in 2010, MSD successfully refinanced the property in 2011. In 2007 the Four Seasons underwent a $ 50 million renovation of its 380 guest rooms and suites, also adding technology for guestrooms, a new restaurant, and an art museum. Beginning in late 2014, the resort underwent a two-year renovation project where

864-479: The state's entire educational system for three weeks. Cayetano left office in December 2002. He was succeeded by former Republican challenger Lingle. On January 19, 2012, Cayetano came out of retirement to run for the office of Honolulu Mayor . Cayetano's stated focus in his mayoral campaign was greater transparency in local government, but its core was ending the Honolulu Rail Transit Project ,

896-577: 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

928-413: Was awarded a Four-Star ranking by Mobil Travel . The resort offers two more restaurants, including DUO Steak and Seafood . Some other amenities include spa services, four pools, and fitness facilities. Christopher Hemmeter Christopher Hemmeter (October 8, 1939 – November 27, 2003) was an American real estate developer who pioneered the concept of destination resorts in Hawaii and

960-657: Was involved in gambling development of casinos , primarily in New Orleans and Colorado . 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

992-551: Was married to his wife, Patricia for 25 years. According to Anthony Robbins , writing in one of his bestselling books, and who was acquainted with Hemmeter, the latter's house in Hawaii built in the 1980s " defied verbal description ", and cost tens of millions of dollars, while even the front door cost $ 1M. Hemmeter received the following awards: Hemmeter was active in a number of charities, including: Ben Cayetano Benjamin Jerome Cayetano (born November 14, 1939)

Four Seasons Resort Maui - Misplaced Pages Continue

1024-481: Was the first Four Seasons project in Hawaii and, when it opened, was Four Seasons' third resort property. Located on 15 acres, adjacent to the larger, Sekiguchi-developed Grand Wailea resort, the Four Seasons Maui opened on February 9, 1990. In 2000, Shimizu, the owner of the property, tried unsuccessfully to sell it. In 2004, MSD Capital , an investment company controlled by billionaire Michael Dell , bought

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