`YOU BELIEVE ME, DON`T YOU?`

THE TEXT
'YOU BELIEVE ME, DON'T YOU?'
The Mercedes is speeding on through the
Strip. From my vantage point, I notice
Deborah's champagne highlights turning
from green to blue to crimson and figure
out that there must be quite a view outside.
Gordon doesn't live in Las Vegas any more,
but still regards it as home. He has hustled
in its casinos and rotted in its jails and
become a legendary figure.
At 61, he is short and beady-eyed. The
success he has enjoyed has been built on
the insight that while celebrity is bankable,
infamy needs to be cashed. Aware that few
of his clients are contenders for lifetime
achievement awards, Gordon makes it his
business to sweat their 15 minutes of
fame for every possible dollar. To this end
he put the wretched Bobbitt on stage as a
comedy act. 'Wanna know what really
happened?' Big John would ask the rows of
beery punters, 'Lorena was snipping the
price tag off my new pyjamas and I
sneezed.'
It would be tempting but pointless to try to
find in Gordon's activities some forecast of
the new celebrity order. His near
stranglehold on the market in low-order
soul-baring has been achieved by sticking
to the simplest possible interpretation of
public interest. If enough people want to
know about something, he reasons, their
curiosity will eventually reach a price level.
At which point Gordon strikes a deal.
Gordon pockets 20 per cent of his clients'
earnings, which, according to documents
filed with the Las Vegas divorce court,
amounted to a take of at least $7 million
from LaToya Jackson alone. At the peak of
her stardom, he tells me, she was earning
$35,000 a night, plus perks. The couple had
homes in New York, Los Angeles and Paris.
Yet only last year - in a court case brought
by Bobbitt's ex-girlfriend, a 25-year-old
topless dancer called Kristina Elliott Gordon claimed to have no money and no
income. Ms Elliott alleged that Gordon paid
her $27,000 to pose nude for a magazine
when the real fee had been $125,000. The
court believed her and ordered him to
make up the difference. Ms Elliott's lawyer,
Michael McCue, told me, 'Jack Gordon's a
complete rat.'
A piano is playing lightly in a darkened
room. 'Where is all the money, Jack?' I ask
him.
'There isn't any.'
'The judge didn't believe you.'
'You believe me, don't you?'
'No.'
VOCABULARY
speed -- hnát se, řítit se, valit
from this vantage point -- z tohoto místa
(hlediska)
quite a view -- dost dobrý pohled
regard st as st -- považovat za (fml)
hustle -- kšeftovat, (podloudně) podnikat
rot -- hnít
beady eyes -- prasečí (zlá) očka
insight -- proniknutí do podstaty věci
bankable -- výnosný
infamy needs to be cashed -- ze špatné pověsti
je třeba vytřískat prachy
be aware -- být si vědom
sweat it for every dollar -- vyždímat z toho
každý dolar co jde
to this end -- za tímto účelem
wretched -- zde: ubohý
beery punters -- pivní týpky
snip off the price tag -- odstřihnout cenovku
sneeze -- kýchnout
tempting but pointless -- lákavé ale bezúčelné
forecast -- předpověď
stranglehold on -- pevný stisk (kontrola)
low-order soul-baring -- podřadné
sebezpytování
stick to st -- něčeho se držet
he reasons that... -- tak si říká, že...
strike a deal -- uzavřít dohodu
pocket st -- shrábnout
amount to st -- rovnat se, činit (částku)
at the peak of her stardom -- na vrcholu její
slávy
perks -- požitky, výhody
allege -- tvrdit (fml)
make up the difference -- dorovnat rozdíl
CNBW READING ROOM / SMALL BLACK BEETLES / TOO LONG TO FAIL
A HUCKSTER AT HEART - 2 - 'YOU BELIEVE ME, DON'T YOU?'