Los Angeles Lakers

After meeting with his two technical directors, he needed to have a conversation with Dennis and Tanja on how to proceed with acquiring the Los Angeles Lakers, as that might not be an easy task.

When he entered his office the two executives were already waiting for him, while talking about some important corporate decisions they would make in the coming months. Simon didn't really care much about the daily business as both of his subordinates proved to be very capable and loyal during the last half a year. Truthfully, there probably couldn't be any better and capable assistants to him and Atari than Dennis and Tanja, who were known by his sisters since being students and spent all their career with him and built Atari with a lot of their own efforts.

"Well, it seems the two youngest managers of a company making more than 100 million in profits seem quite leisurely and chatting in their bosses' office all day." Simon started the conversation jokingly.

The young managers both felt very comfortable around Simon, a boss that always tried to include them into his decision making and never overruled them with his own power without listening to their advice, but still deeply respected Simon, because he somehow never made any mistakes and let them to unimaginable success.

They knew even if they left Atari now and accepted some of the offers, they received in the last months, they would never be able to replicate the success of Atari without Simon Smith. Even if they could include Steve Wozniak in their team, without the game planning of Simon everything would be in vain. Not that they ever wanted to leave their current position. They would only do so if they were suddenly insane.

"As you probably guessed I want to talk to you about the acquisition of the Los Angeles Lakers. I already explained you the significance of entering the Entertainment Industry in the next decade. Now let's talk about how to do the first step:

In 1965, the Lakers were sold to Jack Kent Cooke by incumbent owner Bob Short.

He paid about $5 million for the franchise – which is low in my opinion. Cooke was born in Ontario, Canada and had made his money in business and the media.

Under Cooke's ownership the Lakers moved from the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena to The Forum and changed their colors from Royal and Light Blue to the current Purple (which he referred to as "Forum Blue") and Gold."

In his mind Simon continued:

Luckily compared to the future Jerry Buss and his family, neither Jack Kent Cooke nor the Cooke family viewed the Lakers as their families' most important industry. 

Neither Dennis nor Tanja was surprised about this information, as they both used most of their time researching The Lakers and their current owner after Simon declared their next target in the coming year. While they were constantly thinking about more information regarding Jack Kent Cooke Simon continued.

 "I know for Mister Cooke the Lakers is an asset, but if the price is right, he will still gladly accept our acquisition. I already talked to my grandparents, and they are willing to use some connections and favors of the Smith family in New York to facilitate this transaction.

I learned from valuable sources that James Kent Cooke is very interested in acquiring a large building in Manhattan. We can use this information and the help of the Smith family in the future negotiation with the Cooke family. I asked Alexander, my big brother, to represent me during those negotiations as my direct representative and the representative of the Smith family.

Everything else will be left to the both of you. Honestly, I don't care how you make this transaction happen. All I want is for the transaction to be completed before the 1971/1972 season begins."

Of course, Simon wouldn't add, that the transaction would be a lot harder, after the Lakers won the Championship next year.

Both Tanja and Dennis suddenly felt a lot of pressure, as this was the first time Simon really let them be responsible for a single task, a task that was probably worth more than 50 million US dollars, but both were somehow excited. After talking about some more details regarding the work of Atari with his two important management talents Simon left Atari and went to meet up with his girlfriend Sarah, who was currently living partly with him at his penthouse located near Central Park.

When he left the Atari headquarters building his bodyguard, Dennis Miller, was already waiting for him and opened the door of his Rolls-Royce.

Slowly driving from Staten Island towards his destination Manhattan Simon slowly took a look at the New York of the early 1970s'.

In the 1970s, New York City was a broken, ungovernable metropolis barreling into anarchy. New Yorkers remember this decade as the bleakest, most crime-ridden, and most uncertain time the city has ever faced. It was a time of economic, criminal, and cultural shifts occurring at once that changed the city's prospects. It is no coincidence that in 1972 the Godfather would become an extremely successful movie and even remembered until the 21st century as a masterpiece.

The New York City of the 1970s was practically bankrupt and hemorrhaging population. Subway trains were covered in graffiti, inside and out. Crime was rampant. Women were warned to remove jewelry while walking the streets for fear that their necklaces would be ripped from their necks.

Vast areas of the Bronx and Upper Manhattan were torched. Prostitutes and pimps frequented Times Square, while Central Park became feared as the site of muggings and rapes. Homeless persons and drug dealers occupied boarded-up and abandoned buildings.

But Simon didn't care about all the troubles outside of his bullet proof windows. For him New York was his home and the soil he would grow bis business empire on. One day the people of New York would be proud to call Simon Smith their own and he would slowly improve the city and bring it to the world's most desired city in the 21st century.