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Tenacity: A Vegas Businessman Survives Brooklyn, the Marines, Corruption and Cancer to Achieve the American Dream: A True Life Story
Tenacity chronicles the evolution of entrepreneur Ron Coury, a major business figure in Las Vegas, Nevada and the surrounding western states. As Coury, a former U.S. Marine, climbed the ladder toward his success, he faced a barrage of constraints including political and police corruption, bribery, coercion and even death threats. Along the way, he also had a few offers to settle matters discreetly, with a few well-placed bullets. His choices would have life altering consequences for many. How does one retain a sense of ethics amidst an atmosphere so rife with corruption? Coury details the struggles he faced and the losses he endured in this eye-opening look behind the curtain of business during the "Good Ol' Boy" days of Southern Nevada.
294 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 20, 2018
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16 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 12, 2019
Part memoir, part self-help novel, 'Tenacity' by Ron Coury is unlike any other book I've ever read. Coury's grandparents were Middle Eastern immigrants who settled in Brooklyn in the early 1900's in order to give their future children a better life. Coury was raised in New York and became a business man at a very young age when he started shining shoes at the train station.
From then on, Coury realized that he enjoyed making money and enjoyed coming up with new and innovative ideas for businesses. He went on to become a very successful business man, owning over eight businesses by the time he turned 35. But Coury is not just a bar and casino owner, he is a former Marine, a cancer survivor, and a man who fought for justice against a former employee who wrongfully sued him on felony charges. If anyone has a right to write a memoir, it's probably Mr. Coury who has lived so many different lives that this book could have been a thousand pages long.
I was fascinated by his stories and the different challenges that he has faced in his life. I found this book inspirational in a lot of ways while reading. It seemed that every time Coury faced a new challenge he faced it head on in a way that many of us struggle with.
I don't want to spoil anything, but this book was at times funny, fascinating, thrilling and heartwarming. I came to enjoy all of the people in Coury's life as if they were characters in a novel and appreciated how he gave such in-depth descriptions of them. It really made the book come to life in a way that I've never gotten before with other memoirs.
I read through this in less than a day and I can't recommend it enough! 5 out of 5 stars!
From then on, Coury realized that he enjoyed making money and enjoyed coming up with new and innovative ideas for businesses. He went on to become a very successful business man, owning over eight businesses by the time he turned 35. But Coury is not just a bar and casino owner, he is a former Marine, a cancer survivor, and a man who fought for justice against a former employee who wrongfully sued him on felony charges. If anyone has a right to write a memoir, it's probably Mr. Coury who has lived so many different lives that this book could have been a thousand pages long.
I was fascinated by his stories and the different challenges that he has faced in his life. I found this book inspirational in a lot of ways while reading. It seemed that every time Coury faced a new challenge he faced it head on in a way that many of us struggle with.
I don't want to spoil anything, but this book was at times funny, fascinating, thrilling and heartwarming. I came to enjoy all of the people in Coury's life as if they were characters in a novel and appreciated how he gave such in-depth descriptions of them. It really made the book come to life in a way that I've never gotten before with other memoirs.
I read through this in less than a day and I can't recommend it enough! 5 out of 5 stars!
February 19, 2019
“When everything you’ve worked for is in peril and your personal freedom is at stake, you can do one of two things. You can sit by, hoping that the system works as it should, the truth will be revealed, and justice will be served. Or you can fight for what’s right. As you’ll see within these pages, the latter is the road I chose.” So begins the memoir of a man called Ron Coury, former US Marine, businessman and one-time accused criminal who fought for justice when no one else would.
Coury’s memoir tracks the progression of his life from the son of second-generation immigrants in Brooklyn to successful Las Vegas entrepreneur who was accused of a felony by angry ex-employees. In between are stories about his family, friends, his time as a Marine and all of the advice that he could pack in to one book.
I found this book fascinating and engaging. By the end of it I felt as though it had changed my state of mind in a lot of ways that I had not been expecting. Ron Coury has a lot of interesting things to say about life in general and there is an unexpected depth to this book that leaves you with a positive and ambitious outlook when you’re done reading it. The pacing of this book was pitch perfect. Coury has a way of hooking the reader with anecdotes that slowly unravel over the course of the book in a way that keeps you from being able to put it down. I wanted to know more right from page one. I would read more by this author for sure and I hope he decides to write more about his fascinating life and ideas. I highly recommend it with 5 stars!
Coury’s memoir tracks the progression of his life from the son of second-generation immigrants in Brooklyn to successful Las Vegas entrepreneur who was accused of a felony by angry ex-employees. In between are stories about his family, friends, his time as a Marine and all of the advice that he could pack in to one book.
I found this book fascinating and engaging. By the end of it I felt as though it had changed my state of mind in a lot of ways that I had not been expecting. Ron Coury has a lot of interesting things to say about life in general and there is an unexpected depth to this book that leaves you with a positive and ambitious outlook when you’re done reading it. The pacing of this book was pitch perfect. Coury has a way of hooking the reader with anecdotes that slowly unravel over the course of the book in a way that keeps you from being able to put it down. I wanted to know more right from page one. I would read more by this author for sure and I hope he decides to write more about his fascinating life and ideas. I highly recommend it with 5 stars!
January 3, 2019
‘The determination to overcome any unjust obstacles that may stand in the way of one’s dreams.’
Nevada author Ron Coury was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and arrived in Las Vegas in 1973, following two years of service in the U.S. Marine Corps. Ron has been a casino dealer and a Realtor, as well as a partner in restaurants and gaming bars, major graphics and glass companies, and several automobile dealerships in the western United States. He is currently a board member of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Foundation, as well as several companies and charitable organizations.
Ron’s autobiographical memoir is a stunning read – not only because of all the adversity he has overcome in his life, but because of the light he shines of the coming of age of Las Vegas we know today. It is a shockingly detailed account of the corruption, the gambling industry, the starts and stops of the entrepreneur’s life, crime, coping with cancer and yet how one strong and willful man overcame adversity to become a major success and come out on top.
Inspiring, illuminating, and searingly written, this is a book for someone who has faced tough odds and both lived to tell about it and provides a rather solid hero.
Nevada author Ron Coury was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and arrived in Las Vegas in 1973, following two years of service in the U.S. Marine Corps. Ron has been a casino dealer and a Realtor, as well as a partner in restaurants and gaming bars, major graphics and glass companies, and several automobile dealerships in the western United States. He is currently a board member of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Foundation, as well as several companies and charitable organizations.
Ron’s autobiographical memoir is a stunning read – not only because of all the adversity he has overcome in his life, but because of the light he shines of the coming of age of Las Vegas we know today. It is a shockingly detailed account of the corruption, the gambling industry, the starts and stops of the entrepreneur’s life, crime, coping with cancer and yet how one strong and willful man overcame adversity to become a major success and come out on top.
Inspiring, illuminating, and searingly written, this is a book for someone who has faced tough odds and both lived to tell about it and provides a rather solid hero.
December 22, 2019
Reviewed by Sheri Hoyte for Reader Views (12/19)
“Tenacity: A Vegas Businessman Survives Brooklyn, the Marines, Corruption and Cancer to Achieve the American Dream” is the memoir of author Ron Coury. It’s one of those books in which the truth is indeed stranger than fiction, and I had a marvelous time living vicariously through Ron as I read through all his adventures.
Coury is a former Marine, an entrepreneur and a highly successful businessman in Las Vegas, Nevada. Each chapter of “Tenacity” is almost like a short vignette, featuring an escapade, a memory, a life lesson or one of the many travails Coury encounters, all melding together to create the essence of what can only be described as a full and colorful life.
Now, I didn’t say, a walk-in-the-park-everything-is-butterflies-and-rainbows type of life – indeed Coury has faced more challenges than most people will ever face and does so with class, dignity and a strong moral code. There are a great many lessons to be learned and appreciated throughout the book: staying true to yourself, never giving up in the face of adversity, learning from your mistakes, believing in yourself, and so on. Coury remains honest, upstanding and determined at times when many would just give up. The people he encounters in his life are unbelievable, from a guy who fakes an assault by Coury to the incredulous, corrupt city officials of Opportunity, Nevada. One thing I never could quite grasp was the reason behind the city government’s egregious behavior toward Coury. I mean, really people – there comes a time when enough is just enough. As this part of the storyline unraveled I found myself getting more and more upset with the antics pulled by those voted into office to represent the people. I love when an author can evoke such strong feelings from their written words.
Coury does a great job bringing the reality of his experiences to life. He’s a natural born storyteller engaging the reader through lively anecdotes, vulnerability and yes, tenacity. It’s like you’re having a conversation with the author right in your own living room. While reading, I often found myself thinking what a great fiction writer he would be – even embellishing this already vibrant true story would be amazing!
Overall, I highly recommend “Tenacity” by Ron Coury. This story will appeal to a wide audience. Well done.
“Tenacity: A Vegas Businessman Survives Brooklyn, the Marines, Corruption and Cancer to Achieve the American Dream” is the memoir of author Ron Coury. It’s one of those books in which the truth is indeed stranger than fiction, and I had a marvelous time living vicariously through Ron as I read through all his adventures.
Coury is a former Marine, an entrepreneur and a highly successful businessman in Las Vegas, Nevada. Each chapter of “Tenacity” is almost like a short vignette, featuring an escapade, a memory, a life lesson or one of the many travails Coury encounters, all melding together to create the essence of what can only be described as a full and colorful life.
Now, I didn’t say, a walk-in-the-park-everything-is-butterflies-and-rainbows type of life – indeed Coury has faced more challenges than most people will ever face and does so with class, dignity and a strong moral code. There are a great many lessons to be learned and appreciated throughout the book: staying true to yourself, never giving up in the face of adversity, learning from your mistakes, believing in yourself, and so on. Coury remains honest, upstanding and determined at times when many would just give up. The people he encounters in his life are unbelievable, from a guy who fakes an assault by Coury to the incredulous, corrupt city officials of Opportunity, Nevada. One thing I never could quite grasp was the reason behind the city government’s egregious behavior toward Coury. I mean, really people – there comes a time when enough is just enough. As this part of the storyline unraveled I found myself getting more and more upset with the antics pulled by those voted into office to represent the people. I love when an author can evoke such strong feelings from their written words.
Coury does a great job bringing the reality of his experiences to life. He’s a natural born storyteller engaging the reader through lively anecdotes, vulnerability and yes, tenacity. It’s like you’re having a conversation with the author right in your own living room. While reading, I often found myself thinking what a great fiction writer he would be – even embellishing this already vibrant true story would be amazing!
Overall, I highly recommend “Tenacity” by Ron Coury. This story will appeal to a wide audience. Well done.
February 14, 2019
Joel R. Dennstedt for Readers' Favorite
Memoirs rarely have the ability to make you root for an author and his friends as vigorously and vehemently as the succinctly and appropriately titled: Tenacity, by Ron Coury. If the reader were to share the author’s military background, instrumental (as attested to by Mr. Coury) in establishing his fundamental integrity and character while still a young man, he would probably just shout “Oorah!” in a declaratory final judgment of this book’s intensely satisfying outcome. We are talking here about good and bad at work in old Las Vegas, the one emerging from the decadence of its rather depraved history, where political corruption and cronyism still lingered and survived, deeply threatening the conscientious efforts of those inclined to honesty and ethics, and where one character trait alone served best to deal effectively with all such potentially lethal aggravations.
Tenacity is the trait, and Ron Coury possesses it in spades. That is what makes his retelling of the Vegas story – rich in its long and infamous tradition of greedy bad guys doing wrong – worthy of a Jimmy Stewart movie where the bad guys pick precisely the wrong man (and his friends) to threaten and harass. Mr. Coury tells his real-life tale with intensely credible authority, leaving no doubt about his own immersion in a time and place where Opportunity ruled (literally), and where some good guys, needing only big white hats to make the picture perfect, ultimately prevailed. A western story for a western town. Tenacity may be categorized as a memoir, but it reads like bad-guy fiction, or like the antidote to Down and Out in Las Vegas. Perhaps Coury could have called his book: Up and In in Las Vegas. But Tenacity says it so much better.
Memoirs rarely have the ability to make you root for an author and his friends as vigorously and vehemently as the succinctly and appropriately titled: Tenacity, by Ron Coury. If the reader were to share the author’s military background, instrumental (as attested to by Mr. Coury) in establishing his fundamental integrity and character while still a young man, he would probably just shout “Oorah!” in a declaratory final judgment of this book’s intensely satisfying outcome. We are talking here about good and bad at work in old Las Vegas, the one emerging from the decadence of its rather depraved history, where political corruption and cronyism still lingered and survived, deeply threatening the conscientious efforts of those inclined to honesty and ethics, and where one character trait alone served best to deal effectively with all such potentially lethal aggravations.
Tenacity is the trait, and Ron Coury possesses it in spades. That is what makes his retelling of the Vegas story – rich in its long and infamous tradition of greedy bad guys doing wrong – worthy of a Jimmy Stewart movie where the bad guys pick precisely the wrong man (and his friends) to threaten and harass. Mr. Coury tells his real-life tale with intensely credible authority, leaving no doubt about his own immersion in a time and place where Opportunity ruled (literally), and where some good guys, needing only big white hats to make the picture perfect, ultimately prevailed. A western story for a western town. Tenacity may be categorized as a memoir, but it reads like bad-guy fiction, or like the antidote to Down and Out in Las Vegas. Perhaps Coury could have called his book: Up and In in Las Vegas. But Tenacity says it so much better.
February 22, 2019
This is an edifying, appealing memoir of an amazing man and his struggles to "beat a crooked system". I'm certain it was of even greater interest to those of us who have lived in the Las Vegas area and can relate to some of the people and instances mentioned there. At first I was confused because I knew there was no city in NV named The City of Opportunity, and felt certain I knew the only city he could be referring to. When I inquired about it, I was told a few names were changed to protect the individuals and city from negativity. With that said, it was a very interesting account of the perseverance and ethics of individuals who want to be successful without contributing to corruption.
I am intrigued that there are individuals who sacrifice so much in order to make a difference and stay true to their own values.
After years of battle "against the system" Ron Coury extended that battle energy against cancer. This battle was very touching.
The only negative comment I can make about this book is the Title. It needed more appeal, or additional wording. The "browser" would, likely, not have given it a second notice with just Tenacity as the title. Then, perhaps, shorten the sub-title.The cover was eye-catching and it is a great story.
^Reader BEWARE: There is some profanity.
I still offer a Five Stars rating for this tale.
*This was gifted me with no requirement for a positive review. This is my honest Review.
I am intrigued that there are individuals who sacrifice so much in order to make a difference and stay true to their own values.
After years of battle "against the system" Ron Coury extended that battle energy against cancer. This battle was very touching.
The only negative comment I can make about this book is the Title. It needed more appeal, or additional wording. The "browser" would, likely, not have given it a second notice with just Tenacity as the title. Then, perhaps, shorten the sub-title.The cover was eye-catching and it is a great story.
^Reader BEWARE: There is some profanity.
I still offer a Five Stars rating for this tale.
*This was gifted me with no requirement for a positive review. This is my honest Review.
July 7, 2019
An unbelievable account of one mans business life. Tenacity is definitely the appropriate title and many lessons are forthcoming in his story. Sometimes the tales sound like something from a made for TV movie such as the deep-seeded corruption, wearing wires and secret videotaping but reading on one can make a lot of comparisons to todays politics as drawn from the author's experiences with the political corruption he experienced. Ron Coury certainly has a lot of guts!
August 18, 2022
This book is proof that truth really is stranger than fiction. Hard work and a willingness to take chances propelled this marine into a life I can only imagine. Life in Vegas was improved by his desire to do things the right way.
March 22, 2019
Lately, I've been getting into nonfiction reads. Tenacity is one that you should have on your TBR.
A memoir of life in Vegas as a normal pedestrian. Going from the U.S. Marine Corps - to a casino dealer- to realtor. Overcoming the odds.
A memoir of life in Vegas as a normal pedestrian. Going from the U.S. Marine Corps - to a casino dealer- to realtor. Overcoming the odds.
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December 3, 2019“I won’t be wronged, I won’t be insulted, and I won’t be laid a hand on. I don’t do these things to other people and I require the same from them.” – John Wayne in The Shootist
Imagine a boxer in the fight of his life. He’s hit again and again — sometimes even falls down — but he gets back up and keeps punching. Ron Coury is a prizefighter in the Las Vegas business world. Coury has met each blow with persistence and determination. His mantra to never give up has enabled him to overcome his opponents and thrive in his endeavors. It also would eventually give him the power to survive the ultimate fight for his life.
In his inspiring memoir, Tenacity (Las Vegas Publishing Group), Coury chronicles how his values of courage, justice, perseverance, and determination to conquer unjust barriers enabled him to succeed in business and in life.
As for the John Wayne quote that appears in the book, Coury says, “Those few lines represent a window into the soul of a man who was a true friend to his compadres, a fierce enemy to those who might harm him or his loved ones, and an American who set standards that we could all admire and strive to emulate if we had the collective heart, mind and body to back up those motivational, yet simple, sentiments.”
The rest of the review: https://booktrib.com/2019/12/tenacity...
Imagine a boxer in the fight of his life. He’s hit again and again — sometimes even falls down — but he gets back up and keeps punching. Ron Coury is a prizefighter in the Las Vegas business world. Coury has met each blow with persistence and determination. His mantra to never give up has enabled him to overcome his opponents and thrive in his endeavors. It also would eventually give him the power to survive the ultimate fight for his life.
In his inspiring memoir, Tenacity (Las Vegas Publishing Group), Coury chronicles how his values of courage, justice, perseverance, and determination to conquer unjust barriers enabled him to succeed in business and in life.
As for the John Wayne quote that appears in the book, Coury says, “Those few lines represent a window into the soul of a man who was a true friend to his compadres, a fierce enemy to those who might harm him or his loved ones, and an American who set standards that we could all admire and strive to emulate if we had the collective heart, mind and body to back up those motivational, yet simple, sentiments.”
The rest of the review: https://booktrib.com/2019/12/tenacity...
March 29, 2019
I thoroughly enjoyed Ron Coury’s memoir, Tenacity. Written in an inviting conversational style, reading it was like sitting at the bar and listening to a fascinating man tell you his life story.
In life you can be a shepherd or be a sheep. Sadly most people decide to be led around but Mr. Coury is definitely a true leader in every sense of the word.
I was attracted to this memoir because it was written by a fellow veteran. I’m fascinated by men and women who wear our country’s uniform and go on to success. Many are from families with limited means yet they are clever, resourceful people who learn one of life’s most important lessons - getting along with people.
Mr. Coury has done this in spades and it was a pleasure to read his book.
In life you can be a shepherd or be a sheep. Sadly most people decide to be led around but Mr. Coury is definitely a true leader in every sense of the word.
I was attracted to this memoir because it was written by a fellow veteran. I’m fascinated by men and women who wear our country’s uniform and go on to success. Many are from families with limited means yet they are clever, resourceful people who learn one of life’s most important lessons - getting along with people.
Mr. Coury has done this in spades and it was a pleasure to read his book.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews