Frank Mariani & Jerry Buss after 1st NBA Championship
Mariani-Buss
by Yosh Nakano
August 4, 2026
Successful businesses require creative and execution. Rarely are they the same person. Steve Wozniak provided the engineering expertise complemented by Steve Job’s marketing skills and now Apple has a valuation of over $4.62 trillion. Mark Zuckerberg built a website and social networking site called Facebook. Sheryl Sandberg is the one that figured out how to make money and make it into a company worth over $1.5 trillion.
Frank Mariani was Jerry Buss’ oldest friend and business partner. They met in 1958 while working for Douglas Aircraft, coming from vastly different backgrounds. A group of them would play poker after work on a regular basis. Frank would do the books and the end of the month was settlement time. During the last game of the month there was a frenzy as the losers tried to get even. During the course of playing poker, Jerry was able to convince Frank and 3 others to invest $1,000 a month into real estate. They started by putting $12,500 down on a 14-unit apartment building in West Los Angeles in 1959. Frank said Jerry used his mathematical skills from his PhD in Math/Chem to forecast the best Return on Investment (ROI) for their portfolio. Little did they dream that their venture would evolve into the $6.4 billion Laker franchise as valued by Forbes in October 2023. In 2025, Mark Walter bought the Lakers for $10 billion. It hasn’t been finalized as of this writing but a buyer group led by venture capitalist Josh Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger has a purchase agreement for $12.5 billion for the team on Aug. 13, 2026. The Mariani-Buss stories of friendship and business ventures are difficult to match.
Any successful business requires an understanding of The Book of Five Rings whether or not one is consciously aware of the book and its philosophy. Written by Japan’s best samurai, Musashi, the approach to any successful venture must evaluate the whole picture before formulating strategy. In a samurai duel, there are 5 concentric movements that will cover all the offensive and defensive strokes needed in the battle. He also liked to duel with the setting sun to his back as an additional advantage. He won over 60 duels but that doesn’t account for the deaths of numerous foes during major battles.
Jerry didn’t impulsively buy property. He evaluated the entire market before selecting the best choice for ROI. When Frank and Jerry attended Laker games before they eventually bought the team, he used this methodology. Jerry would point to the empty seats in the upper levels and say the key to this business is to fill up all those empty seats. He wanted to make the Lakers a point of destination not only to watch professional basketball but for a full entertainment experience. This vision motivated all his business decisions. When they bought the team, Senate Seats were introduced which were tickets for every event at the Forum. Your name was on a plaque on your seats. L.A. is the Entertainment Capital of the World driven by celebrities. Jerry comped celebrities to the game at courtside where they would be the most visible. He enjoyed the entertainment of cheerleaders at USC games, so he created the Laker Girls, the 1st in the NBA. Sidney Moncrief was the quintessential point guard and General Manager Jerry West’s choice for the #1 Draft Pick. Jerry Buss reasoned that Magic Johnson would sell tickets and selected him.
Jerry was the creative. He was one of the most original thinkers of the NBA and introduced many innovations to the NBA. Frank was his best friend and business partner and he turned Jerry’s vision into reality. Just like you need someone competent handling the books in a poker game, you have to have someone that handles the details. Without Frank, history may very well been different. Ideas are great but execution is priceless. Jerry had a lot of ideas but he needed Frank for the execution.
Jerry Buss
Gerald Hatten “Jerry” Buss was born on January 27, 1933, in Salt Lake City to Lydus and Jessie Buss. His father abandoned them when Jerry was one. When he was 9, his mother moved them to Los Angeles. When she remarried 3 years later, they moved to Kemmerer, Wyoming for his adolescence. He had a stepbrother Jim, and half-brother Mickey and half-sister Susan. He worked for his stepfather’s plumbing business, carried bags at the Kemmerer Hotel, setting pins at the bowling alley, worked on the Union Pacific Railroad, sold stamps and shined shoes.
Jerry earned a scholarship to the University of Wyoming, graduating with a BS in 2 and a half years in 1953. He earned an MS in physical chemistry at the University of Southern California. There were 39 candidates when he began his doctoral program. Of that only 3 including Jerry earned their PhD. One of the other 2 became the CEO of Transamerica and the other developed Lasik surgery. After receiving his PhD at the age of 24, Jerry moved to Boston to work for Arthur D. Little, a consulting company. He worked for the Bureau of Mines. He returned to L.A. to work for McDonnell Douglas where Frank Mariani also worked. Jerry was also on the faculty of USC’s chemistry department.
Frank Mariani
Frank grew up in the Italian section of Boston. He worked making wine with his family. When he could get away, he would go to the race track, a past time he still enjoys. He received a degree in engineering at Northeastern and when he was given a job offer at Douglas Aircraft, he moved to Los Angeles.
The Early Years
As they built up their portfolio, Frank and Jerry were married and raising their kids. The 60’s was the Golden Age of California Real Estate. In the 80’s I played high stakes poker with several players that had made their fortunes in L.A. real estate. Jack Marsh, AJ Meyers, and Jay Johnston comes to mind.
Frank and Jerry worked hard and they played hard. Jerry had a lot of ideas. Frank may have rolled his eyes, but Jerry said Frank was always loyal and supported him on all his ideas no matter how outlandish. They produced Black Eye starring Fred Williamson in 1974. They also owned the Playboy Club in Phoenix. Being the 1st to market can also be difficult, Jerry told me after my International Poker Players Association Monte Carlo Poker Championship fell through in 2009. My show was designed for a field of 40 players buying in for $250k each. The venue was secured in Monte Carlo and 8 hours were secured on CBS. It was tailored made for television. The show would have name players and the winner would win $5 million—WSOP Main Event prize money. The show was a victim of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis (GFC) described in The Big Short. Larry Gordon was very connected in the L.A. financial circles and had organized a meeting with 2 of the top showrunners in Hollywood who told me it would be a slam-dunk. There just wasn’t any capital to be found. Jerry told me that they had opened the 1st multi-plex and it had failed. However, he did think my show would have been successful if this wasn’t the worst financial market caused by the mortgage/financial system dynamics that produced the crisis.
ProProductions who had secured the 8 hours on CBS rolled out the $500,000 Super High Rollers in 2015 and high roller tournaments have been popular ever since.
The 2008 GFC also had a major impact on RiboCeine. 3 poker players—Stephen Wolff, Don Zewin, and I had invested in Cellgevity, Inc founded by Scott Momii, KHS Class of ’74, Herbert T. Nagasawa PhD—the Inventor of RiboCeine technology, and his son Dr. Scott Nagasawa, a pharmacist. They had raised $500k seed money from friends and family but the 2nd round was supposed to be funded by venture capitalist and they were non-existent in 2008. In January 2009, we were notified that we had been bought out by Max International, a multi-level marketing company. That story is still ongoing as I now have my own white label—PRIMEGSH. Unfortunately, Jerry said he doesn’t take synthetics. Frank has been taking RiboCeine for over ten years.
The Mariani-Buss Windfall
Their windfall came during an 18 month period that started in 1974. Their portfolio was worth about $10 million at that time but their properties primarily on Wilshire skyrocketed from $15 to $150 per square feet during that short period. Jerry was always a big sports fan and entered the market with the Los Angeles Strings. When they liquidated their properties in order to purchase the Lakers, most of their properties on Wilshire were bought by Don Sterling.
Frank is very astute able to cut through the chaff and reaching the obvious conclusion. Jerry credits Frank for a key life choice. One day, he asked Frank to his office. “Frank, I’m thinking about going out with a younger woman.” Frank shrugs his shoulders indicating why are you telling me this? “Well,” Jerry continues, “she’s a lot younger, I mean much, much younger—like her early twenties.” Jerry and Frank are both divorced and in their 40’s. Without skipping a beat, Frank says, “Well Jerry, if she dies, she dies,” and walks out of the office. I once was talking to Frank about a mutual friend that had quit betting on sports. I said he started losing. “Of course. No one quits when they’re winning,” Frank quipped.
The parody Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty portrays Frank as panic stricken and indecisive and that Jerry borrowed the $3 million they were short from his ex-wife JoAnn Mueller. That couldn’t be further from the truth. What actually happened is the escrow company informed them they were $3 million short. Frank went to work and borrowed a million dollars from Jack Marsh, Don Sterling, and Sam Nassi each. After all that, it turned out that the escrow company had made an accounting error and returned the $3 million upon realizing their error. I guess it’s not easy counting 79 million dollars.
Jack Marsh had court-side seats on the end line next to Jim Goldstein. Jim is the older man that wears a snakeskin outfit, long hair, and a western style hat with wide brims. Jack told he that he had hired Jim straight out of college in the early 60’s and paid him $22k for the year. He raised it to $24k the following year and $26k the next. After that Jim went off on his own and became successful although it was a given with real estate during that era. Jim bought his house in 1972 for $185,000. Its current valuation is $40-$100 million which he had bequeathed to LACMA. Jack tells me that Jerry had called him and asked him how much his courtside seat now cost. Jack told him $2500 and Jerry acted very surprised it was that high. “Really, he didn’t know?” I asked naively. “Of course, he knew. He was just needling me,” said Jack.
After we had been cheated in a poker game in 1989, Jack told me that he had lost $35k which was the most he had ever lost. I told him that I had lost $75k just a few days earlier.
Jack said, “if I had lost that much, I would kill myself.” It was all a matter of perspective. For Jack, $75k was pocket change and for me it was substantial but poker was my profession and for Jack, it was recreational and there’s a limit to what constituted entertainment.
AI Rendition of Sam Nassi
Sam Nassi was referred to as Sam Nasty and he had 4 court seats next to the Laker bench. One of Gabe Kaplan’s best impression is wasted because it’s of Sam and he’s not well- known to the public. To see Sam was to immediately know that he was wealthy. Driving a Rolls was also another indication. He was always impeccably & fashionably dressed. Referred by the press as the “Corporate Mortician”. His company liquidated businesses. His most notable was the liquidation of Gemco in 1986. The rumor that circulated in the high limit circles was that he had made $50 million. This is probably gross.
The is the most amusing story that was told about the liquidation. Sam is at one of the stores where a customer is looking interested in a fridge that had a dent on one side. He walks up to the customer and says that’s a great price. The customer says, yeah AI Rendition of Sam Nassi but my wall is on the other side. Sam says wait a minute. He goes to the back and grabs a rubber mallet and puts a dent on the other side of a refrigerator in good condition and sells this fridge to the customer.
The Lakers
Their business philosophy carried over to the Lakers. An organization starts from the top down and no professional franchise is as buttoned up as the Lakers with competent professionals in every department. Competency and loyalty defined the Laker organization stemming from the ownership. Their events were always 1st Class.
Bob Steiner was the 1st PR director for the Lakers with Jerry Buss as their owner. I sat next to him at many games in the Owner’s Box on the counter where he liked to sit. He was a fountain of knowledge as he kept unofficial stats for Jerry as he handicapped the races for the next day.
Bob Steiner
Jerry West & Cheryl Mikkelson – Lo’olau off the Pali Highway toward Kaneohe no longer exists.
Jerry West
Here the roles of the two Jerry’s are reversed. Jerry West had a innate eye for talent. After observing Kobe work out for the Lakers as a high-school prospect, he orchestrated the moves for the Lakers to acquire him in 1996 when Kobe was only 17 years old. All Jerry Buss had to do was complete the execution and sign the young man that was to be the face of the Lakers for the next 2 decades and 5 NBA Championships.
The 2 Jerrys also shared their competitiveness. Everyone likes to win, but these two hated to lose. The Lo’olau Golf Club was an exceedingly difficult course that weaved itself through a jungle. Although it no longer exists, anyone that played it will have lasting memories. During a Laker training camp, I saw Jerry West playing several holes ahead. I later saw him sitting in the lounge and I went up to say hello and tell him I saw him playing. “Yeah,” he said, “I can hardly stand the game anymore.” “Why, what did you shoot?” I asked. “Scratch,” he replied disgustedly. “Scratch? Why that’s good!” I said as a compliment as it is a very difficult course. “No, I used to be a plus 4,” sounding depressed. Anything less than excellence was unacceptable to him. He’s said that it’s stressful for him to sit through a game but he kept them to himself. Temper tantrums were not his style.
Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty
Why was it even made? John C. Reilly did a good job appearing like Jerry Buss although he didn’t represent his character. Unlike Hugh Hefner, Jerry was not into orgies. A parody does not do justice to Jerry Buss, Frank Mariani, Jerry West, and the other members of the Lakers that were ridiculously portrayed. They brought stature and respect to a league that was struggling. When Jerry Buss signed Magic Johnson to the million dollars a year for 25 years, John Y. Brown told me his partner Harry Mangurian had told him that Jerry Buss had ruined the league and they would have to sell their team—the Celtics. After Harry sold the team he moved to Las Vegas and played poker regularly. What they brought to the NBA and the city of Los Angeles is far more deserving than a parody. Nor should Frank Mariani’s role be understated. After all, it was Mariani-Buss.
Buss & Mariani
Dinner at Laker’s Camp in Hawaii
Kobe’s 81 Point Game July 22, 2006
I had organized the poker tournament at the Laker Youth Foundation Fundraiser at the Santa Monica Hangars in 2004 & 2005 on behalf of the Bicycle Casino. Bob Steiner won the tournament in 2005 and gave me the court seats which was coincidentally Kobe’s record setting game. I was too distracted watching my kids who were 6 years old from my own seats in Row A at mid-court. I did notice they kept calling out Kobe’s name quite a bit. So I was at the game at courtside but didn’t really watch the game.
Unfortunately, by the time I caught up with Jerry to have Kobe sign these tickets, it was too late because he had already signed a new marketing deal for 24 and couldn’t sign anything while he was #8.
Courtside Molly & James / Dr. Jerry Buss Chairman’s Room – Molly, James, & Ian
Unfortunately, by the time I caught up with Jerry to have Kobe sign these tickets, it was too late because he had already signed a new marketing deal for 24 and couldn’t sign anything while he was #8.
Doug Durban (pictured) gathered donations from Jerry’s friends to make this display stand for his 10 NBA Championship trophies. My name is on the stand.
Frank’s Suite April 12, 2026
