James mcglothlin biography

Jim McGlothlin had never really thought much about paintings. He was more of a music guy, a fan of Elvis, whom he saw in concert six months before the King’s 1977 death.

But the art of the deal — in this case, winning a valuable artwork at an auction — was a familiar feeling.

“That’s what I do — make deals,” reflects the 82-year-old Bristol, Virginia-based businessman who built a fortune from a gamble on coal mines during the 20th century and then pivoted to hospitality as the coal business began to recede.

Along the way, he and his wife, Frances Gibson McGlothlin, became major American art collectors and philanthropists. And in his ninth decade, McGlothlin is arguably the person most responsible for Virginia’s legalization of commercial casinos, as well as a partner in the $400 million Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Bristol, which opened in a temporary space this summer as the state’s first casino.

In recognition of