Christian Northeast for Insider
The rise of a $2 billion industry, from Hunter S. Thompson to Playgirl centerfolds
It's a bustling night in Las Vegas, and Sugar Ray Leonard is ready for the main event. In his suite high above the Strip, the legendary boxer, boyish and ebullient at 66, sports a gray T-shirt, black running pants, and gray sneakers. A silver crucifix bobs around his neck. "Vegas is my second home. My major fights were here," he says, flashing his familiar smile. "But I could never have dreamt that this could take place." A quarter century since hanging up his gloves, Leonard has been granted a second act in his storied career: as one of America's top celebrity speakers.