Hull was born on October 3, 1893 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In 1913, he graduated from the Colorado Agricultural and Mining College. Putting his new vocation into use, he tried to mine in Mexico but ran into trouble during the revolution.
Hull moved to New Mexico where he owned a movie theater, then becoming a flight instructor for the Army during World War I. After the war he owned movie theaters in Austin, Texas but sold his operations at a profit.
Hull then moved to San Francisco and went into the hotel business with his father. He then acquired the San Francisco Bellevue, and being a pilot during the war, he attracted other pilots such as Charles Lindbergh, Eddie Rickenbacker, Wiley Post and Clyde Pangborn.
In September 1932, he bought the Los Angeles' Mayfair, then Hollywood's Roosevelt, and Hotel Senator in Sacramento, California. When he arrived at Las Vegas he had eight hotels in addition to the above.
