Entertainment empire has a lot on its plate
TILMAN Fertitta’s growing entertainment empire includes restaurants that run the gamut from Bubba Gump to Mastro’s; venues including the Kemah Boardwalk, Galveston Pleasure Pier and the Downtown Aquarium in Houston; Golden Nugget Casinos in five U.S. cities; the Houston Rockets professional basketball team; and, as of earlier this year, the opulent Post Oak Hotel at Uptown Houston.
“What makes us special is we cater to everybody, the masses and the classes,” CEO Tilman Fertitta said.
Fertitta Entertainment — the Landry’s brand, as most consumers know it — this year ranks No. 3 on the Chronicle 100 list of the region’s largest privately held companies. Revenue rose last year to $3.5 billion, up from $3.4 billion in 2016.
The company employs 60,000 nationally, including 11,800 in the Houston area. The local number is 1,000 higher than a year earlier.
Fertitta, who also hosts the successful reality program “Billion Dollar Buyer,” paid a record $2.2 billion for the Rockets last August. He predicts high-profile changes ahead for the team, which came within a game of making the NBA finals for the first time since 1995.
“I think you will start seeing some of our concepts at the Toyota Center,” he said, “and I think you will start seeing a lot of changes at the Toyota Center as we control the Toyota Center.”
Some of the arena’s potential modifications would include a slice of the Landry’s brand eateries.
“We’re looking at it right now, to see about putting some of the brands inside the Toyota Center that are more recognizable that customers want to eat at,” Fertitta said.
He’s also considering bringing a National Hockey League team to the city.
“You need to make it work economically, and we’ve got to know if there’s enough hockey fans here to support it,” he said.