LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Las Vegas' gaming landscape is about to change in a major way.
Caesars Entertainment, one of the Strip's most iconic names, is being acquired for nearly $6 billion by Fertitta Entertainment.
The Fertitta name is one you might recognize here locally. The Fertitta family has been involved in the Las Vegas gaming industry for nearly 50 years.
WATCH | Who are the Fertittas?
Billionaire Tilman Fertitta is the sole owner of Texas-based Fertitta Entertainment, which operates the Golden Nugget Casino brand in downtown Las Vegas, the Landry's restaurant chain, and the Houston Rockets of the NBA.
His cousins are the Las Vegas Fertittas — Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta — who built their own fortune in Southern Nevada through Station Casinos.
In 2005, I sat down exclusively with the brothers before the Red Rock Resort Casino opening. They told me their father, the late Frank Fertitta Sr., saw the need for local casinos.
"Lorenzo and I really grew up in the family business, whether it was around the dinner table every night talking about the family business," Frank Fertitta III said.
"It was just part of our lives, just part of our family, so there was really no question about what we were going to do," Lorenzo Fertitta said.
The Las Vegas Fertittas are also globally famous for growing the UFC into a multi-billion dollar sports empire before selling it in 2016.
Even though both Fertitta families share a prominent lineage and compete in the same Nevada gaming markets, Tilman's business empire operates entirely independently from Frank and Lorenzo's Station Casinos.
In a rare 2016 interview, Tilman Fertitta talked about doing what he loves and where that came from.
"I have to say I enjoy them all. I love running a big business," Tilman Fertitta said.
"My father always worked for himself. My grandparents always worked for themselves," he said.
As the entire Fertitta family continues to invest in the gaming industry in Nevada, Station Casinos will soon celebrate its 50th anniversary of dominating local casinos.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
