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The likes of Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Zion Williamson, and Devin Booker will be linked in the rumor mill in the coming weeks, all with different pros and cons depending on Houston’s direction. Team sources say the Rockets will monitor the market closely and will hold internal discussions about potential fits and offers.
Dallas Mavericks owner Miriam Adelson gave $1 million to President Donald Trump’s inauguration committee, according to a recent FEC filing, one of at least a dozen sports owners and sports companies that donated to the celebration marking Trump’s return to the White House.
Other individuals who donated include Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta ($1 million), multiple members of the DeVos family that owns the Orlando Magic ($1 million combined) and multiple members of the Ricketts family that owns the Chicago Cubs ($1.6 million combined). Companies include sportsbooks DraftKings ($502,000) and FanDuel ($482,003.73), and trading platform Robinhood ($2 million), which is pushing into sports futures markets that look a lot like betting.
Houston billionaire businessman Tilman Fertitta will resign as as CEO of Landry's, Inc., as well as the roughly 600 dining, gaming and entertainment locations the company has grown to include, if confirmed as U.S. Ambassador to Italy and San Marino, he said in a letter to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. "Upon confirmation, I will resign from my positions with the entities listed in Appendix A," Fertitta said in the letter, dated March 16. "I am eligible to receive a severance payment from Fertitta Entertainment, LLC, but I have elected to forfeit it. I will receive a lump sum payment of my deferred compensation plan following my resignation. Additionally, I will continue to retain a passive interest in these entities, but I will not provide services material to the production of income. Instead, I will receive only passive investment income. With regard to each of these entities, I will not participate personally and substantially in any particular matter that to my knowledge has a direct and predicable effect on the financial interests of the entity or its underlying holdings, unless I first obtain a written waiver pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 208(b)(1)."
In addition to resigning from his businesses, Fertitta said, he will resign a number of civic positions at organizations including the Greater Houston Partnership, the Texas Heart Institute, and the University of Houston System, where he currently serves as chair of the Board of Regents, a position he has held for a decade. He will not be stepping away from his ownership interest in the Houston Rockets National Basketball Association franchise.
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Sources said Houston “is probably the most positioned’’ for the 17th team largely because the Rockets recently built a 75,000 square-foot practice facility, owner Tilman Fertitta is reportedly worth more than $10B and they have an NBA infrastructure that is appealing to the league. “The Comets are also an amazing brand, and it’s stunning they even left the league,” said a source, referencing the four-time champion Comets folding in 2008 due to $4M annual losses.
Tilman Fertitta, the owner of the Houston Rockets, has also submitted a bid to the WNBA for an expansion team, a spokesperson for the Rockets confirmed to The Athletic. The prospective team would play its games at the Toyota Center, where the Rockets play.
Aside from Philadelphia, Nashville and Detroit, potential ownership groups representing Charlotte, Austin, Denver and Houston have all shown public or private interest in getting a WNBA team.
Chris Baldwin: Tilman Fertitta in a text to @PaperCityMag on getting Donald Trump ambassadorship nod: "It is an honor to be nominated to serve my country as Ambassador to Italy and I look forward to the process ahead. Italy is such an extraordinary country with its wonderful, people, culture and history and its strategic importance to the United States of America."
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Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta wants to buy the New Orleans Saints
Tilman Fertitta told the Houston Business Journal that he is still interested in acquiring an NFL team if one becomes available. In particular, Fertitta said he would like to purchase the team he grew up rooting for: the New Orleans Saints. “I’ve always loved the New Orleans Saints, but (owner Gayle Benson) won’t sell them right now,” Fertitta said in a one-on-one interview.
NFL ownership would not be new for Fertitta. He was an original investor in the Houston Texans and owned a minority stake in the team until 2008, when the NFL forced him to sell his interest to comply with a rule regarding gambling. When asked if he would consider a minority stake in an NFL team again, Fertitta said he’s “just not a minority guy anymore.” If Fertitta were to join an NFL team as a minority partner, he said it would only be under certain conditions. “I wouldn’t have any problem being a minority partner in a team with a road map to become the majority partner,” Fertitta said.
Tilman Fertitta expected to be Trump's choice for US ambassador to Italy
Jennifer Jacobs: News: Billionaire Tilman Fertitta, CEO of a hospitality group and the owner of the Houston Rockets, is expected to be Trump's pick for U.S. ambassador to Italy, per sources. Fertitta, who starred in a reality TV show called "Billion Dollar Buyer," owns Landry's, a corporation with restaurants, hotels, casinos.
Kelly Iko: “There’s no deeper team in the NBA than us. We’re expecting a great year.”— Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta
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