Tilman Fertitta, Trump's ambassador to Italy and billionaire real estate mogul, is buying Caesars Entertainment for $5.7 billion, folding one of the Las Vegas Strip's most recognizable operators into his sprawling empire that already includes the NBA's Houston Rockets, Golden Nugget casinos and Landry's restaurants.
WASHINGTON, DC - Tilman Fertitta testifies during his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing on April 01, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
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Caesars shareholders get $31 a share in cash, a 49% premium over the stock's price on Feb. 25, the last trading day before merger chatter leaked.
Fertitta, 69, would be paying $5.7 billion in cash and assume about $11.9 billion of Caesars debt, bringing the total value of the deal to roughly $17.6 billion.
Under the agreement announced Thursday, Caesars can look for better offers through July 11.
Fertitta was a prominent donor to President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign and stepped down as CEO of Landry's and from the chairmanship of the University of Houston System's board to take the ambassador position last April—though he kept ownership of Fertitta Entertainment, the umbrella company for all the major assets he owns that is now buying Caesars.
Fertitta approached Caesars about a merger in 2018 and reportedly bought up shares the following year, but never closed the deal. Combining Caesars' roughly 50-plus casinos—including eight properties on the Strip, among them Caesars Palace, Harrah's and Planet Hollywood—with his Golden Nugget and Landry's holdings would create one of the largest privately held hospitality operations in the country. The Caesars of today is actually the result of an earlier merger. Back in 2020, a smaller casino company called Eldorado Resorts bought the original Caesars, which was older and weighed down by a lot of debt, with Eldorado keeping the better-known Caesars name for the combined company. That deal happened partly because billionaire investor Carl Icahn had bought up a big chunk of Caesars and pushed hard for a sale. Since then, Caesars has bet big on online sports betting, but it's still carrying heavy debt and has been hurt by fewer people visiting Las Vegas.
Forbes estimates Fertitta’s net worth to be $11 billion. A majority of his fortune comes from his ownership of Fertitta Entertainment’s restaurant and hospitality company Landry’s, while his ownership of the Houston Rockets and minority stake in companies including Wynn Resorts and DraftKings also add to his wealth. Landry’s owns more than 600 properties in the U.S. and in over 15 countries including luxury hotels and casinos, as well as more than 60 restaurants including New York’s Strip House, Mastro's, Catch, Morton's, McCormick & Schmick's and Chart House.
Fertitta ranked 23rd on Forbes’ list of the world’s richest sports team owners in March. To avoid conflicts of interest after assuming his ambassador role, he resigned from roles at his companies—though maintaining his ownership—and handed day-to-day control of the Rockets to his son who has helped keep the Rockets on top. In July 2025, Patrick Fertitta made one of the largest trades in NBA history for Kevin Durant, one of the highest paid and most decorated basketball players in the league. Last October, Durant signed a two-year, $90 million contract extension with the Rockets.
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