Tilman Fertitta Will Wait for What Matters
Observer · · g4692883
Tilman Fertitta, a 2026 Nightlife & Dining Power List honoree, talked to Observer about his first job in Galveston, why struggling restaurants fail and why he never says “never” about a deal.
Tilman Fertitta is about to own Caesars Palace , and he still bends down for litter. “To this day, I am not too proud to pick up a piece of trash off the floor,” he told Observer. He learned that as a teenager in his father’s seafood restaurant in Galveston, Texas, peeling shrimp, clearing tables and talking to customers. “Whether it’s running a restaurant or running an embassy, that’s the whole key,” he said. “Pay attention to the little things.”
The embassy is real. Fertitta has spent the past year as U.S. ambassador to Italy while the businesses he built kept growing. In May, he agreed to buy Caesars Entertainment for about $17.6 billion, including roughly $11.9 billion in assumed debt. Shareholders approved the deal in September, and it now awaits FTC and gaming approvals. Landry’s, with more than 60 restaurant concepts and more than 600 properties, projects $4 billion in revenue for 2026. He also owns the Houston Rockets, and in March he agreed to buy the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun for a record $300 million. Fertitta, a 2026 Nightlife & Dining Power List honoree, talked to Observer about where he started, what diplomacy and hospitality have in common and the restaurants he waits for.
I started as a teenager working in my father’s seafood restaurant. Whether it was peeling shrimp, clearing a table or interfacing with customers, I quickly learned that every role matters. To this day, I am not too proud to pick up a piece of trash off the floor. Whether it’s running a restaurant or running an embassy, that’s the whole key: pay attention to the little things. Every detail counts.
Meeting Italians from every walk of life has been a remarkable and rewarding opportunity. My great-grandfather left Italy and emigrated to the U.S. in 1887, so being welcomed back as America’s ambassador is the honor of a lifetime. The hospitality here in Italy is like none other in any nation. From dinners in Rome to the seaside towns along the coast, the Italian welcome has been extraordinary. What I’ve learned is that diplomacy and hospitality work hand in glove. You listen, you make people feel welcome, and you build a genuine relationship first.
The executive team at Fertitta Entertainment in Houston is spearheading that deal. They have a clear vision for that historic brand, and I have full confidence in them. My focus is serving as ambassador.
Both concepts are run by strong teams back home, but every brand I’ve ever owned has been about the same thing: hospitality and taking care of people.
He walked up and introduced himself at Catch in 2017, and I saw right away that he knows how to make a guest feel like family instead of a customer. Years later, he told me he missed being an entrepreneur. I told him I was surprised it took him so long to reach out to me. When you come across someone who is really great at what he does, you back him. So that’s what I did. That’s how The Corner Store happened.
That’s obviously a historic restaurant in an iconic location, and it has operated for over a hundred years. The owner, who is an Italian American, reached out to our family because he viewed us as the perfect stewards for the restaurant for the next hundred years. When my family got the opportunity, they were honored to have the chance to be the owners.
The Fertitta Entertainment team is really good at finding great restaurants with good locations and loyal guests, and when companies get into trouble, it’s usually not because of the people in the restaurant. It’s usually because of debt or poor leadership outside of the restaurant. That’s always been my philosophy, and the team in Houston is just carrying on with that philosophy.
I am a patient buyer. I waited years for Del Frisco’s, and I have found that if you wait long enough, the opportunity usually comes around again. Look at Joe’s Crab Shack: we sold it in 2006, and then 13 years later, we bought it back. Timing is everything. So I don’t think of any opportunity as “never” just because the timing has not been right.
Fertitta olive oil and a good bottle of Super Tuscan wine. Both are simple and personal, and they never get re-gifted.
When a guest wanted to order eggs long after breakfast hours, we found a way, charged them for the eggs, and they left happy. We never say no. Our customer is our priority, because there are no spare customers.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.