321: Tilman Fertitta | The Journey to Buy a Pro Sports Team

Overview

During this episode, Tilman Fertitta, Chairman, and CEO of Landry’s Inc. and Golden Nugget Hotel & Casinos, Houston Rockets Owner, CNBC’s Billion Dollar Buyer, and Author talks to your host Travis Chappell. Learn about how Tilman built up his restaurant empire, became the owner of his beloved home basketball team the Houston Rockets, and what you can expect from his book “Shut Up and Listen: Hard Business Truths,” published by HarperCollins. 

 Episode Highlights:

  • Where did Tilman’s desires for business come from during his early years? 
  • What was it like to transition from being a teenager to being a young adult? 
  • Was his intention originally to build his restaurant business this big or did he take it moment-to-moment?  
  • How did the transition from his first restaurant to the next? 
  • How did his interest in purchasing the Houston Rockets come into play? 
  • What did the purchase of the Houston Rockets mean to Tilman Fertitta as a local fan?  
  • How confident is Tilman about the Rockets ability for success in the 2019-2020 NBA season?
  • What was Tilman’s path to becoming an author of “Shut Up and Listen?”
  • What does Tilman mean by “be plappy” and “be the bull?”
  • Does he believe that who you know is more important than what you know?
  • What profession other than his own does he think it would be fun to attempt? 
  • If he could talk to someone past or present who would it be, and why? 
  • How does he like to consume content: books, audiobooks, blogs, podcasts, or videos? 
  • What is a book that he would recommend to everyone listening? 
  • What is Tilman’s morning routine like?
  • What is his go-to pump up song? 
  • What is something that he is not very good at?

3 Key Points:

  1. Tilman Fertitta is the world’s richest restaurateur. 
  2. The “Big Box Theory” of investing in big money-makers like the casino business and the Houston Rockets NBA team has been very beneficial to Tilman Fertitta. 
  3. Tilman Fertitta paid $2.2 billion for the Houston Rockets.

 Tweetable Quotes:

  • “When you have an entrepreneurial brain, some of it is genetic and it is just the way you are born.” – Tilman Fertitta
  • “You always take everything moment-to-moment and continue to set goals and be very opportunistic. I would say that the biggest thing about being an entrepreneur is being very opportunistic.” – Tilman Fertitta
  • “What gave me the opportunity to buy the Rockets and pay more than anyone had ever paid for a sports franchise in America was the fact that I owned 100% of my company.” – Tilman Fertitta

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