Frank Fertitta

Frank Fertitta III is the oldest child of casino tycoon Frank Fertitta Jr., and brother of fellow executive in casino, hotel, and sports, Lorenzo Fertitta. The brothers became acquainted with the Nevada casino business through the work of their father. At age twenty-one, the senior Fertitta moved from Galveston, Texas to work as a bellman at Tropicana Hotel and Casino. Fertitta Jr. worked as a dealer, baccarat manager, pit boss, and general manager until he helped establish the Casino in 1976. The Casino went through name changes such as Bingo Palace, Palace Station, and then Station Casinos. In 1993, Fertitta Jr. resigned and Fertitta III became his successor. The brothers created additional casinos under the Station Casinos brand. When his father retired in 1993, Fertitta III succeeded him as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Station Casinos. Through conversations with high school friend Dana White, Lorenzo Fertitta contacted owner Robert B. Meyrowitz about buying Ultimate Fighting Championship (2000). When Meyrowitz agreed to sell, the brothers formed Zuffa LLC in January 2001 and bought UFC from Meyrowitz's Semaphore Entertainment Group on January 9, 2001. The Fertitta brothers were equal majority owners, and White was granted 10% ownership and the title of President. Lorenzo became Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, and, along with White, were more involved with UFC operations than Fertitta III. The Fertitta brothers had a gym for working out and sparring sessions. They became Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu students of veteran fighter and promoter John Lewis. A clause was included in their contract to resolve any impasse between them by competing in a "Sport Jiu Jitsu" match to win by either points or submission. By 2004, Frank and Lorenzo had lost over $30 million in UFC, and they decided to better the company's fortunes with a TV series. They offered the The Ultimate Fighter (2005) to different networks until Spike TV accepted. Under the deal, Zuffa paid $10 million to get television time for The Ultimate Fighter (2005). Two-well known fighters would coach rival teams competing to win a UFC contract and the title of "Ultimate Fighter". The coaches would eventually fight each other. In the first season, UFC light-heavyweight champion Randy Couture coached a team against another lead by Chuck Liddell. In 2009, UFC was worth a reported $ 1 billion as Station Casinos filed for bankruptcy protection in April that year. UFC would be unaffected directly, as its parent company, Zuffa LLC, was a separate legal entity from the one in charge of the casinos. Station Casinos emerged from bankruptcy in 2011, and later that year Zuffa made a seven-year deal with Fox Broadcasting reportedly worth $700 million. News came in January 2016 that papers had been filed for the Fertitta brothers to sell Fertitta Entertainment for $460 million. Each brother would receive $113 million from the sale to Red Rock Resorts, a casino owned by their family. The Fertittas' children would receive a total of $159 million from the transaction. In a TV interview on July 11, 2016, Lorenzo Fertitta revealed that an agreement was made to sell a majority of UFC to talent company William Morris Endeavor-International Marketing Group (WME-IMG). Lorenzo would resign as Chairman and CEO, and he and Frank would have minority ownership. Dana White would be retained as UFC's President along with his longtime minority ownership. Reports claimed that WME-IMG won a bidding contest with an offer of $4 billion.