HOUSTON — Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta, known for owning the Landry’s restaurant group and the Golden Nugget hotel and casino brand, has agreed to purchase the NBA’s Houston Rockets for $2.2 billion, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Rockets owner Leslie Alexander had announced several months earlier that he intended to sell the team.
Fertitta, 60, serves as chairman of the Board of Regents at the University of Houston. A native of Galveston, he has an estimated personal net worth of $2.4 billion, placing him at No. 235 on Forbes’ list of the wealthiest Americans.
His hospitality holdings include Morton’s The Steakhouse, McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood, and numerous other restaurant brands across the country.
In addition to his restaurant and gaming ventures, Fertitta is developing the 35-story Post Oak tower along Houston’s West Loop, a mixed-use project that will feature more than 100,000 square feet of office space and a 240-room hotel.