USD Magazine, Summer 2004

Tom Breitling '91 (right) and partner Tim Poster bought the Golden Nugget in downtown Las Vegas this year, and are instilling their new property with a vintage Vegas feel.

rop production is not what Vegas is all abo ut. These guys are old school Vegas, throwbacks ro the days of gambling joints and the Rat Pack. They look fondly back at a time when casino owners worked che floors and knew their customers by name, and they believe chis nostalgic past represents the best bee for the city's future . Bue don't take my word for it. You can rune in yourself every week and see what they're up to. Fox Television's "The Casino" follows Breiding's tribulations as the new owner of che downtown Golden Nugget, where he's trying to instill a certain sense of style, something he calls "vintage Vegas for the modern day. " The show chronicles Breitling's every up and down as one of the newest owners in town, and dangles the ques– tion of whether he truly can reinvigorate che Golden Nugget and restore the kind of per– sonalized service char once permeated the city. Breitling says he already knows the answer. "In the world of corporate Las Vegas, we have the chance ro be a unique property," he says. "We want to be che owner-operators of a true gambling joint, one where che action is non-stop. It's a complete re-creation of che Golden Nugget brand. " As for Fertitta, you can check his progress on the Discovery Channel series "American Casino." The show takes a weekly peek behind the scenes at Green Valley Ranch, one of a dozen properties chat make up Station Casinos, of which Ferti cca is vice chairman and president. Ferticca's niche is che local marker, and his off-scrip casinos cater ro Las Vegas' residents by giving them friendly service at convenient locations. He learned the lesson from his father, who started che business in I 977 with one off-strip casi– no, called the Bingo Palace. "The most important thing my dad taught me was how to treat people," Fertitta says. "He caught me not to demand respect, but to earn it, and he caught me how good leaders

ers in Las Vegas. We'll see how they're tak– ing on the big corporations who own most of the city, and how they're bringing back the milieu that Vegas once was famous for. We all wane ro be these guys, right? So let's cake a peek at the cards they played and see how chey did it. :i~m£'ll' 1 I ®Y !I MffliW

television shows. And yes, their lives are what you imagine them ro be. They live in a grand style. They can buy sports teams and movie companies. They're both having the times of their lives. But wait just a second. When you gamble, is winning, making money, all you wane? If that's the case, why not invest in a sure thing, like a savings account? Ir's not just the winning, is it? It's the excitement, che chal– lenge, the sweet sensation of caking on the house, bearing the odds and having a great srory ro cell later. That's where the thrill of gambling comes from. So let's not skip ro the payoff. Let's talk about how a couple of guys beat the odds ro become two of the youngest casino own-

homas Breitling '9 I and Lorenzo Fertitta '9 1 are two of the youngest casino owners in the world. At 34,

they each head up a multimillion-dollar business empire, at the heart of which is a casino showpiece. You won't find them on che famously glitzy Las Vegas Scrip - for this duo, corporate ownership and over-the-

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