FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, October 13, 2017
Media Contact:
Bethany Khan ▪ BKhan@culinaryunion226.org ▪ (702) 387-7088
Culinary Union Announces Due Diligence Resource for Prospective Partners of Fertitta Capital
LAS VEGAS – Providing a history of companies controlled by the principals behind Fertitta Capital, FertittaMoneyWatch.org is aimed at busy entrepreneurs who might be interested in the $500 million available from the new family office. The site goes beyond the UFC sale by the Fertittas to catalog certain key financial and investment decisions over the years, from the successful bankruptcy reorganization of the family’s Las Vegas casino company to the political donations that aided Donald Trump’s rise to power.
“Our union is very familiar with the Las Vegas money behind this new Fertitta enterprise,” said Zachary Poppel, a research analyst for the Culinary Union. “We have seen how the Fertitta businesses have had highs and lows over the years, and thought we’d share with their prospective partners who might be doing due diligence.”
It is unclear if the five-month-old Fertitta Capital has closed any deals. In early May, Fertitta Capital CEO Nakisa Bidarian told The Las Vegas Review-Journal that the firm had looked at about eighty private companies and spent “a meaningful amount of time” on three to five of those companies. The Twitter handle @FertittaCapital has yet to publicly post or even retweet. And while its website features many inspirational quotes presumably to attract partners to Fertitta Capital, the domain name is registered to Fertitta Entertainment LLC,* a firm acquired by Red Rock Resorts during the latter’s IPO in April 2016. It is unclear what the relationship between Fertitta Capital and Red Rock Resorts is. (For more information on Red Rock Resorts (NASDAQ: RRR), the parent company of Station Casinos, see RRRIPOdissected.org.)
While Fertitta Capital is based in West Hollywood, the Culinary Union recently discussed with Las Vegas startups and private and public economic development organizations the role Fertitta Capital could play in the city’s “thriving startup scene.”
“We certainly hope that, of all the money made from Las Vegas, some will be invested back into our community,” said Poppel.
Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165, Nevada affiliates of UNITE HERE, represent over 57,000 workers in Las Vegas and Reno, including at most of casino resorts on the Las Vegas Strip and in Downtown Las Vegas. The Unions represent workers at Palace Station and Boulder Station casinos.
*See https://www.whois.com/whois/fertittacapital.com; last accessed 9/28/2017.