Tilman Fertitta talks about desire to own Las Vegas Strip property

The billionaire, third cousin to Station Casinos owners Lorenzo Fertitta and Frank Fertitta III, owns more than 600 properties through his restaurant and hospitality giant Landry’s — including five Golden Nugget hotel-casinos, one of them in downtown Las Vegas. Two years ago, he bought the Houston Rockets. He’s the star of his own reality TV show, “Billion Dollar Buyer,” and recently released his first book, “Shut Up and Listen.”

On top of it all, the 62-year old Houston native said he’s still looking for an opportunity to make a purchase on the Las Vegas Strip. This comes as Caesars Entertainment Corp. has alluded to plans to sell some Strip assets as it prepares to merge with Eldorado Resorts.

“I definitely have an interest” in owning a Strip property, he told the Review-Journal in an interview this week.

This question-and-answer interview has been edited for length and clarity.

You’ve mentioned before interest in buying a Strip property. Does that still hold true?

I’m an opportunistic buyer. If I can make a deal on a property just like everybody else — there’s probably 20 other buyers — and if I can make the right deal, I’ll do a deal. If I can’t, I won’t.

Have you been in talks with anyone about acquiring a Strip property?

(Laughing) I’d rather not comment on that.

There’s been a lot of talk about another recession hitting within the next couple of years. Knowing Las Vegas was hit so hard in the last economic downturn, is now a good time to invest in Las Vegas?

I believe in Las Vegas. I think Las Vegas is always going to be there. At the same time, you have to be careful because last time there was a huge downturn in the economy, Vegas was tremendously hurt. It took us a long time to get back where we were. And we haven’t had a downturn in 10 years now, so we’re due.

How do you expect Vegas to fare in the next recession?

I think because there are so many rooms now, and it’s such a convention-driven city, that all recessions are going to affect Vegas right now. Multiples are at an all-time high for gaming properties with these deals between operating companies and property companies, and I think you have to be careful today.

I think it also depends on the seriousness of the recession and if it’s a light recession or a bad recession. Regardless, it’s still going to hit it because so much of Vegas is convention business. This time, instead of overbuilding rooms, everybody has built convention centers. We’re going to have a lot of empty convention centers if we go into a recession.

Is there anything casino operators can do to prepare for the economic downturn?

I don’t think you can go do anything. It’s better to have the balance sheet and the liquidity to react when something happens than think that you’re going to outsmart the world. Everybody who thinks they’re going to outsmart the world ends up getting a good paddle on their a–.

Las Vegas has been working to add a number of professional sports in recent years. Will that help the city manage the next recession?

In times of recession, we all get hurt in sports teams, too, because a ticket is an entertainment and people will have to cut entertainment. Basketball teams, football teams, baseball teams all hurt in recessions, also. I don’t know that it’s going to be the savior.

New Jersey recently changed its laws to allow your (Atlantic City) Golden Nugget property to take most NBA bets, excluding those that involve the Rockets. How has this impacted business?

We only went through a few months without it, so it was no big deal. I think they realized, why would we be different than all the other states? They were very smart people and realized they made a mistake and fixed it.

Speaking of the NBA, do you think Las Vegas will get a team anytime soon?

I would expect that one day, an NBA team would be there. But I know nothing, I don’t know anything.

Sports wagering has been expanding rapidly across the country. How do you see this form of betting impacting the industry?

I think sports betting is going to change the world eventually. You’re going to be able to sit in a stadium and you’re going to be able to bet on games — football, basketball, baseball, hockey, play-by-play, who’s going to catch the next pass, who’s going to make the next field goal, who’s going to get the next hit — and it’s going to bring a lot more viewership to professional sports. It should be good for the casinos also.

Contact Bailey Schulz at bschulz@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0233. Follow @bailey_schulz on Twitter.