Posted on: December 11, 2024, 04:17h.
Last updated on: December 11, 2024, 04:17h.
In President-elect Donald Trump news, the incoming commander-in-chief is widely expected to nominate casino billionaire Tilman Fertitta as the next United States ambassador to Italy.
Fertitta has been a reliable supporter of the GOP and Trump. During the 2024 presidential race, he gave $487,300 to Trump’s primary super PAC and $349,050 to the Republican National Committee.
Several major news outlets, including CBS News and the Houston Chronicle, are reporting that Fertitta is primed to become the next ambassador to Italy.
Fertitta’s ancestry traces back to the European country. His roots include the Maceo family, a group of immigrants from Italy’s Sicily who controlled both the government and organized crime in Galveston, Texas, in the 1920 and 1930s. Salvatore “Sam” Maceo put Galveston on the map as a place where gambling, prostitution, and free-flowing liquor weren’t hard to find.
Fertitta’s business empire — highly regulated and certainly legal, unlike some of his ancestors’ dealings — includes the NBA Houston Rockets and Landry’s, the hospitality and gaming conglomerate that owns and operates Golden Nugget casinos in Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, and New Jersey. Among the notable restaurants under the Landry’s umbrella are Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse, Morton’s, Chart House, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., McCormick and Schmick’s, and Joe’s Crab Shack.
Along with the eight hotels at the Golden Nugget casinos in Atlantic City, Biloxi, Cripple Creek, Danville, Laughlin, Lake Charles, Lake Tahoe, and Las Vegas, Landry’s has resorts and hotels in Houston, Galveston, Kemah (TX), East Hampton (NY), Laguna Beach (CA), and St. Clair (MI).
Fertitta additionally owns 9.9% of Wynn Resorts after increasing his position last month from 6.1%.
Fertitta, 67, has never held public office. But he did serve in a governmental capacity when he sat on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s COVID-19 pandemic reopening task force. Fertitta was also invited to Trump’s meeting of restaurant industry executives at the White House to discuss the lifting of pandemic regulations.
Fertitta was the star of CNBC’s “Billion Dollar Buyer,” a business reality show where vendors pitched the tycoon new hospitality products and services. The series ran three seasons and 24 episodes. Golden Nugget casinos were often featured.
U.S. ambassadors are high-ranking diplomats who represent the country’s interests in a foreign country. They serve as liaisons between Washington and the foreign entity.
An ambassador is the president’s highest-ranking representative to a specific nation or international organization abroad. An effective ambassador has to be a strong leader — a good manager, a resilient negotiator, and a respected representative of the United States,” the U.S. National Museum of American Diplomacy website explains.
The U.S. ambassador to Italy gig comes with an official residence in Rome. The U.S. has maintained an ambassador in Italy since 1831.
It’s unclear why Fertitta, a billionaire with a wide-ranging business empire, would be interested in spending considerable time away from Houston overseas in Italy. Perhaps more clarity on his eagerness will become known once Trump formally nominates him to the position.
Ambassadors are nominated by the president but must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
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