Lorenzo Fertitta Biography

Lorenzo Joseph Fertitta is a Sicilian American businessman, casino executive, sports promoter and entrepreneur. Fertitta resides in Las Vegas with his wife Teresa and three children.

Education

Fertitta obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of San Diego in 1991 and a MBA from the Stern School of Business at New York University in 1993.

Career

Fertitta Enterprises

Since 1993, Fertitta has occupied various executive positions within Fertitta Enterprises. From 1991 to 1993, Fertitta served as vice president, before becoming president and chief executive officer, from June 1993 to July 2000, where he was responsible for managing an investment portfolio consisting of marketable securities and real property.

Station Casinos

Fertitta is a principal shareholder and a co-founder of Station Casinos Inc. He served as a member on the board of directors from 1991 until gaining the position of Station's president in July 2000. On June 19, 2008, Fertitta stepped down as president to work full-time for Zuffa, LLC.

On February 2, 2009, Station Casinos announced its plans to file for bankruptcy by April 15. Station's filing came in response to a lawsuit filed by an individual bondholder challenging the gaming company's debt swap and prepackaged bankruptcy proposal. In July 2009, Station Casinos filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy; however, the Fertitta family is expected to make additional investments to maintain its ownership.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In 2001 he was contacted by his childhood friend Dana White about purchasing the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He quickly took the opportunity, making the purchase a month later. Zuffa was immediately co-founded with brother Frank Fertitta III to establish an entity to manage the assets of the newly acquired Mixed Martial Arts promotion organization. Thereafter, White became president of company, and received 10 percent of the company's shares. In March 2007, Zuffa acquired World Extreme Cagefighting (UFC's sister promotion) and Pride Fighting Championships, which were absorbed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. On Monday March 14th 2011 Zuffa LLC officially announced that they purchased Strike Force LLC, a rival MMA organization, and on Thursday, August 18, 2011 the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Fox Broadcasting Company announced a landmark 7 year, $700 million television rights deal. In the largest and most sweeping TV deal achieved by an MMA promotion to date, Fox will air four live UFC events on its flagship channel per year, 32 live fights on its cable channel FX, as well as supplementary taped and live programming on its other cable channels, including Fuel TV, Fox Deportes and its FSMG channels. The Sports Business Journal reported that Fox will pay Zuffa around $100 million per year for the programming package.

Other notable positions and affiliations

• President and Chief Executive Officer of Gordon Biersch Brewing Company
• Chairman of the Nevada Resort Association
• Commissioner on the Nevada State Athletic Commission (November 1996 to July 2000)
• Former Advisory Board Member of Nevada First Bank
• Director on the American Gaming Association