Nov 11 (PR): Of course, the majority of people are aware of the "casino whales" and "high rollers," extremely wealthy people who love nothing more than to spend hours gambling millions of dollars.
But in casinos, the wealthiest patrons are typically the establishments' owners rather than the players.
One or two of these owners are at the pinnacle of the US casino industry among all of these others.
These people are among the richest Americans, and many of them are the owners of numerous resorts with a combined value of billions of dollars.
Some people entered the industry by birth, while others only became involved with cazinouri online much later in life.
All of them, however, are incredibly ambitious and are known as some of the best businesspeople in the nation.
1. Sheldon Adelson, $33.5 billion
In his adult life, Adelson experienced numerous million-dollar gains and losses.
After founding Comdex, a Las Vegas computer trade show, in 1979, he only truly amassed his fortune.
Adelson spent $128 million to buy the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas in 1989, which marked the start of the development of his casino conglomerate, the Las Vegas Sands Corporation.
Adelson made the decision to demolish the Sands and erect a new casino-hotel after taking his wife to Venice for their honeymoon. The Venetian was built for $1.5 billion and first opened its doors in 1999.
Early in the new millennium, Adelson expanded his casino empire into Asia, constructing Sands Macau, the island's first Las Vegas-style casino, in 2004.
Adelson chose to publicize Las Vegas Sands Corporation in the same year. He allegedly saw a two-year increase in his net worth of $1 million per hour!
Other construction projects quickly followed, including the $2.4 billion The Venetian Macau, which debuted in August 2007.
Adelson outdid himself in 2010 by constructing the Marina Bay Sands resort in Singapore. It was the most pricey structure in the world, costing $5.5 billion.
After his casinos increased his net worth by an estimated $15 billion over the course of the year, Adelson continued to reap enormous financial rewards from these resorts, landing him at the top of Forbes' Annual "Biggest Winner" List in 2013.
Sheldon Adelson was estimated to be worth an astounding $33.5 billion by Forbes in September 2020, just a few months before he passed away.
The 87-year-old Adelson passed away in January 2021. He is survived by his wife Miriam Adelson, who continues to hold a majority stake in the sprawling gaming company Las Vegas Sands Corporation.
She currently has $27.7 billion in net worth.
2. Tilman Fertitta, $7.9 billion
The 1980s Houston real estate boom was when Tilman Fertitta first became wealthy. After that, he quit the real estate business and started investing in seafood eateries run by the Landry family.
Since becoming the sole proprietor of these eateries in 1988, Fertitta has steadily expanded the company portfolio by acquiring a number of renowned restaurant chains, including Bubba Gump, Rainforest Cafe, and Joe's Crab Shack.
Fertitta entered the casino industry in 2005 when he paid $295 million for the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casinos, expanding his restaurant empire.
With this, he was able to purchase a casino in Laughlin, Nevada, as well as one of Sin City's most illustrious casinos, the Golden Nugget.
Over $300 million has been spent on renovations since Fertitta bought the property. This involved building a brand-new hotel tower and enlarging the casino floor.
Three more Golden Nugget casinos, including one that took the place of Trump Marina in Atlantic City, have been opened by Fertitta.
Before the 2008 financial crisis, Trump Enterprises was asking for $316 million for this property, which Fertitta acquired for a drastically reduced $38 million.
3. Phil Ruffin, $3.1 billion
Owning a network of convenience stores helped Phil Ruffin amass his wealth. He then transitioned into the hotel industry before finally entering the casino industry in 1995 when he was 60 years old.
He started his casino dynasty by acquiring the Bahamas' Crystal Palace Resort.
Ruffin acquired The Frontier Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas three years after making his first casino purchase in the US.
Due to a protracted workers' strike being carried out by employees of the Frontier, the company had been having financial difficulties for years.
The strike was quickly resolved by Ruffin, who also spent $20 million remodeling the casino.
The 36-acre property would eventually be sold by him for more than $1.2 billion, the highest price ever paid for an acre on The Strip.
Currently, Ruffin is the owner of Treasure Island and Circus Circus, two of Las Vegas' most recognizable casinos. There have been extensive renovations made to both of these properties.
Ruffin is still totally dedicated to his casinos even at the age of 87. So much so that he declared to Forbes that he has no plans to retire and that his goal is to "die at his desk."
4. Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta III, $2.6 billion
The two Fertitta brothers, third cousins of Tilman Fertitta, each have a net worth of $2.6 billion, and their respective career paths have been startlingly similar.
Thanks to their father Frank Fertitta Jr., who opened Station Casinos in 1976, they both got their start in the casino industry at a young age.
As a local casino for the community, Station Casinos has grown to be one of the biggest in Las Vegas.
After their father retired in 1993, Lorenzo and Frank, who had previously worked for Station Casinos as young men, guided the organization to its first IPO.
In the process of raising $294 million, they joined forces to found Station Casinos Inc. and became its principal shareholders.
Frank and Lorenzo both made early investments in the UFC, buying the fight promotion business for $2 million in 2001.
The brothers sold their shares in 2016 for an estimated $4 billion in total.
Today, Station Casinos Inc. owns a large number of hotel-casinos, including Sunset Station in Henderson, Nevada, and Red Rock Casino and Spa in Las Vegas.
The business also oversees a sizable number of casinos owned by other parties.