Resting place Unknown Name Frank Jr. Occupation Entrepreneur | Ethnicity Sicilian Nationality American | |
Full Name Frank Joseph Fertitta Jr. Born October 30, 1938 ( 1938-10-30 ) Beaumont, Texas, U.S. Cause of death Complications from cardiac surgery and cardiovascular disease Spouse(s) Victoria Broussard (1958–2009, his death) Died August 21, 2009, Los Angeles, California, United States Children Lorenzo Fertitta, Frank Fertitta III Grandchildren Lorenzo Fertitta, Angelita Fertitta, Nicco Fertitta Similar People Lorenzo Fertitta, Frank Fertitta III, Dana White, Bob Meyrowitz, Rorion Gracie | ||
Organizations founded Station Casinos | ||
In Remembrance of Frank Fertitta, Jr.
Frank Joseph Fertitta Jr. (October 30, 1938 – August 21, 2009) was an American entrepreneur. He was the founder of Station Casinos, a gaming company based in Summerlin, Nevada. The company started out as a locals casino operator on July 1, 1976, opening the Bingo Palace, which was later renamed Palace Station. The company went public with an IPO in 1993 upon Fertitta's retirement.
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Background
Fertitta was born on October 30, 1938, in Beaumont, Texas, to Frank J. and Deady Fertitta. He graduated from Galveston's Kirwin High School in 1956 and married Victoria Broussard in 1958. Fertitta arrived in Las Vegas from Texas with Victoria in 1960. Frank began his career in gaming as a bellman at Tropicana Hotel and Casino while learning to become a dealer. Over the next 16 years until 1976, he worked as a dealer, pit boss, baccarat manager, and general manager at properties including the Stardust; Tropicana, Circus Circus; Sahara; and the Fremont in downtown Las Vegas.
Fertitta felt there was a gap in the market for casinos that locals could visit and where casino workers could come after work, and as a result, opened his first local casino, named "The Casino" in 1976. This 5,000-square-foot (460 m2) square gambling hall was attached to the Mini-Price Motor Inn and was a short drive from Las Vegas Boulevard. "It was pretty much desert," son Lorenzo Fertitta told the Las Vegas Sun in 2005. "People thought he was crazy." However, today Station Casinos is one of the biggest local casino operators in Las Vegas.
In 2009, Fertitta Jr. died from heart complications at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, aged 70.