UFC Gambling Rising While Fertitta Family Keeps Station Casinos

The Fertitta family has been dealing with mixed emotions over the past couple of months. The family's Ultimate Fighting Championship business has been thriving, but their Station Casinos Inc. was forced into bankruptcy.

This week was good on both fronts for the Fertitta family. A judge decided that a group backed by the Fertitta family had qualified to win the bid to keep Station Casinos. At the same time, UFC 117 was a major success on Saturday evening.

The Station Casinos battle had been ongoing for months. Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta took the company private and made millions of dollars in the process. The brothers also accrued debt, however, and when the bottom fell out of the economy, Station Casinos was one of the company's that was swept under.

Boyd Gaming appeared to be the biggest competitor to win the rights to Station Casinos. After months of holding off Boyd Gaming, the Fertitta family and their bidding group was finally able to persuade the bankruptcy judge that they were the right group to lead the company out of bankruptcy.

The UFC business is much more stable at the present time. Boxing was long considered to be a favorite of sports gamblers, but that has changed with the arrival of mixed martial arts fighting. UFC is currently the top brand for MMA fights.

"Over the past couple of years, MMA gambling has gone through the roof, while boxing betting is way down," said Gaming Analyst Steve Schwartz. "That is a result of the younger generation relating more to the action packed MMA style. Boxing has become almost a secondary sport in recent years, and that is good for UFC."

The Fertitta family has given the keys to their UFC empire to Dana White, who, in the process, has made the sport relevant not only in the US but around the world. White is one of the more outspoken presidents in sports, and his combative nature has propelled the sport to never before seen heights.

August 8, 2010
Posted By Terry Goodwin
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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