Sports

Lorenzo Fertitta is president of one of Las Vegas’ most successful casino chains. For years he has made his millions watching people gamble and having the privilege of receiving that money for himself. Yet, now that is about to change as he resigns this position and takes on the UFC full-time.

Fertitta, his older brother, Frank III and Dana White purchased the UFC in 2001 for $2 million when it was struggling and on the verge of folding. But in the seven-and-a-half years since, they’ve turned it into one of the great success stories in sports.

White, the UFC’s colorful and outspoken president, earlier this month had promised a bombshell announcement that he vowed would rock the mixed martial arts world. His long-awaited announcement, which had many in the industry in a lather speculating about what it might be, may turn out to be ho-hum news to the sport’s hard-core fans.

But White insists that Fertitta’s decision to resign as president of Station Casinos to work full-time for the UFC is a seminal moment in the company’s history. Fertitta and his older brother, Frank III, are the primary owners of the UFC. But until now Lorenzo Fertitta has devoted more than three-quarters of his time to running the family business as president of the burgeoning casino company.

But Fertitta, who according to In Business Las Vegas magazine was the second-highest paid casino executive in Las Vegas in 2007 with a salary of $113.8 million, said the growth of the UFC demanded a more significant involvement. Fertitta insisted the move was no indictment of White, his long-time friend and next-door neighbor, but rather one which is desperately needed because of the significant growth the company is undergoing.

“The problem, if there is a problem, is that the business has gotten so successful, it’s requiring more time, focus and attention,” Fertitta said. “Station Casinos is a business my family and I have built and now it’s a multi-billion dollar company. But the reality is, the UFC has gone through so much growth in the last eight years, my brother and I felt we’d be better in divide and conquer mode. He’ll stay at Station Casinos and take care of that and I’ll come over here and work on the issues involving the UFC.”

Frank Fertitta III will remain as chief executive officer of Station Casinos, though he’ll retain his ownership stake in the UFC. Lorenzo Fertitta, meanwhile, will work to develop the international business for an organization which once struggled to gain a foothold in the U.S.