Frank Fertitta Jr.
{{Short description|American businessman (1938–2009)}}
{{Infobox person
|name=Frank Fertitta Jr.
|image=
|alt=
|caption=
|birth_name = Frank Joseph Fertitta Jr.
|birth_date = {{birth date|1938|10|30}}
|birth_place = Beaumont, Texas, U.S.
|death_date = {{death date and age|2009|8|21|1938|10|30}}
|death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
|resting_place = Palm Desert Memorial, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
|occupation = Entrepreneur
|spouse = {{marriage|Victoria Broussard|1958}}
|children = 3, including Frank III and Lorenzo
}}
Frank Joseph Fertitta Jr. (October 30, 1938 – August 21, 2009){{cite news|url=http://www.casinoenterprisemanagement.com/newswire/station-casinos-founder-frank-fertitta-jr-dies|title=Station Casinos Founder, Frank Fertitta Jr. Dies|date=August 24, 2009|work=Casino Enterprise Management|access-date=December 29, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923200928/http://www.casinoenterprisemanagement.com/newswire/station-casinos-founder-frank-fertitta-jr-dies|archive-date=September 23, 2015|url-status=dead}} was an American entrepreneur. He was the founder of Station Casinos, a gaming company based in Summerlin South, Nevada. The company started out as a locals casino operator on July 1, 1976, opening the Bingo Palace, which was later renamed Palace Station.{{cite news|url=http://articles.boston.com/2009-08-24/bostonglobe/29254790_1_station-casinos-frank-fertitta-lorenzo-fertitta|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120717060801/http://articles.boston.com/2009-08-24/bostonglobe/29254790_1_station-casinos-frank-fertitta-lorenzo-fertitta|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 17, 2012|work=The Boston Globe|title=Frank Fertitta Jr., founder of Station Casinos; at 70|access-date=December 29, 2011}}
Background
Fertitta was born on October 30, 1938, in Beaumont, Texas, to Frank Joseph Fertitta and Josephine Grilliette. He graduated from Galveston's Kirwin High School in 1956 and married Victoria Broussard in 1958.{{cite web|url=https://obits.reviewjournal.com/obituaries/lvrj/obituary.aspx?n=frank-fertitta&pid=131898942|title=Frank Fertitta Obituary|publisher=Legacy.com|access-date=December 29, 2011}} Fertitta arrived in Las Vegas, Nevada from Texas with his wife Victoria in 1960. Frank began his career in gaming as a bellman at the Tropicana 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 {{Convert|5000|sqft|adj=on}} square gambling hall was attached to the Mini-Price Motor Inn and was a short drive from Las Vegas Boulevard.{{cite news|last=Stutz|first=Howard|url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/station-casinos-company-chief-frank-fertitta-jr-dies-at-70/|title=Station Casinos company chief Frank Fertitta Jr. dies at 70|date=August 22, 2009|work=Las Vegas Review-Journal|access-date=December 29, 2011}} "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.{{cite news|last=Benston|first=Liz|url=http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2005/dec/23/neighborhood-draw|title=Neighborhood Draw|date=December 23, 2005|work=Las Vegas Sun|access-date=December 29, 2011}}
Fertitta Jr. died on August 21, 2009, of complications from heart surgery at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Grove, Los Angeles, California at the age of 70.{{Cite web|last=Manning|first=Mary|date=2009-08-21|title=Frank Fertitta Jr., patriarch of Station Casinos, dies|url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2009/aug/21/frank-fertitta-jr-patriarch-station-casinos-dies/|access-date=2021-02-11|website=lasvegassun.com – Las Vegas Sun Newspaper|language=en}} He was interred at the Palm Desert Memorial in Las Vegas, Nevada.
References
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