Golden Nugget owner increases his stake in Wynn Resorts

Billionaire Tilman Fertitta capitalized on recent economic market volatility by buying up additional shares of a Las Vegas-based casino company.

Fertitta bought 400,000 shares of Wynn Resorts Ltd. this month, increasing his overall stake in the company to 13 million shares, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The 67-year-old businessman and soon-to-be foreign diplomat has been Wynn’s largest individual shareholder since late last year. He now has roughly a 12.3 percent stake in the company.

President Donald Trump picked Fertitta to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to Italy and San Marino. Last month, Fertitta announced his resignation as chief executive officer of Fertitta Entertainment LLC, a hospitality and entertainment company he founded and owns, to avoid “any actual or apparent conflict of interest,” while serving in the Trump administration.

Fertitta Entertainment is a holding company for Landry’s Inc., the Houston-based conglomerate that operates, among other entities, the NBA’s Houston Rockets and three Golden Nugget hotel-casinos in Nevada, located in downtown Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe and Laughlin.

Fertitta bought into Wynn in 2022, buying 6.9 million shares for a 6.1 percent stake.

In mid-November 2024, Fertitta upped his stake in Wynn Resorts to 9.9 percent, becoming its largest individual shareholder. In February, he purchased more shares, increasing his stake in the company to 10.9 percent.

According to SEC documents, Fertitta purchased 200,000 shares of Wynn on April 4, when the stock price was valued at just under $70.40 a share. He bought another 100,000 shares on the same day at a price of $70.31 per share. On April 7, Fertitta bought another 100,000 shares when Wynn’s stock price was at $67.62 a share, just above its 52-week-low of $65.25.

On Wednesday, after initial reports of Fertitta’s increased stake, shares of Wynn Resorts jumped nearly 15 percent, closing the trading day at $75.89 a share.

Overall, financial markets have not responded favorably to the president’s recent tariff proposals, which economists fear could trigger a global trading war. Wall Street posted its worst week in five years following Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement on April 2.

But stocks rallied Wednesday after Trump announced a 90-day pause on most tariffs.

Fertitta, a former television reality personality who appeared on “Billion Dollar Buyer,” has no political or diplomatic experience but has long been a campaign donor. Public finance reports show he has contributed money to candidates of both major parties, although the bulk goes to Republican politicians, including millions of dollars to GOP officials in his home state of Texas.

In 2020, Fertitta donated $140,000 to Trump’s unsuccessful re-election campaign and contributed $5,600 to former President Joe Biden. Before the 2024 election, Fertitta hosted a fundraising event for Trump at his Post Oak Hotel in Houston.

Contact David Danzis at ddanzis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0378. Follow @ac2vegas-danzis.bsky.social or @AC2Vegas_Danzis on X.