Billion Dollar Buyer

As chairman and CEO of hospitality company Landry's, Inc., Tilman Fertitta is in charge of a number of nationally known dining and entertainment brands, including Morton's The Steakhouse and Golden Nugget Hotels & Casinos. With these and other businesses under his purview, he has tremendous buying power with an annual budget of $2 billion, and he's looking to use it to help American small businesses highlighted in this series. In each episode, he spends time with two small businesses, sampling their products and getting to know their owners. After sharing his expertise and pushing for improvements to the firms' products, Fertitta decides whether to place a significant purchase order with one of the companies, both or neither. When Fertitta chooses a company with which to place an order, it can transform not only the business but also its owners' lives. Failure to secure an order from Fertitta, on the other hand, could be the end of the road. … MORE