Billionaire Fertitta furloughs 40,000 workers at casino, restaurant empire

Tilman Fertitta, owner of Landry's, Inc. He said he has had to temporarily lay off 40,000 workers at his casino, hotel and restaurant empire to limit the economic damage caused by government-imposed shut-downs. Tilman Fertitta, owner of Landry's, Inc. He said he has had to temporarily lay off 40,000 workers at his casino, hotel and restaurant empire to limit the economic damage caused by government-imposed shut-downs. Photo: Jon Shapley, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer Photo: Jon Shapley, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer Image 1 of / 50 Caption Close Billionaire Fertitta furloughs 40,000 workers at casino, restaurant empire 1 / 50 Back to Gallery

Billionaire Tilman Fertitta said he has had to temporarily lay off 40,000 workers at his casino, hotel and restaurant empire to limit the economic damage caused by government-imposed shut-downs.

The Texas native, who owns the Golden Nugget casinos and hundreds of restaurants including Del Frisco’s and Bubba Gump Shrimp under the Landry’s Inc. umbrella, is calling on the government to allow businesses to reopen at limited capacity in a couple of weeks to avoid economic disaster.

“I think what we are doing with the shutdown is good but in a few weeks people will need to be around people,” Fertitta said on Tuesday. “Otherwise you are going to go into an economic crisis that is going to take us years to dig ourselves out of.”

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He said restaurants and casinos could be allowed to operate at 30 percent to 40 percent of capacity to soften the economic impact of the restrictions and allow companies to stay in business.

Fertitta’s companies have furloughed 70 percent of their employees in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has halted travel and large gatherings around the world.

All of Fertitta’s casinos have been ordered to shut and even the restaurants that are operating by offering takeout are only bringing in 4 percent to 5 percent of their typical business. His company has been burning through a few million dollars of cash per day.

“We are doing basically no business,” he said. “This is very hard on a lot of working families, but we have to survive or there is no company.”