TILMAN J. FERTITTA

When you're public, you're at the mercy of the markets. You can be doing extremely well, but if the markets are in the tank or your industry is in the tank, you don't get rewarded for it.

I can't draw a stick person. I can't play a musical instrument. But I've always had a knack for making money.

Everybody wants to be led. Except for me. I want to lead.

We don't use consultants at Landry's. We're our consultants.

You can put the greatest seafood restaurant next to an average steak house in an urban area, and that steak house will do more business than the seafood place. If you go to the water, you can put an average seafood place next to the greatest steak house, and people are going to eat seafood.

You've got to stay strong to be strong in tough times.

I buy things that are good properties that I'm going to have forever. I just don't have any intention to sell anything. I believe you acquire good assets and you keep them and operate them.

I'm there for my friends, and I'd like to think I'm there for my employees.

You have to know your strengths and weaknesses. If you don't have a particular strength, you need to go out and replace that.

Don't ever let your business get ahead of the financial side of your business. Accounting, accounting, accounting. Know your numbers.

The biggest thing I want to see is that people have the drive to succeed. If they can 'take it or leave it,' I don't do business with them. I enjoy mentoring. I like people who want to learn.

If you don't change and mix things up, you're going to get run over. One of the things we preach is change, change, change.

We will do whatever it takes to keep Tom Herman at the University of Houston. We're not going to lose Tom Herman because of money. If Tom Herman wants to go to LSU or Texas or Oregon or Baylor or wherever else, we cannot stop him from doing that. But it's not going to be because of money.

I have no issue with raising minimum wage, but then the customer can't say to us, 'Why are you raising your prices?'

I could not pass up the opportunity to build and operate a casino next door to my hometown. This casino will be where Louisiana locals and Texans will want to play, stay, and enjoy themselves.

For years, people have been trying to talk to me about doing a show, and I wouldn't do one because I'm a serious business guy. I'm not going to do a stupid show. So, the opportunity came up with CNBC, and we started talking. It became a real business show. It's educational, people watch it, and it's great for small business.

When you have to stay late, you stay late, and when you don't have to stay late, you go home. But, you do whatever it takes to get the job done that day.

I know how to finance something. It's easier today because, as you're more successful, everybody wants to do deals with you. But even in the beginning, when I took Landry's public, I owned 100 percent of it. I never had investors or anything. I was just always able to find a way to do it.

I absolutely do not think it's a foregone conclusion that we're going to lose our coach. Tom Herman loves the University of Houston. He's happy to be coaching at the University of Houston, and I think there are only a few places Tom Herman would even consider.

By adding Houston to the Big 12, all it does is make the Big 12 a power conference.

I run in a local park two or three times a week. I probably should do more than I do, but I also do weight-lifting along with that cardio.

As the economy improves, there aren't as many opportunities.

I like dealing with a peer so I can bully them. Because then, it's not bullying. It's just warfare.

I'm not on a special diet, but I do try to stay away from a lot of fried foods and from a lot of carbs. Yes, I eat a little bit of all of it.

There's nothing like history. I don't make mistakes today that I made many years ago, because I've already made them.