Tilman Takes Over the World

Houston billionaire celebrates hotel opening with showgirls, Oilers & world's largest piece of gold

BILOXI — As Tilman Fertitta opened the 700-room Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino on the Mississippi Gulf Coast Friday, the Houston billionaire was treated like a celebrity as fans begged for his autograph and thanked him for putting his faith in their part of the world.

One man approached Fertitta with a copy of a September 2012 Forbes magazine story about the Landry's chairman/CEO and asked him to sign it.

"I was supposed to be on the cover and they decided they needed to put a woman on the cover (Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff)," Fertitta explained. "Now, do you think people in America wanted to read about her or read about me?"

"I want to give you a taste of what's coming into Lake Charles," Fertitta said. "This is a beautiful property but Lake Charles is going to be bigger and better."

"At least they did put you on top," the man said, noting the headline at the top of the magazine, referring to Fertitta as "The Seafood Billionaire," was positioned right next to a headline about billionaire investor Warren Buffett.

"I never thought about that," Fertitta chuckled.

Indeed, with the opening of the lavish hotel — Fertitta spent $100 million to transform the dowdy Isle of Capri (dubbed by some as "Pile of Debris" because of its neglected state) into a sparkling Las Vegas-style resort — the restaurant/hotel entrepreneur is at the top of his game.

"It's special to do a multi-million dollar project in the South. We're Southerners, it's fun to do stuff in the South," Fertitta said, about his first casino foray in the region.

And he's not finished yet.

With an even bigger $700 million flaghship hotel/casino complex slated to debut in Lake Charles in December, Fertitta is targeting Houston travelers as he aims to make Golden Nugget a national brand. (Landry's also owns Golden Nugget hotels in Las Vegas, Laughlin, Nev., and Atlantic City.)

Fertitta was so proud of the new resort that he flew nine members of the Houston media, including CultureMap, in his private jet (a Gulfstream GV) for the grand opening and feted us at his private yacht, the Boardwalk, before sending us back home. (He had entertained 20 high rollers on the yacht the night before after jetting in from Cabo San Lucas.)

"I want to give you a taste of what's coming into Lake Charles," he said. "This is a beautiful property but Lake Charles is going to be bigger and better."

Familiar features

The Biloxi resort has many of the features of a Landry's-owned property, including an H20 pool and swim up bar (like the one at the San Luis in Galveston — only bigger) and such familiar restaurants as Morton's and Bubba Gump Shrimp Company that open up onto the massive gaming floor, with more than 1,200 slot machines and 54 table games. The complex also includes revamped rooms in tasteful shades of brown and taupe, a bar with video poker, and a slew of other lounges, restaurants and stores.

Unlike many resorts where the pool is in an out-of-the-way location, it takes up a prime position at the entrance to the casino. "I don't go bury a pool in the back. I love all the energy with the pool and the restaurant and the casino working together," Fertitta explained.

"Even the flowers match my bikini top," a cocktail waitress named Crystal boasted.

Around the pool, everything is color-coordinated. "Even the flowers match my bikini top," a cocktail waitress named Crystal boasted.

Inside, such restaurants as Lillie's Asian Cuisine and Bar 46, with a live band, open out onto the large casino, where the whiff of cigarette smoke hangs in the air. Upstairs, around the corner from retail shops and the check-in area, a small casino area caters to non-smoking gamblers. In another area, slots are situated near windows looking out onto the ocean for players who yearn for some natural light.

As at most casinos, the Golden Nugget draws its share of eclectic guests. One woman was spotted in a T-shirt emblazoned with the words "Jesus is my BFF" while a veteran in military attire from Pensacola, at the casino for his wife's birthday, bragged how he started with $40 and had won $500.

"The slots are good," he said.

But neither looked out of place amid two showgirls in yellow plumes who smiled broadly during the ribbon-cutting even as four men in camouflage uniforms and toting machine guns stood only a few feet away, guarding a $5 million golden nugget — reportedly the largest in the world. Dubbed the "Hand of Faith," it was transferred from the Las Vegas Golden Nugget to Biloxi for the opening and will reside behind bullet-proof glass near the check-in area.

Also on hand were former Houston Oilers Robert Brazile, aka "Dr. Doom," and Vernon Perry, who were members of the team in its heyday during the mid-1970s and early 1980s. Brazile now lives in Mobile, Ala., and Perry lives in Jackson, Miss.

Golden Nugget cocktail waitress Crystal notes that the flowers around the pool match her bikini top.

Golden Nugget Biloxi swimming pool Crystal cocktail waitess May 2014

Photo by Clifford Pugh

Golden Nugget cocktail waitress Crystal notes that the flowers around the pool match her bikini top.

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Now hear this

New Texas museum shines spotlight on Tejano music history

Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum, San Antonio, tejano music

Photo by Edmond Ortiz

Roger Hernandez serves as board president of the Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum.

For a city that proudly calls itself the capital of Tejano music, San Antonio has long been missing a permanent place to honor the genre’s pioneers and preserve its history. That gap officially closed In December with the opening of the Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum at 1414 Fredericksburg Rd.

The music couldn’t have found a better steward than its founder and board president. Roger Hernandez has had his finger on the pulse of Tejano music for decades. His company, En Caliente Productions, has provided a platform for countless performing artists and songwriters in Tejano, conjunto, and regional Mexican music since 1982.

Hernandez says his wife, who ran a shop at Market Square years ago, would often get questions from visitors about the location of a physical Tejano music museum, a thing that simply did not exist. In 2022, he banded together with friends, family, and other local Tejano music supporters to make the nonprofit Hall of Fame a reality.

“I decided I've been in the music scene for over 40 years, it's time to do a museum,” Hernandez recalls.

Hernandez says a brick-and-mortar Tejano music museum has long been needed to remember musical acts and other individuals who grew the genre across Texas and northern Mexico, especially those who are aging. Recently, the community lost famed Tejano music producer Manny Guerra and Abraham Quintanilla, the renowned Tejano singer/songwriter and father of the late superstar Selena Quintanilla-Perez. Both deaths occurred roughly one week after the Totally Tejano museum opened to the public.

“They're all dying. They're all getting older, and we need to acknowledge all these people,” Hernandez says.

The Totally Tejano Museum — named after Hernandez’s Totally Tejano Television Roku streaming — has 5,000 square feet of space packed with plaques, photos, promotional posters, musical instruments, and other memorabilia honoring the pioneers and stars of the beloved genre. Mannequins wear stage outfits from icons like Laura Canales and Flaco Jimenez, and a wall of photos remembers late greats. Totally Tejano Television plays legendary performances on a loop, bringing the exhibits to life.

The newly opened Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum includes a growing collection of memorabilia. Photo by Edmond Ortiz

Hernandez says the museum will soon welcome permanent and rotating exhibits, including traveling shows, a Hall of Fame section, and an area paying homage to Chicano music crossovers, such as the late Johnny Rodriguez, the South Texas singer-songwriter who blended country with Tex-Mex music. Plans call for the organization to hold its inaugural Hall of Fame induction in February 2026.

Eventually, a 2,000 square feet back room will be converted into additional display space and host industry gatherings, community symposiums, and record and video release parties. The museum also plans to add a gift and record shop and a music learning room where visitors can listen to early Tejano music and browse archival photos. Hernandez is already talking with local school districts about educational field trips.

Much like Tejano itself, the museum is a grassroots production. Hernandez and fellow board members have used their own money to rent, renovate, develop, and maintain the museum space. The board also leads the selection of the Hall of Fame honorees and curates the exhibits.

Hernandez has been heartened by the museum’s reception, both from media outlets and music fans around Texas and beyond.

“We had a radio station come in this morning from Houston to interview us,” he says. “People have come in from Lubbock, Texas. We have had people from Midland, Texas. We have another person who emailed us who’s coming in from New York. People are learning all about us.”

That includes many of the musicians who helped shape the genre. Johnny Hernandez, Sunny Ozuna, Elida Reyna, and Danny Martinez from Danny and The Tejanos are among the luminaries who have already graced the halls.

The Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum is now open 10 am-6 pm, Tuesday-Sunday, and closed Monday. Admission is free, but donations are encouraged. Fans can call 210-314-1310 for more information.

san antonio tejano music museums hall of fame music openings