Roll Of The Dice

Tilman Fertitta is ready for online gambling to be legal in America: Setshimself up to grab the market

Houston's favorite tycoon Tilman Fertitta is taking a gamble by unveiling one of the first online gaming sites in Nevada.

The website, www.GoldenNuggetPoker.com, will host free online poker games and tournaments 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"We have launched a free Internet site in anticipation of the legalization of online gaming in the United States," Fertitta said in a statement.

Fertitta, president and CEO of the Golden Nugget website and casinos, filed an online gaming application with the state of Nevada in February. He hopes to be one of the first gaming operators to be approved by the state for legalized online gaming.

"We have launched a free Internet site in anticipation of the legalization of online gaming in the United States," Fertitta said.

The interactive website would offer users an opportunity to partake in tournaments and promotions. Prizes for the competitions will include cash prizes, gift cards to Fertitta-owned restaraunts (including Morton's Steakhouse, Oceanaire, Bubba Gump, Chart House, Rainforest Cafe, Saltgrass Steakhouse and McCormick and Schmick's), free stays at Golden Nugget Hotels, tickets to shows and more.

The new website will utilize Bally Technologies' iGaming platform — a program that is widely used in Europe where online gaming is legal.

Golden Nugget and Landry's current free play network sees about 25,000 players a day. Fertitta hopes to attract 60 million customers annually with the pumped-up site.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”