Casino Owner Buys Houston Rockets
(Associated Press) - Restaurant and casino owner Tilman Fertitta agreed to buy the Houston Rockets from Leslie Alexander on Tuesday for an NBA-record $2.2 billion, a person with knowledge of the details confirmed to the Associated Press. The price surpassed the $2 billion Steve Ballmer paid for the Los Angeles Clippers in 2014. Fertitta, 60, of Galveston, Texas, will be the team’s sole owner. The billionaire is the owner of the Landry’s restaurant chain and Golden Nugget casino and hotels and is the chairman of the board of regents of the University of Houston System and star of the reality show ‘‘Billion Dollar Buyer’’ on CNBC.