Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Honorable mentions for ‘smartest’ in town include Robert Bigelow, Lorenzo Fertitta

In our long discussions about who to select as The Smartest Dude In Town, several tempting names came up. Here are our four runners up. Best of luck next year, guys, and kudos for making our elite list.

    • Robert Bigelow
      /Las Vegas Sun

      Robert Bigelow - CEO, Bigelow Aerospace

      Robert Bigelow is building a burgeoning space station business in North Las Vegasthe city in the country hardest hit by the Great Recessionand succeeding. Big time. His company developed a low-cost, lightweight space station prototype that could become an orbiting laboratory for scientists, or become a cool activity for space tourists. Bigelow just might be the smartest dude in town with the lowest profile, too. This guy is building the stuff of legend in our own backyards, and few people even know it’s there.

    • Lorenzo Fertitta
      /Special to the Sun

      Lorenzo Fertitta - CEO, Zuffa LLC

      As owner of Ultimate Fighting Championship-a subsidiary of his sports-promotion company Zuffa LLC Alongside UFC President Dana White, Lorenzo Fertitta has helped shape Las Vegas’ new home sport. Long gone are the days of boxing greats Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, but here to stay are the days of Forrest Griffin and Anderson Silva. Exploding in popularity each year, Fertitta and his cohorts have a big, moneymaking entertainment venture on their hands.

    • Michael Gaughan
      Photo by John Katsilometes

      Michael Gaughan - President and CEO, South Point Hotel & Casino

      Michael Gaughan has blinders on. Who cares what’s trendy when you know what works? The people want rodeos. They want fun. They want to feel comfortable in their hometown casino. While other casino moguls were opening barely sold high-end condo towers, Gaughan was putting a Steak ‘n’ Shake—a legendary Midwestern shakes and burgers joint—next to the movie theater at his down-Strip property. Gaughan knows his customers, and capitalizes on his adeptness.

    • Phil Ruffin
      Photo by Christopher DeVargas

      Phil Ruffin - CEO, Treasure Island

      Like most Nevadans, Phil Ruffin doesn’t have a college degree. Yet, he’s still become a huge success. Ruffin bought Treasure Island from MGM Resorts International in 2009 for the mind-bogglingly low sum of $775 million—and it appears he’ll see a return on his investment. Treasure Island was once a high-end hotel and casino. Ruffin’s changing all that by putting in a Gilley’s and marketing toward the everyman. Ruffin is a guy who knows how to buy when the getting’s good, and how to renovate effectively during an economic downturn.

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