Thomas Breitling (born June 19, 1969) is an American entrepreneur.

Early life

Breitling was born in

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...

. His father became a pilot for

Northwest Airlines Northwest Airlines (often abbreviated as NWA) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 until it Delta Air Lines–Northwest Airlines merger, merged with Delta Air Lines in 2010. The merger made Delta the largest airline ...

after serving in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

. His mother was a nurse. Breitling was educated at St. John the Baptist in

Savage, Minnesota Savage ( ) is a suburban city south-southwest of downtown Minneapolis in Scott County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city is on the south bank of the Minnesota River in a region commonly called ''South of the River,'' comprising the south ...

through the eighth grade. He then went on to the

Academy of Holy Angels Academy of Holy Angels (AHA) is a private Catholic high school in Richfield, Minnesota. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, the nationally recognized college-preparatory school educates more than 600 students ...

Richfield, Minnesota Richfield is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota. An inner-ring suburb of Minneapolis, Richfield is bordered by Minneapolis to the north, Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport and Fort Snelling to the east, Bloomington to the south, ...

, where he attended

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

and played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

. He then went on to study at the

University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in San Diego, California, United States. Chartered in 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University ...

, California. He was a member of the

Sigma Pi Sigma Pi () is a collegiate fraternity in North America. As of 2021, it had more than 5,000 undergraduate members and over 118,000 alumni. The fraternity is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded on February 26, 1897, at Vincennes Uni ...

fraternity and graduated with a degree in

Communications Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

, with a minor in

Business Administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

, in 1991.

Career

Breitling began as a weatherman for

KHIZ KILM (channel 64) is a television station licensed to Inglewood, California, United States, broadcasting the digital multicast network Bounce TV to the Los Angeles area. It is owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps ...

, then was promoted to sports anchor. In 1993 Tim Poster asked him to help him run his startup company, Las Vegas Reservation Systems. Breitling served as its vice president until he co-founded Travelscape.com in March 1998. Travelscape.com grossed $104 million in sales in 1999, from just $800,000 in sales in 1990. Breitling and Poster sold Travelscape to

Expedia Expedia Inc. is an online travel agency owned by Expedia Group, based in Seattle. The website and mobile app can be used to book airline tickets, hotel reservations, car rentals, cruise ships, and vacation packages. Expedia.com was launched on ...

for over $89,750,000. From June 2003 to September 2005, Breitling served as vice-chairman of the

Golden Nugget Las Vegas The Golden Nugget Las Vegas is a luxury hotel and casino located in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, on the Fremont Street Experience. The property is owned and operated by Landry's, Inc. It has 2,419 hotel rooms. History The Golden Nugget was o ...

properties in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

and

Laughlin, Nevada Laughlin () is an unincorporated community in Clark County, Nevada, United States. Laughlin lies south of Las Vegas, in the far southern tip of Nevada. As a resort town, it is known for its gaming and water recreation. As of the 2020 census, t ...

. Breitling and Poster acquired the Golden Nugget properties in June 2003 for $215 million; their running of the casino was the subject of the reality television show '' The Casino''. In September 2005, they sold the Golden Nugget for approximately $340 million. Breitling has published his autobiography, ''Double or Nothing'' in 2008. Tom Breitling and Tim Poster joined Wynn Resorts subsidiary Wynn Las Vegas as Senior Vice Presidents of Strategy and Development in July 2008. In 2010, Tom Breitling co-founded Ultimate Gaming with Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta. The goal of Ultimate Gaming was to bridge the gap between land based

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

s and online gaming to bring our players the Ultimate Gaming Experience. In April 2013, Breitling's company launched the first ever, legal and regulated

online poker Online poker is the game of poker played over the Internet. It has been partly responsible for a huge increase in the number of poker players worldwide. Christiansen Capital Advisors stated online poker revenues grew from $82.7 million in 2001 t ...

site in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

- Ultimate Poker. On April 30, 2013, Ultimate Poker dealt the first ever legal hand of

in the state of

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

. Breitling then, successfully launched Ultimate Casino inside the State of New Jersey in November 2013.

Personal life

Breitling married model/actress Vanessa Tarazona in a lavish ceremony on September 12, 2007, in Lake Como, Italy.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Breitling, Thomas 1969 births American entertainment industry businesspeople American casino industry businesspeople Living people Businesspeople from Saint Paul, Minnesota Participants in American reality television series University of San Diego alumni Sigma Pi members

Early life

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links