Dallas Basketball owns and operates the Dallas Mavericks professional basketball franchise, which joined the National Basketball Association in 1980. Dallas struggled to find success for much of its history but has become a regular contender for the playoffs under current owner Mark Cuban. A talented roster that included such players as Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard earned the franchise's first trip to the NBA Finals in 2006 (which resulted in a loss to the Miami Heat). The Dallas basketball team was formed by millionaire Donald Carter; Cuban, an Internet billionaire, has controlled the Mavs since 2000.

Serving breakfast foods and baked goods takes first place with this company. American Blue Ribbon Holdings (ABR) is a leading multi-concept restaurant operator with more than 300 company-owned and franchised family dining establishments operating under the Village Inn and Bakers Square brands. Serving mostly the Midwest and Rocky Mountain states, its flagship Village Inn chain with more than 200 locations is well-known for its breakfast menu and selection of baked goods. The company's Bakers Square chain is best known for its pies and other baked goods, but the eateries also serve soups and sandwiches. Formed in 2009, ABR is owned by affiliates of Fidelity National Financial and Providence Equity Partners.

Paddy Power is a leading bookmaker serving bettors in Ireland and the UK through about 250 retail betting outlets. Paddy Power plc offers betting on a wide range of sporting events, including cricket, football, horse racing, and rugby, as well as American and other international sports. It also takes bets online and over the phone. Paddy Power also offers other online gaming, including bingo, casino games, and poker. In addition to its domestic and UK activities, the company operates betting in Australia through 61%-owned subsidiary Sportsbet.

Peel back the layers of this restaurateur and you'll find more than a bloomin' steakhouse. OSI Restaurant Partners is the #2 casual-dining company in terms of revenue (behind Darden Restaurants) with about 1,470 locations in the US and more than 20 other countries. Its flagship Outback Steakhouse chain boasts about 970 outposts offering steak, chicken, and seafood in Australian-themed surroundings. OSI Restaurants also operates the Carrabba's Italian Grill chain, along with Bonefish Grill and Fleming's Prime Steakhouse. A small number of the restaurants are franchised. Kangaroo Holdings, a group including co-founders Chris Sullivan and Bob Basham and private equity firm Bain Capital, owns the company.

The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is the organizing body for women's golf, overseeing development and promotion of the game and its star players. It operates the LPGA Tour consisting of about 30 events a year. In addition to its high-profile golf tournaments, the organization runs the LPGA Teaching & Club Professional Division, which is the golf education and development subsidiary for its 1,200 members. The LPGA was founded in 1950, making it one of the oldest women's sports organizations in the world.

The menu for this company includes a family-style dinner and pie for dessert. Perkins & Marie Callender's operates and franchises more than 600 full-service restaurants under the banners Perkins Restaurant & Bakery and Marie Callender's Restaurant & Bakery. Its Perkins chain, with about 480 locations, offers standard American fare for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, along with fresh muffins, pies, and cakes. Many locations are open 24 hours a day. Its Marie Callender's chain boasts about 130 locations, offering traditional comfort foods, along with fresh baked desserts. Some 250 of the restaurants are company-owned. Perkins & Marie Callender's is owned by private equity firm Castle Harlan.

The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels (HSH) deals in luxury. The group owns and operates about two dozen deluxe hotels and commercial and residential properties in Asia, Australia, and North America. Its Peninsula Hotel brands are located in major cities such as Bangkok; Beijing; Beverly Hills, California; Chicago; Hong Kong; Manila; New York City, and Tokyo. Its properties also include the Quail Lodge Resort and Gold Club in Carmel, California. HSH is the oldest hotelier in Hong Kong (it was founded in 1866 as the Hongkong Hotel Company). The Kadoorie family controls the company, as it has for more than 100 years.

If King Arthur's knights had sat at this Round Table, they would have been eating pizza. Round Table Pizza operates a chain of about 500 family-oriented pizza parlors located primarily in the western US as well as in Asia and the Middle East. The pizzerias are known for the colorful names given to menu items, including Guinevere's Garden Delight and Montague's All Meat Marvel. Round Table also serves sandwiches, salads, and appetizers. The eateries are typically found near retail developments and offer dine-in seating along with carry-out and delivery services. Most locations are franchised. William Larson opened the first Round Table Pizza in 1959 and began franchising the restaurant concept three years later.

Life Time Fitness wants to help you keep your New Year's resolutions. The company operates more than 85 exercise and recreation centers in some 20 states, including Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Texas, and Virginia. Life Time Fitness facilities offer swimming pools, basketball and racquet courts, child care centers, spas, dining services, and climbing walls, in addition to some 400 pieces of exercise equipment. Most facilities are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and average about 100,000 sq. ft. in size. They target a membership of about 5,500 to 11,500, and are designed to serve as an all-in-one sports and athletic club, professional fitness facility, family recreation center, and spa and resort.

Maybe for this company, down-home eating means home on the range. Formerly Metromedia Steakhouses, Homestyle Dining operates and franchises about 250 steak buffet restaurants under the names Ponderosa and Bonanza. The family-dining spots offer a variety of beef, chicken, seafood entrees along with an all-you-can-eat buffet of appetizers, sides, and dessert items. The restaurants operate in about two dozen states, mostly in the eastern half of the US; the company also has about 50 international locations. Homestyle Dining, which emerged from bankruptcy in 2009, is a subsidiary of Metromedia Company, a holding company controlled by billionaire John Kluge.

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