Foodies with a burning passion for seafood might turn to this company. Formerly JCS Holdings, Ignite Restaurant Group operates Joe's Crab Shack, a leading casual dining chain with more than 110 locations in Texas, California, Florida, and about 25 other states. The eateries feature a wide variety of grilled, fried, and stuffed seafood, along with sandwiches and sides. The seafood chain is known for its fun and quirky surf-inspired atmosphere where the servers are often part of the entertainment. In addition to its flagship restaurant brand, Ignite operates a small number of Brick House Tavern + Tap locations. The company is backed by private equity group J. H. Whitney Capital Partners.

You needn't answer any riddles to eat at these restaurants. Sfinks Polska is a leading operator of casual dining chains in Poland and Eastern Europe with more than 100 locations. Its flagship chain SPHINX offers a Mediterranean-inspired menu of grilled meats, pizza, and pasta. In addition to domestic units, the chain has locations in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Romania. Sfinks Polska also operates Chlopskie Jadlo (Countryside Cuisine), which offers traditional Polish dishes in a rustic setting, as well as a Chinese concept called WOOK. Chairman and founder Tomasz Morawski controls 45% of the company.

Ripley Entertainment believes in weirdness. Ripley Entertainment, Inc., a subsidiary of Canadian conglomerate Jim Pattison, publishes the "Ripley's Believe It or Not!" oddities comic strip that appears in about 200 newspapers in more than 40 countries, and licenses its name for toys and games, as well as a Paramount Pictures-produced movie based on the life of the company's founder. It also owns about 60 other entertainment attractions -- including Ripley's Believe It or Not! museums (called odditoriums), Louis Tussaud's Wax Museum, aquariums, 3-D simulation theaters, haunted house adventure parks, miniature golf courses, and sightseeing trains. The brand was created by cartoonist Robert L. Ripley in 1918.

Primm Casinos operates three casinos in Primm, Nevada (located on the border between southern California and southern Nevada). Its Whiskey Pete's, Buffalo Bill's, and Primm Valley Resort properties together offer more than 3,200 slot machines, 85 gaming tables, race and sports books, poker, and keno. The facilities also include about 2,650 hotel rooms, live entertainment, convention space, and several restaurants. In addition, the properties collectively own and manage three gas station/convenience stores, a Starbucks outlet, and one California Lottery lotto store. Primm Casinos is a subsidiary of Herbst Gaming.

Kennywood is not the Islands in the Stream counterpart to singer Dolly Parton's Dollywood. (Turn to Herschend Family Entertainment for that distinction). It does own and operate four amusement parks in Pennsylvania: Kennywood Park, Idlewild & Soak Zone, Sandcastle Waterpark, and Pittsburgh's Riverplex, a traditional picnic-type park located next to Sandcastle. Kennywood Entertainment Company, Inc. markets its parks for group outings, and offers event planning and catering services. Kennywood Entertainment was founded in 1898. It is a subsidiary of Spanish theme park company Parques Reunidos.

Jumeirah, which began operations in 1997, is a member of Dubai Holding, a collection of Dubai-based businesses and projects. The Dubai-based international hospitality firm Jumeirah Group manages about 10 luxury hotels and resorts primarily in the Middle East, but also in London (the Jumeirah Carlton Tower and Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel), and the US (it acquired the Essex House in New York's Central Park South in 2006 and renamed it the Jumeirah Essex House). The group's portfolio also includes Wild Wadi, a water park located in Dubai, and The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management.

Aberdeen Football Club owns and operates the Scottish Premier League soccer team known to fans as The Dons. Formed in 1903, Aberdeen FC has won seven Scottish Cups (its last in 1990) and four Scottish League championships. The company, which generates revenue primarily from gate receipts and sponsorships, also owns the team's home pitch at Pittodrie Stad.

Heart of Midlothian operates the Heart of Midlothian Football Club, which plays in the Scottish Premier League. Better known to supporters as Hearts, the team was founded in 1874 and boasts four league titles (its last in 1960) and seven Scottish Cups. Hearts' home ground is Tynecastle Stadium. Russian businessman Vladimir Romanov controls the team through his Ukio Bankas Investment Group (UBIG).

Operating one of the world's largest online betting businesses, Betfair offers wagers on everything from horse and dog racing to which royal prince will get engaged first. With more than 6 million transactions per day, its products include peer-to-peer betting exchange Betfair.com and a group of poker and other traditional casino games. Betfair holds licenses to take bets in the UK, Germany, Italy, Malta, Austria, and Australia though it allows customers to bet on events worldwide. For another sort of betting, the company runs Tradefair, which applies its transactional technology to the financial derivatives market.

When Mom wants a salad, Dad craves fried chicken, and little Johnny is screaming for enchiladas, what's an all-American family to do? A simple trip to the cafeteria line at Luby's may do the trick. Luby's owns and operates about 95 cafeteria-style restaurants that offer dozens of different entrees, salads, vegetable dishes, and desserts. The chain's menu is heavy on such comfort foods as mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and fried chicken. Nearly all of the restaurants are found in Texas; Luby's has a small number of eateries in three other states. In addition to its core restaurant business, Luby's offers contract foodservices to a small number of clients in the health care and education industries.

Inviting Real Estate Agents, Job Placements Agents, Educational Institutes, Software Service Providers, Real Estate Builders, Marriage Bureaus, Travel Agents, Restaurant Owners, Health & Fitness Centers and other Local Businesses to Post a FREE Classified Advertisement on Cootera.com Classifieds Website.