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.

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.

If you really had two left feet, wouldn't you just keep dancing to the left? Arthur Murray International would prefer not to find out. Originally famous for its "footprints" method of dance instruction (foot outlines placed on the floor, a method it no longer uses), the company franchises about 225 studios in approximately 15 countries. Dance lessons range in skill from beginning to competition-level dancing, and students can learn a variety of steps, including swing, samba, merengue, rumba, cha-cha, mambo, tango, and waltz. Founder Arthur Murray began teaching dance in 1912; he formed the company in 1946. The company consists of approximately 275 franchised studios in eight countries including the United States, Australia, Canada, Germany, Israel, Japan, Italy, and South Africa. Former staff members who have worked their way up in the company own and operate the franchised studios. These owners typically began their careers with Arthur Murray as dance instructors, realized the opportunity of operating a studio, and reached executive level. Arthur Murray staff members were eligible to become franchisees within just a few years of beginning as teachers. Sales for Arthur Murray International during the late 1990s amounted to an estimated $50 million.

Guoman Hotels (formerly Thistle Hotels Limited) is trying to stick it to the competition with its chain of UK hotels. Guoman Hotels company operates more than 30 hotel properties in the UK under the Guoman and Thistle brands, and is one of the largest hotel operators in London. Targeting both business and leisure travelers, its full-service, four-star hotels feature such amenities as fax, modem, and PC hookups, as well as restaurants, conference rooms, and lounges. Properties include the Thistle Marble Arch, Thistle Piccadilly, Thistle Bloomsbury, Thistle Hyde Park, and One Whitehall Place.

Western Professional Hockey League (WPHL) operates the Central Hockey League (CHL), a development league with 16 teams located in Texas, Oklahoma, and a half dozen other states. Affiliated with the National Hockey League, the CHL serves as a proving ground for young players before they are called up through the ranks. Teams including the Arizona Sundogs (Prescott Valley), the Corpus Christi Rayz (Texas), and the Texas Brahmas (Fort Worth) compete each season for the Ray Miron President's Cup. Started in 1992, the CHL regulates franchise ownership and helps promote its teams. WPHL is a subsidiary of Global Entertainment Corporation.

GameAccount has a booming business on account of the games people play. GameAccount Global Limited operates a network of Web sites, the GameAccount Network, which plays host to people who pay to play against each other in such skill-based games as backgammon, gin rummy, and poker. Players from more than 130 countries (with the exception of the US) participate in games on the network, which operates in 14 languages and 25 currencies. GameAccount takes a commission from the money players ante up; it also licenses its gaming software to other sites, such as Sportingbet and Gala Coral Group. GameAccount was founded in 2001 by David McDowell and Kevin O'Neal with backing from the Smurfit family of Smurfit Kappa Group fame.

The Blackburn Rovers Football & Athlethic owns and operates the Blackburn Rovers Football Club, a professional soccer team that was established in 1890 as a founding member of The Football League. The team last won the league title in 1994, a few months before the launch of the English Premiership. The club also runs a successful Youth Academy.

Intrawest doesn't mind peaks and valleys in its business, as long as they're covered with snow. Intrawest ULC company owns or has interests in about 10 ski resorts in North America, including a 77% stake in flagship Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia (a 2010 Winter Olympics venue). Intrawest also owns the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Florida and Canadian Mountain Holidays, a provider of helicopter access to ski and hiking trails. Intrawest was taken private by private equity firm Fortress Investment Group in 2006 in a deal worth about $2.8 billion, including the assumption of more than $990 million in debt.

The Milwaukee Bucks professional basketball franchise joined the National Basketball Association in 1968 and earned a championship title just three years later with the help of Hall of Fame player Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). The team has made one other appearance in the NBA Finals in 1974. Hometown fans support the Bucks at Milwaukee's aging Bradley Center. Local businessmen Wesley Pavalon and Marvin Fishman were originally awarded the basketball franchise. Wisconsin Senator Herb Kohl, whose family started the Kohl's department store chain, has owned the Bucks since 1985.

Hospitality USA Investment Group Inc. is a diversified management company specializing in the unique entertainment and hospitality industry.Hospitality USA fills a void in the pub and restaurant industry by providing concepts that are not only exciting, but cost effective as well. Hospitality USA emphasizes high quality value, service and products in formats that allow every patron to enjoy a pleasurable experience in a fun, lively atmosphere.

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