Jazz Basketball Investors owns and operates the Utah Jazz professional basketball franchise, which joined the National Basketball Association in 1974 as the New Orleans Jazz. Since moving to Salt Lake City in 1979, the team has made two NBA Finals appearances in 1997 and 1998 (losing both times to the Chicago Bulls). The Jazz plays host to loyal fans at Salt Lake's EnergySolutions Arena. The family of Larry Miller (Larry H. Miller Group) has owned the team since 1985.

It shouldn't be a surprise that Uno Restaurant Holdings thinks its pizza is numero uno. The company operates and franchises about 160 Uno Chicago Grill restaurants in about 25 states and a handful of other countries. Known for its deep-dish, Chicago-style pizza, the casual dining chain also serves pasta, salads, seafood, steaks, burgers, and sandwiches. In addition to its flagship chain, the company has a fast casual concept called Uno Due Go as well as quick service Uno Express locations located in airports, sports arenas, and malls. Through subsidiary Uno Foods, it sells branded food products to airlines, hotels, supermarkets, and theaters. Uno Restaurant Holdings filed for bankruptcy in 2010.

Consolidated Restaurants operates about a dozen upscale and casual-dining restaurants in the Seattle area, including DC's Grill, The Metropolitan Grill, Steamer's Seafood Cafe, Quincy's Chargrilled Burgers, and Wing Dome Restaurants, and Elliott's Oyster House. Consolidated Restaurants' Royal Argosy is a fine dining dinner ship (operating in partnership with Argosy Cruises) that offers lunch and dinner cruises around Puget Sound. The late David Cohn founded Consolidated Restaurants as Barb Enterprises when he opened his first restaurant in Seattle in 1951.

MGM Grand Hotel operates one of the world's largest casino resorts. Opened in 1993, the MGM Grand Las Vegas includes four towers with more than 6,000 hotel rooms and some 160,000 sq. ft. of casino space, which includes some 2,500 slot machines and 160 table games. The casino, which takes up an entire city block on the Las Vegas Strip, also serves as a venue for concerts, sporting events, and magic shows. Other attractions include a Cirque du Soleil show, restaurants from celebrity chefs such as Wolfgang Puck and Emeril Lagasse, shopping outlets, a swimming-pool complex, a spa, a wedding chapel, and a lion habitat. MGM Grand is a subsidiary of MGM Resorts International.

The American Hockey League is a minor league sports organization that serves as a farm system for the National Hockey League. Each of its 29 teams is affiliated with at least one professional franchise, providing a training ground for young players and offering a reserve roster of players who can be called up to the NHL. Established in 1936, the league has teams located throughout the US and in Canada. It regulates franchise ownership and oversees such business operations as sponsorships and marketing. The AHL season runs from October through April, followed by a playoff for the Calder Cup championship trophy.

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.

Carlson Restaurants Worldwide (CRW) has a lot of Friday's for which to be thankful. A leader in full-service restaurants, the company operates and franchises more than 900 T.G.I. Friday's casual dining locations across the US and in about 60 other countries. The restaurant chain offers a menu featuring beef, chicken, and seafood entrees along with a selection of popular appetizers. About 300 T.G.I. Friday's units are company-owned while the rest are franchised. The company also operates Pick Up Stix, an Asian-themed fast-casual chain with more than 90 locations in California, Nevada, and Arizona. CRW is a subsidiary of travel and leisure conglomerate Carlson Companies.

Tarsadia Hotels operates about a dozen mostly upscale hotels in California (in Anaheim, Los Angeles, Napa Valley, San Diego, and San Francisco), including the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego. The company's brands (such as Marriott, Hilton, and Doubletree), are in high-end tourist areas and are a cut above the usual limited-service establishment. Tarsadia Hotels also offers sales, marketing, IT, HR, and accounting services to hospitality companies. Tarsadia Hotels was founded in 1976 when B.U. Patel and his sons Mike and Tushar acquired the 20-room Dunes Motel in Anaheim in 1976.

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.

Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group oversees a collection of about 20 upscale restaurants created by celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck, including his flagship portfolio of Spago locations in Beverly Hills, California; Las Vegas; and Maui, Hawaii. Its other restaurants include Chinois, CUT, Postrio, Trattoria del Lupo, and Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill. Chef Puck, who's food and dining empire is operated through Wolfgang Puck Worldwide, opened his first Spago restaurant in West Hollywood in 1982.

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