Caesars to reject merger offer from Tilman Fertitta’s Golden Nugget Josh Kosman, New York Post · October 21, 2018 at 7:40 pm Caesars isn’t interested in any of Tillman Fertitta’s Golden Nuggets. Fertitta — the billionaire owner of the Houston Rockets — invited Caesars Entertainment earlier this month to merge with his own gaming empire, which includes the Golden Nugget casino chain. But Caesars’ board — which includes reps from billionaire Leon Black’s Apollo Management and David Bonderman’s TPG — is expected to unanimously reject Fertitta’s deal as soon as this week, believing it would saddle the casino giant with too much debt, two sources close to the situation told The Post. Instead, Caesars — which also owns the Harrah’s and Bally’s casinos, as well as the Planet Hollywood chain — is in advanced talks to buy a few properties from Jacks Entertainment, a Midwest-based gaming concern that owns six casinos in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Detroit.