Texas billionaire and Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta is in talks to take his casino and restaurant empire public through a merger with blank-check firm Fast Acquisition Corp., according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The special purpose acquisition company is in talks to raise more than $1 billion in new equity to support a transaction, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the matter isn’t public. The deal could value the combined entity at up to $7 billion including debt, one of the people added.

The new company, which Fertitta would still control, is set to include casinos and restaurants under the Golden Nugget and Landry’s umbrellas, they said. If talks are successful, a deal could be announced n the coming weeks.