Fertitta added that he first started looking into going public in 2019, encouraged by the sizable mergers and acquisitions activity in the industry. The COVID-19 pandemic of the past year, however, set his timetable back. He will keep "certain businesses and assets" privately owned, though specifics on those have not been disclosed. As mentioned, Golden Nugget Online Gaming went public in a SPAC arrangement last year. That one was a little different, in that the entire thing was orchestrated by Tilman Fertitta. The SPAC was Landcadia Holdings II, created by Jefferies Financial Group Inc. and Fertitta Entertainment, Inc. Fertitta, who chairman and CEO of Landcadia Holdings II, stayed on in the same role in the merged company. DraftKings also went public last year when it was acquired along with sportsbook technology developer SBTech by Diamond Eagle Acquisition Corp., yet another SPAC. Diamond Eagle changed its name to DraftKings and changed its ticker to DKNG.