MGM Mirage

U.S. Rep. Shelley BerkleyA bipartisan trio of U.S. Representatives from Nevada last week defeated a bill that would give two Native American tribes land in the suburbs of Detroit and Port Huron. Their reason for doing so, according to the Las Vegas Sun, was to protect the interests of the MGM Mirage corporation which has a hotel and casino outside of Detroit that it has spent over a billion dollars developing.

"The Nevada lawmakers' stunningly lopsided victory," Lisa Mascaro wrote in the Sun, showed "the far-flung efforts Nevada's representatives undertake on behalf of the home-state industry as gaming interests spread across the country."

Check out the Fertitta Brothers on the cover of the current Forbes magazine, or read about them here.

For the lazy: UFC was a $2 million initial investment in 2001, but after a few years and and an additional $50 million(ish) invested, the UFC brand has become the NFL of MMA (mixed martial arts) with current value of over $1 billion.