Tilman J. Fertitta

I know how to finance something. It's easier today because, as you're more successful, everybody wants to do deals with you. But even in the beginning, when I took Landry's public, I owned 100 percent of it. I never had investors or anything. I was just always able to find a way to do it.

As much as you need to know your operations, if you don't understand the finance side and how to do the business, you're never going to be successful. So you might be the best operator or visionary, but if you don't understand the finance side... I'm successful because I know the finance side, but I also know operations; it's not an accident.

I'm not on a special diet, but I do try to stay away from a lot of fried foods and from a lot of carbs. Yes, I eat a little bit of all of it.

You have to know your strengths and weaknesses. If you don't have a particular strength, you need to go out and replace that.

Don't ever let your business get ahead of the financial side of your business. Accounting, accounting, accounting. Know your numbers.