China Lodging Group has a group of, you guessed it, hotels. The company operates about 235 economy-priced hotels in 40 cities, mostly in China's east coast region. It has another 140 in development, which would put the ratio of leased-and-operated to managed-under-franchise about even, though the company makes most of its revenue from the former category. China Lodging's banners include HanTing Express and HanTing Seasons, both business hotels, and HanTing Hi Inn, a budget hotel. The company locates its hotels in the country's more industrial and tourist-oriented cities. China Lodging began operations in 2005 and filed to go public in 2010. Pre-IPO, CEO Qi Ji owns about 62%.

Los Angeles' other baseball team actually resides in Anaheim, California. Angels Baseball owns and operates the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim professional baseball franchise. The team, originally owned by cowboy actor Gene Autry, joined Major League Baseball as an expansion franchise in 1960 and has boasted such Hall of Fame talent as Rod Carew and Nolan Ryan. However, Angels fans had to wait until 2002 for the team to win its first American League pennant and World Series title. Phoenix businessman Arturo Moreno, who has owned the team since 2003, was the first Hispanic to own a major sports franchise in the US.

This company hopes its crème brulee, croissants, and quiche prove as memorable as Proust's famous teacake. La Madeleine operates a chain of more than 60 la Madeleine Bakery, Café & Bistro casual dining locations in Texas, Georgia, and Louisiana, offering French country cuisine for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The restaurants, which welcome patrons with such interior appointments as a stone hearth and handcrafted wood tables, use a cafeteria-style serving line and limited table service. Each location also sells a variety of fresh baked goods. French native Patrick Leon Esquerré started the business in 1983. La Madeleine is owned by a group of investors including Paris-based restaurant operator Groupe Le Duff.

Batavia Downs Casino is a Video Gaming Center owned and operated by Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corporation in association with the New York Lottery. Western OTB is a public benefit corporation in the State of New York. Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corporation operates a telephone betting center with almost 40 branches in western New York state. The branches simulcast both thoroughbred and harness racing from across the US. It also owns and operates New York's standardbred harness racetrack, Batavia Downs. In addition to horse racing and off track betting, Bativa Dows offers two restaurants and nearly 600 video gambling machines so that patrons can lose their money in a variety of ways.

MTR Gaming Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the racing, gaming, and entertainment businesses. It owns and operates Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort in Chester, West Virginia; Presque Isle Downs & Casino in Erie, Pennsylvania; and Scioto Downs in Columbus, Ohio. The company operates slot machines, poker tables, and casino table games, including blackjack, craps, roulette, and other games, as well as offers live thoroughbred horse racing and on-site pari-mutuel wagering. MTR Gaming Group also operates Racelinebet.com, an account wagering service that provides online and telephone wagering on horse races. MTR Gaming Group, Inc. was formerly known as Secamur Corporation and changed its name to MTR Gaming Group, Inc. in 1996.

Applebee's Services makes sure that even far-flung suburbs can have a neighborhood bar. The company operates the largest casual-dining chain with about 2,000 of its signature Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar locations across the US and in almost 20 other countries. Its eateries are primarily freestanding units and sport interiors festooned with local memorabilia to give each location an indigenous feel. The menu features beef, chicken, and pork items, as well as burgers, pasta, and seafood. The chain is known for its selection of appetizers. About 400 locations are company-owned, while the rest are franchised. Applebee's is owned by casual and family dining operator DineEquity.

ILX Resorts Incorporated engages in the acquisition, development, marketing, and operation of timeshare resorts in the western United States. The company also markets and sells vacation ownership interests in the timeshare resorts, which entitle the buyers to the ownership of a furnished unit for a one-week period on either an annual or an alternate year basis. In addition, it provides purchase money financing to the buyers of vacation ownership interests at its resorts. Further, the company rents the unused or unsold units at its resorts; and sells food, beverages, and other services at its resorts. As of December 31, 2009, it operated 10 resorts consisting of 577 units and held 8,135.5 unsold vacation ownership interests in its resorts, including unsold interests in Premiere vacation club. The company was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. On March 2, 2009, ILX Resorts Incorporated, along with its affiliates, filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona, Phoenix.

Atlanta Spirit owns and operates two of the city's professional sports franchises, the Atlanta Hawks basketball team and the Atlanta Thrashers hockey team. The Hawks were formed in 1946, joined the National Basketball Association in 1949, and moved to Atlanta from St. Louis in 1968. The Thrashers joined the National Hockey League as an expansion franchise in 1999. Atlanta Spirit also operates Philips Arena, which serves as home for both teams. The sports investment partnership includes entrepreneurs Steve Belkin, Bruce Levenson, and Michael Gearon Jr.

Kingdom Hotel invests in, renovates, and develops luxury and upscale full-service hotel properties, typically located in major urban and resort locations. Kingdom Hotel Investments company owns or has interests in more than 25 hotels with about 6,000 rooms scattered across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. The majority of its properties are operated through partnerships with Fairmont Raffles, Four Seasons, and Mevenpick. Kingdom Hotel is developing properties in Ghana, Lebanon, Morocco, the Philippines, and Seychelles. While more than 80% of sales come from hotel operations, the company also sells and rents real estate and offers consulting and asset management services.

Pubs and beer come together at Cains. Formerly Honeycombe Leisure, Cains Beer Company is a leading operator of managed pubs in the UK, with more than 100 locations mostly in the north part of the country offering brews and other beverages. Its estate also includes a small number of inns offering accommodations, as well as bars and entertainment venues. In addition to public houses, Cains is a leading UK brewer with a portfolio of popular labels including Cains Finest Lager and Cains Dark Mild. It also produces beers under contract for wholesalers and supermarkets.

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