Chicago Professional Sports owns and operates the Chicago Bulls professional basketball team, which boasts six NBA championships thanks to five-time MVP Michael Jordan. His charismatic presence not only set a high-water mark for Chicago between 1991 and 1998 but also helped increase the popularity of the league. The team was started by Dick Klein and joined the National Basketball Association in 1966. Real estate developer Jerry Reinsdorf has owned the Bulls since 1985. He also owns Chicago's United Center (along with Chicago Blackhawks owner the Wirtz Corporation) and the Chicago White Sox baseball team.

Victor Chandler International is a leading bookmaker that offers sports betting in more than 160 countries. It takes bets online and by phone on a wide variety of sports, including international soccer, cricket, and horse racing, as well as North American sports league matches. Victor Chandler International Ltd. also operates 40 betting shops in the UK. In addition to sports betting, Victor Chandler offers other online gaming through Web sites for casino games and poker. Victor Chandler Sr. started the family-owned business in 1946.

Leeds United has fallen behind. A European power in the late 1990s, Leeds United has seen better days on the pitch and currently plays in League One of English football system (two steps below the Premiership). Founded in 1919, the team has won three League Championships and one FA Cup over the years. Club-related publishing, merchandising, and travel businesses round out its operations. In early 2005 former Chelsea chairman Ken Bates saved the club from bankruptcy with an investment of nearly $20 million, establishing a 50% stake in the club.

Bob Evans Farms got its start when our founder, Bob Evans, began making sausage on his southeastern Ohio farm to serve at a 12-stool diner he owned in nearby Gallipolis in 1948. "We served a lot of breakfasts, but we couldn't get any decent sausage," Bob recalled. "So I decided to start making my own from hogs raised right on our farm, using all the best parts of the hog, including the hams and tenderloins." The restaurant drew many truck drivers who traveled through the region. "You might say the truck drivers did my research for me," Bob said. "They would tell me that this was the best sausage they ever had, and then buy 10-pound tubs to take home." These good reports prompted Bob Evans to go into the sausage business. The building where he made the sausage was built with open ends, at the suggestion of his father, so it could be used as a machinery shed if the sausage business failed. But, it didn't fail. In 1953, a group of friends and family recognized the growing demand for Bob's sausage and became business partners by establishing Bob Evans Farms.

Cypress, CA based Real Mex Restaurants introduced Mexican casual dining to Southern California in 1954 with El Torito and has continued to champion innovation and hospitality through it’s portfolio of Mexican concepts.From the authentic tastes of Mexico at El Torito and the contemporary mesquite flavors of El Torito Grill to the ultra casual neighborhood Acapulco and Fresh Mex experience at Chevys, Real Mex Restaurants boasts a family of concepts to satisfy your craving for Mexican. Today, Real Mex Restaurants is the largest full service, casual dining Mexican restaurant chain in the United States with locations across 17 states. Its distribution division, Real Mex Foods ranks as one of the top 50 distribution companies in the US.

The United States Golf Association is the governing body for golf in the United States, its territories, and Mexico. The not-for-profit group writes and interprets the rules of the game, provides handicap information, offers turf consulting, and funds equipment and course maintenance research and testing. It also holds several national championship events, including the US Open, the US Women's Open, and the US Senior Open. The group generates most of its revenue from the sale of broadcast rights to championship tournaments and other matches, as well as through membership fees. The USGA was founded in 1894.

Life Time Fitness wants to help you keep your New Year's resolutions. The company operates more than 85 exercise and recreation centers in some 20 states, including Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Texas, and Virginia. Life Time Fitness facilities offer swimming pools, basketball and racquet courts, child care centers, spas, dining services, and climbing walls, in addition to some 400 pieces of exercise equipment. Most facilities are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and average about 100,000 sq. ft. in size. They target a membership of about 5,500 to 11,500, and are designed to serve as an all-in-one sports and athletic club, professional fitness facility, family recreation center, and spa and resort.

Emperor Entertainment Hotel Limited owns and operates the Grand Emperor Hotel in Macao, the Chinese version of the Las Vegas Strip. The Grand Emperor offers 300 rooms, as well as gaming facilities, entertainment services, restaurants, and shopping outlets. Emperor Entertainment is also developing Shanghai Star City, a shopping mall in Shanghai that will include restaurants, cinemas, and an assortment of retail stores. Shanghai Star City is to be completed in 2009.

Carlson Companies began in 1938 as the Gold Bond Stamp Company, but has evolved into a leisure services juggernaut. Carlson Companies, Inc. owns 55% of travel giant Carlson Wagonlit. Its Carlson Hotels Worldwide owns and operates more than 1,000 hotels in some 70 countries under brands such as Radisson, Country Inns & Suites By Carlson, and Park Plaza. In addition, its Carlson Restaurants Worldwide includes the T.G.I. Friday's and Pick Up Stix chains. Chairman Marilyn Carlson Nelson and director Barbara Carlson Gage, daughters of founder Curtis Carlson, each own half of the company.

Hilton is near the top of the hill among hoteliers in Ireland and the UK, thanks to Hilton UK & Ireland. The business operates about 80 Hilton properties in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, more than 20 of which are located in London. Its hotels include the Hilton Croydon, the Hilton London Hyde Park, and the Hilton Dublin. Hilton UK & Ireland also manages restaurants (such as Minsky's Restaurant in the Hilton Glasgow, and the Galvin at Windows in the London Hilton) and bars (Henry J Beans in Edinburgh). Hilton UK & Ireland is a subsidiary of Hilton Worldwide.

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