Kangwon Land has polished one diamond of a business out of a former coal mine. Located in the Gangwon province of South Korea, Kangwon is the country's only legal casino facility, featuring more than 130 tables and some 960 slot machines. Constructed atop a closed coal mine, Kangwon broke ground on the resort facility in 1999 and has since expanded to include two hotels, a theme park, 18-hole golf course, and an 18-slope ski resort. Kangwon Land Corporation even has its own ice hockey, judo, and ski teams. In concert with the opening of its casino, Kangwon additionally opened several gambling clinics to help prevent and treat gambling addictions.

EACO Corporation lost its appetite for the buffet business. For a half-dozen years after selling its restaurant operations to pursue a new line of business, the company generated revenues from a handful of rental properties including restaurant and industrial properties. (Tenant NES Rentals accounts for about half of its rental revenues.) In 2010 the company acquired Bisco Industries, which distributes electronics components in the US and Canada. EACO was once the sole franchisee of Ryan's Restaurant Group restaurants in Florida; it also owned a chain of 16 Whistle Junction and Florida Buffet locations.

Marriott International signs in at the top of the lodging industry. The company is one of the world's leading hoteliers with some 3,400 operated or franchised properties in more than 65 countries. Marriott's hotels include such full-service brands as Renaissance Hotels and its flagship Marriott Hotels & Resorts, as well as select-service and extended-stay brands Courtyard and Fairfield Inn. It also owns the Ritz-Carlton luxury chain and resort, and time-share properties operated by Marriott Vacation Club International. Marriott additionally provides more than 2,000 rental units for corporate housing and manages 40 golf courses. The Marriott family, including CEO J. W. Marriott Jr., owns about 30% of the firm.

This Keg is filled with prime rib and filet mignon. Keg Restaurants operates and franchises more than 95 Keg Steakhouse & Bar restaurants in Canada and the US. The upscale casual chain offers appetizers (escargot and Mushrooms Neptune are favorites), salads, ribs, seafood, and several varieties of steak. Almost half the Keg's restaurants are company-owned, while the rest are franchised. The company also sells its cocktails and sauces in Canada through such retail stores as Safeway and IGA. Keg Restaurants was founded in 1971 and is owned by CEO David Aisenstat. Publicly traded Keg Royalties Income Fund owns the chain's trademarks and other intellectual property, which it leases to Keg Restaurants.

The National Basketball Association is one of the four major professional sports leagues in North America, with 30 teams representing 28 US markets and one in Canada. It oversees the rules of the game and officiating, markets its teams and players, and regulates franchise ownership. The NBA also licenses broadcasting rights and collects revenue from corporate sponsorships. In addition, it operates the WNBA, a 12-team women's league; the NBA Development League for up-and-coming players; and NBA TV, a cable TV channel offering news, original programming, and live game broadcasts. The NBA was founded as the Basketball Association of America in 1946.

Since 1987, when the first Jameson Inn opened its doors in Winder, Georgia, through the ensuing years of growth and development, the chain has prospered as the familiar southern colonial design of its hotels became widely recognized in the Southeast by savvy travelers. Built on a solid foundation of superior personal service to each and every guest, Jameson Inns quickly expanded to become one of the leading hotel chains in the Southeast.

This company puts fast-food yummies in a whole lot of tummies. YUM! Brands is the largest fast-food operator in the world in terms of number of locations, with more than 37,000 outlets in about 110 countries. (It trails only hamburger giant McDonald's in sales.) The company's flagship chains include #1 chicken fryer KFC (with more than 16,200 units), top pizza joint Pizza Hut (more than 13,200), and quick-service Mexican leader Taco Bell (more than 5,800). YUM! also operates the Long John Silver's seafood chain, along with several hundred A&W root beer and burger stands. Franchisees, affiliates, and licensed operators run about 80% of the company's restaurants.

Preferred Hotels & Resorts knows a thing or two about top of the line accommodations. The company offers hotel management services to more more than 180 independent luxury hotels and resorts worldwide. The exclusive group performs a rigorous quality assurance inspection (its "Standards of Excellence") before it allows a hotel to join. Properties include the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colorado; The Peabody Orlando (part of Peabody Management); and The Hard Rock Hotel, Chicago (owned by Hard Rock Cafe International). Preferred Hotels & Resorts is a part of the Preferred Hotel Group.

Ker Inc. (doing business as Ker's WingHouse restaurants) sells more than chicken wings. The company's main attraction is its scantily-clad waitresses, who are known as "WingHouse Girls." The restaurant chain has about 20 locations, mostly in Florida, but two are in the Dallas, Texas, area. (Founder and President Crawford Ker spent six years with the Dallas Cowboys). Ker's WingHouse restaurants have a sports bar atmosphere and serve breaded, Buffalo-style, and skinless chicken wings, as well as hamburgers, sandwiches, and salads. The first Ker's WingHouse opened in Largo, Florida, in 1994.

Panera Bread Company, together with its subsidiaries, owns, operates, and franchises retail bakery-cafes in the United States. Its retail products include baked goods, soups, salads, custom roasted coffees, cafe beverages, and other complementary products. Panera Bread Co. also supplies dough items to company-owned and franchise-operated bakery-cafes. As of December 29, 2009, it operated 585 company-owned and 795 franchise-operated bakery-cafes under the Panera Bread, Saint Louis Bread Co., and Paradise Bakery & Cafe names.

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