Global Entertainment Corporation is helping to bring sports to the hinterlands. The event and entertainment company, through its various subsidiaries, offers project management services to midsized communities looking to develop event centers and sports facilities. It also offers facilities and venue management and ticketing services, as well as sponsorship and marketing consulting. Through its WPHL (Western Professional Hockey League) subsidiary, Global Entertainment manages the Central Hockey League, a development league affiliated with the National Hockey League. WPHL Holdings, which is affiliated with chairman James Treliving, controls more than 40% of the company.

Mrs. Sarah L. Winchester’s response to the deaths of her child and husband left a bizarre and impressive architectural reflection of her psyche. The fascinating story of the Winchester Mystery House™ has its roots in the personal tragedies suffered by Mrs. Winchester and in the legacy of the Winchester rifle, “The Gun That Won The West.” Winchester Mystery House™ is an extravagant maze of Victorian craftsmanship – marvelous, baffling, and eerily eccentric, to say the least. Tour guides must warn people not to stray from the group or they could be lost for hours! Countless questions come to mind as you wander through the mansion – such as, what was Mrs. Winchester thinking when she had a staircase built that descends seven steps and then rises eleven.

You need only be hungry, not Irish, to eat at these restaurants. O'Charley's is a leading full-service restaurant company with about 360 locations in 30 states. Its flagship casual-dining chain serves mostly traditional American fare, including beef, chicken, and seafood entrees along with burgers, sandwiches, and a selection of starters. It boasts more than 230 company-owned outposts in the Southeast and Midwest. O'Charley's also owns Ninety Nine Restaurants, a pub-style chain with 115 locations in Massachusetts and a handful of other New England states. In addition, the company operates about a dozen upscale steakhouses under the name Stoney River Legendary Steaks.

Aston Villa plc is the publicly listed company governing the activities of England's Aston Villa Football Club and the Villa Park stadium in the city of Birmingham. A founding member of the Football League's Premier Division, Aston Villa is also among the first football (soccer) teams to become listed on the London Stock Exchange, joining such renowned teams as Manchester United and Arsenal in a run-up to what many consider will be a new era in sports marketing, when barriers to sports team ownership, notably by media corporations, are expected to fall. As such, Aston Villa has already entered a relationship with American cable television company NTL Inc., which has been building up its shareholding position in the more than 125-year-old team. The majority of Aston Villa's revenues, which neared £36 million in 2000, come from gate receipts. Broadcasting fees provide another 20 percent of annual sales, while merchandising and royalty receipts add 14 percent of the company's revenues. Aston Villa also operates conference and convention services, and expects to open its own hotel in the future. The company is also renovating its aging stadium, built in 1924, boosting the number of seats to 51,000. Aston Villa is led by chairman and CEO Herbert Douglas Ellis, who also owns some 33 percent of the company's stock.

Bally Technologies, Inc. is a diversified, worldwide gaming company that designs, manufactures, distributes, and operates gaming devices and computerized monitoring, accounting and player-tracking systems for gaming devices. In addition to selling gaming devices, the Company also offers customers a wide range of purchase and lease options. It derives revenue from Gaming Equipment (sale of gaming devices and related equipment, parts and conversion kits) and Gaming Operations (operation of linked progressive systems, video lottery and centrally determined systems and the rental of gaming devices and content). The Company’s primary technologies include gaming devices for land-based, riverboat and Native American casinos, video lottery and central determination markets, and specialized system-based hardware and software products. Its specialized system-based hardware and software products provide casinos with a wide range of marketing, data management, accounting, security, and other software applications and tools to more effectively manage their operations.

Specialty Restaurant Group (SRG) operates about 10 casual dining restaurants under the banners American Cafe and Silver Spoon. The eateries offer a variety of regional favorites, such as barbecue ribs and Cajun-style dishes, as well as sandwiches, burgers, and steak. The company was formed in 2000 when CEO and former Ruby Tuesday executive James CarMichael led a buyout of American Cafe and Tia's Tex-Mex (sold in 2004) from Ruby Tuesday. SRG filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2007.

Fried chicken rules the roost at this restaurant company. Morgan's Foods is a leading operator of fast food restaurants franchised from YUM! Brands, with nearly 100 locations in six states. Most of the company's estate, more than 70 restaurants, consists of KFC fried chicken outlets. Morgan's Foods also operates Taco Bell units and about 20 co-branded locations that combine two YUM! concepts (KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and A&W) in one building. Most of the company's eateries are located in Pennsylvania. Chairman and CEO Leonard Stein-Sapir owns more than 25% of the company.

Formed in 2002, Tragus is one of the UK's largest independently owned restaurant chain operators with over 280 sites across the country serving over 20 million meals every year. Our exciting portfolio of leading brands are operated as four divisions - Café Rouge, Strada, Bella Italia, and the Brasseries - with offerings ranging from inspired pizza and pasta to delicious French classics. Tragus is backed by The Blackstone Group, a global private investment and advisory firm, founded in 1985. The firm has raised a total of more then $67 billion for alternative asset investing since its formation of which approximately $30 billion has been for private equity investing. The Private Equity Group is currently investing its fifth general private equity fund with commitments of $15.6 billion, and has over 60 experienced professionals with broad sector expertise. Blackstone’s other core businesses include Private Real Estate Investing, Corporate Debt Investing, Hedge Funds, Mutual Fund Management, Private Placement, Marketable Alternative Asset Management, and Investment Banking Advisory Services.

Urgo Hotels is an award-winning company recognized among the top 100 hotel developers by Hotel Business Magazine. Since 1981, Urgo Hotels has specialized in building, developing, owning and operating hotels across a wide range of brands. Urgo Hotels also offers a solid track record in asset management. Urgo Hotels and its affiliates presently have ownership interests in and/or operate 18 hotels within the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean.As hotel developers, investment advisors, and managers, the principals of Urgo Hotels have shown a unique ability to create and arrive at solutions for their clients and partners. Over the years, Urgo Hotels and its predecessor firm - Urgo Butts & Company - have acted as counsel and advisors to a number of institutional, development, and operating clients including, among others, the Marriott Corporation, Hilton International Hotels, Howard Johnson, Hyatt Corporation, The World Bank, IMF, OAS, City of Oakland, City of Quincy Massachusetts, the TraMMel Crow organization, Lerner Enterprises, Americana Hotels and Realty Corporation, Hanover Trust Company, The Bank of New York, The Riggs National Bank of Washington, D.C., Chemical Bank, The Travelers Insurance Company and Merrill Lynch. Airline clients have included Northwest, Pan Am, TWA, Aer Lingus, BWIA and LIAT.

Planet Smoothie Franchises operates a chain of more than 125 franchised smoothie stands in about 20 states. The outlets offer about 30 types of blended fruit drinks with such names as Frozen Goat, Mr. Mongo, and Spazz. Enthusiasts can customize the beverages by adding blends of supplements and vitamins (Blasts) designed to increase energy, help burn fat, or aid immune systems. Planet Smoothie Franchises, LLC also has a small number of Planet Smoothie Cafes featuring salads, sandwiches, and wraps. Entrepreneur Martin Sprock opened the first Planet Smoothie in 1995. Planet Smoothie Franchises, LLC is owned by Petrus Brands, a holding company backed by private equity firm Edmonds Capital.

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