Skift Daily Briefing

Two Billionaires Just Quietly Took Over Las Vegas

June 2, 2026·5 min
Episode Description from the Publisher

Two blockbuster deals in one week put Barry Diller and Tilman Fertitta on track to control a massive chunk of Las Vegas hospitality, Southwest Airlines confirms it's going international and eyeing lounges, and Hilton just launched a brand new hotel concept targeting a market most chains have ignored. On today's Skift Daily Briefing, Sarah Dandashy breaks down why the MGM and Caesars deals signal a new era of ownership concentration on the Strip, how Southwest's latest reinvention is starting to look a lot like the airlines it swore it would never become, and whether Hilton's college-town bet can survive the notoriously seasonal economics of campus hospitality. Articles Referenced: Honorable Mention: @AskAConcierge on IG Barry Diller Moves to Take Over MGM Resorts in $18 Billion Deal Caesars Agrees to $5.7 Billion Takeover by Tilman Fertitta Southwest Moves Toward Latest Reinvention: Long-Haul International and Lounges Hilton Launches Undergraduate Hotel Brand for College Towns. Here's What the Numbers Say. Connect with Skift LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/ WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/skiftnews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@skiftnews Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/skiftnews.bsky.social X: https://twitter.com/skift Subscribe to @SkiftNews and never miss an update from the travel industry.

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