Fertitta Boosts Wynn Stake as Stock Struggles Amid Tariff Turmoil

In what now seems to be a sequence of impeccably timed acquisitions, Tilman Fertitta increased his holding in Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN), raising his stake in the casino operator to around 13%. 

A recent Form 4 submission to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reveals that the soon-to-be-ex CEO of Fertitta Entertainment acquired 300K shares of Wynn on Friday, April 4, and an additional 100K shares on Monday. These transactions come after a series of purchases in March when the Houston Rockets owner acquired 1.68 million Wynn shares, raising his ownership stake to 11.8%, solidifying his position as the largest individual investor in the company. 

The March acquisitions were part of a prior agreement made between Fertitta and Wynn, which allowed the billionaire entrepreneur until May 13 to acquire an additional 1.68 million shares. He currently possesses over 13 million shares of the casino operator located in Las Vegas. That represents a notable rise from the 6.91 million shares or 6.1% of the operator’s total shares, which Fertitta purchased two years prior. 

Tilman’s Timing Remarkable 

Similar to other gaming stocks, especially those of physical operators, Wynn has faced significant challenges due to tariff uncertainties. Amid escalating trade tensions between the US and China — the two largest economies globally — casino stocks in Macau, such as Wynn, have proven to be particularly susceptible. 

Wynn shares have declined 14.66% in the last month and are currently 30.83% under the stock’s 52-week high, suggesting that it might have required some boldness from Fertitta to increase his investment recently, but he benefited from that decision. The typical price of his purchases last Friday and Monday was $69.43. 

As of this moment, the gaming stock is hovering around $75 following President Trump's announcement of a 90-day hiatus on tariffs for countries that did not respond to the US action. China is excluded from that group. Indeed, that nation is vowing to impose substantial trade tariffs against the US and is offloading Treasurys as an expression of its discontent with Trump’s trade policy. 

Nonetheless, thanks to a Wednesday surge that’s affecting the wider gaming sector, Wynn has risen roughly 8% above Fertitta’s average buying price on his latest transactions. 

Fertitta's Investment in Wynn Has Quickly Increased 

An October 2022 Schedule 13G submission to the SEC revealed that Fertitta Entertainment, along with Fertitta and another entity, acquired 6.91 million shares of Wynn earlier this month, representing 6.1% of the total shares outstanding for the casino operator. This indicates that in under three years, his role in the gaming company has increased by more than twofold. 

His purchases of the stock after a decline in April 2025 were not the first instance of him investing in it. When Fertitta began his role at the gaming company, the stock had declined over 30% on a year-to-date basis. 

Considering his past of shifting from a passive to an activist investor, there has been significant speculation about Fertitta possibly acquiring Wynn completely — a concept mostly dismissed by Wall Street and one that seems increasingly improbable as he awaits approval to become the US ambassador to Italy.