Branding the trip “Coastal Diplomacy,” Fertitta set off on Sunday from Civitavecchia, about 60 miles north of Rome, for what is to be a 13-region tour around Italy aboard his 384-foot yacht, Boardwalk.
The press attache at the U.S. Embassy in Rome did not respond to TIME’s questions about who is funding the trip.
Fertitta’s owns Landry’s Inc., whose holdings includes Morton’s The Steakhouse, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., and The Palm. In 2017, he prevailed in a bid to own the Houston Rockets in a sale that attracted Beyonce’s attention. He recently announced a $5.7 billion deal to buy Caesars Entertainment, and its dozens of casinos.
Fertitta’s ambassadorship didn’t raise many eyebrows in Washington, where it is a tradition for deep-pocketed friends of Presidents to be rewarded with plum gigs in foreign capitals. Feritta, who gave $1 million to Trump’s 2024 campaign through various entities, drew just 14 no votes when the Senate confirmed him last April.