A stealth wealth debut that quietly muscles into Lürssen’s top tier
Under a grey Bremen sky, Boardwalk finally slid out of the Lürssen sheds like a secret too big to keep, and you can almost hear the collective gasp from the shipspotter set. According to early German and Italian coverage, this is Tilman Fertitta’s largest yacht to date, and at 117 meters she does not arrive so much as occupy the horizon. Reportedly priced between $450 million and $500 million, she is an ultra serious entry into Lürssen’s upper tier without the noisy record chasing we have seen from other billionaires. The surprise is her restraint: no “longest ever” headline grab, just a quiet monster in a yard where giants like Dilbar and Nord have trained us to expect spectacle. Still, when a man known for casinos, restaurants, and NBA ownership goes this big, can we really call it subtle?
Scene setting aside, the numbers tell the whole gossip laden story. Boardwalk’s internal volume is said to be about 5,350 GT, which is a delicious flex when you remember his Feadship Boardwalk sits around 1,848 GT. This is not a casual upgrade; it is tripling usable interior space while preserving a design language he clearly adores. The sleek hull carries six decks, and that stepped aft profile and long forward sheerline echo the Feadship like a signature suit tailored three sizes larger. Lürssen builds do not need to shout when the naval architecture does the talking, especially at a 17 meter beam that promises vast, stable living spaces. If Fertitta’s previous yacht felt like a private penthouse at sea, this reads more like a full service coastal resort with its own governance structure.
What is fascinating is how Boardwalk fits into the psychology of ultra wealthy repeat owners. This is yacht number six for Fertitta, but it does not feel like a collector’s habit; it feels like a life chapter. He is not just adding length for ego, he is adding operational capability, guest zoning, staff efficiency, and the kind of spatial diplomacy that only 5,000 plus GT can deliver. In Lürssen circles, a build of this class is not merely a lifestyle toy; it is a platform for family cruising, business hosting, and global positioning. The yard’s signature calm exterior hides a logistical ballet inside, and insiders will be watching which design studio and interior team he trusted with that ballet. With delivery expected in early 2026, the question is simple: will Boardwalk stay discreet, or become Fertitta’s most public stage yet?
Two helipads, three pools, and a beach club sized for a billionaire ambassador life
The leap in aviation capability is where Boardwalk stops being “big yacht” and becomes “floating airfield,” and yes, that is a different echelon. Lürssen confirms two helipads, one forward and one positioned higher up, and that second landing zone is not a casual add on. It tracks with Fertitta’s known habit of commuting by Airbus H130 to his current Boardwalk, and it dovetails neatly with his new role as U.S. Ambassador to Italy. Reportedly based in Civitavecchia, the yacht sits a ten minute helicopter hop from the Rome embassy, which makes the higher helipad feel less like a toy and more like a schedule. Redundancy matters in aviation, and in diplomatic life it matters even more. So yes, this is a billionaire’s yacht, but it is also a working mobility suite wearing teak and steel.
Then there is the waterline lifestyle, which reads like his Feadship setup on a growth hormone cycle. Early coverage highlights a very large main deck aft swimming pool, plus a spa pool on the upper deck and an expansive beach club that opens straight to the sea. Papercity’s reporting notes two pools and a Jacuzzi, which aligns with the Feadship Boardwalk’s 6 meter mosaic pool and wellness beach club, just scaled to gigayacht proportions. According to database listings, the usual contemporary toolkit is onboard: spa, gym, elevator, tender garages, at anchor stabilizers, underwater lighting, and full satcom, basically the modern Lürssen checklist, but with room to breathe. The scene you should picture is a family brunch dissolving into a poolside afternoon while tenders glide in and out like well trained valet cars. When volume triples, everything that once felt generous starts feeling palatial.
What makes this expansion so telling is how personal it still is. Fertitta is not reinventing himself; he is magnifying his own habits, down to the way he entertains and decompresses. The Feadship Boardwalk already functioned as his Roman commuting base, and this Lürssen seems built to do the same job, only with far more reach and far fewer compromises. Reportedly the annual running cost is around $40 million, which is the kind of figure that separates “rich man’s yacht” from “institutional grade operation.” Yet Fertitta has been refreshingly candid about the expense, calling the boat something he always wanted and always will have. When a man who built Landry’s into a 600 plus venue empire designs a yacht, hospitality is not a feature, it is the organizing principle. So the real tease is this: what new rituals will 5,350 GT allow him to invent?
A restrained heavyweight among giants and a floating extension of Fertitta’s empire
In the Lürssen hierarchy, Boardwalk lands in that deliciously strategic sweet spot. At 116 to 117 meters, she becomes one of the shipyard’s roughly 20 largest yachts by length, sitting slightly longer than Ahpo and just shorter than Golden Odyssey, with competitive volume for her class. She does not chase headline length, and that is the quiet power move: enough scale to belong beside flagships without needing to break the internet. The contrast is almost theatrical, an owner famous for neon casinos and blockbuster sports deals choosing a yacht that whispers rather than roars. Still, anyone who knows Lürssen understands that “whispering” at this size is still a subsonic boom. And frankly, in a fleet where Kismet and Dilbar dominate glossy covers, restraint can be the ultimate flex.
The timing is no accident either. Fertitta’s Feadship Boardwalk is on sale with an asking price of 175 million euros, and insiders see this Lürssen as the inevitable successor rather than a parallel indulgence. He is reportedly using the Feadship as a partisan commuting base between Rome and Civitavecchia right now, so the shift to a larger, more aviation capable platform reads like a logistical upgrade for the next phase of his life. The yacht’s layout, six decks, expanded separation of family and guests, and serious crew operations, supports the blend of cruising and official hosting that ambassadorial duties demand. Think of it as a hybrid between a private residence, a corporate salon, and a mobile embassy lounge. And with Lürssen’s engineering DNA, the range, seakeeping, and stabilizer systems are likely tuned for long, multi region seasons rather than short hops. If the Feadship was a luxurious commute, this is a floating headquarters.
And then there is the man behind the megayacht, because with owners like this, the vessel is autobiography. From shucking shrimp in Galveston to building Landry’s into a global hospitality empire, Fertitta has always scaled his ambitions in public. He owns the Golden Nugget casino chain, bought the Houston Rockets for $2.2 billion in 2017, and holds major stakes in Wynn Resorts and DraftKings, so he is long been comfortable playing in billion dollar arenas. Boardwalk feels like the maritime version of that pattern: take what works, then multiply it until it becomes a world of its own. Worth around half a billion dollars, she is less a purchase than a statement about continuity, family, hosting, power, and joy, all wrapped in steel and sun decks. As delivery approaches in early 2026, the only real cliffhanger is whether this restrained heavyweight will remain a private sanctuary, or evolve into the most glamorous diplomatic backdrop on the Mediterranean circuit.