The Nine Group (stylized as N9NE Group) is a company that owns and operates restaurants and nightclubs at the

Palms Hotel and Casino Palms Casino Resort is a hotel and casino located near the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned and operated by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. It includes 703 rooms and a casino. It was originally owned by t ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, and formerly in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

. The N9NE Group was founded by Michael Morton and Scott DeGraff. The son of restaurateur Arnie Morton, Morton grew up in the restaurant business, while DeGraff had pursued a career as a real estate attorney.

Etymology

Morton and DeGraff were friends since the age of nine, which is the source of the company's name.

History

Chicago

In 1992, Morton and DeGraff partnered and launched the nightclub ''Drink and Eat, Too'' in Chicago. Eight years later, N9NE Steakhouse and Ghostbar opened in Chicago in April 2000. The steakhouse, located at the

Daniel Burnham Daniel Hudson Burnham (September 4, 1846 – June 1, 1912) was an American architect and urban designer. A proponent of the '' Beaux-Arts'' movement, he may have been, "the most successful power broker the American architectural profession has ...

-designed Randolph Place at 440 West Randolph, was open late on Fridays and Saturdays until midnight, and it was closed every Sunday except for conventions. Ghostbar was located at the upper level of the N9NE Steakhouse, and it was able to accommodate a maximum of 250 guests for cocktail and hors d'oeuvre reception and 150 guests for a normal dinner. Taking both the main floor steakhouse and the upper level Ghostbar into account, the Chicago location was able to accommodate anywhere from 15 to 800 patrons at a time. Tim Griffin, a figure-head at the Chicago location, was overseeing operations in 2011 and 2012 when the steakhouse received two consecutive Michelin recommendations. The Chicago location hosted the first fundraiser for

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

's "Victory 2012" presidential campaign. Despite being Michelin-recommended again in 2013, N9NE Steakhouse Chicago permanently closed for unknown reasons on Monday, June 10, 2013.

Las Vegas

Nine Group opened ''Drink'' in Las Vegas in 1995. Six years later, in 2001,

George J. Maloof, Jr. George Joseph Maloof Jr. (born September 2, 1964) is an American entrepreneur and businessman. He is the former owner of the Sacramento Kings, the former owner of the now defunct Sacramento Monarchs, and was minority owner of the Palms Casino Res ...

of the

Maloof family The Maloof family is a prominent American family based in Las Vegas, Nevada, who are owners of numerous business properties in the Western United States. The original spelling of the family name is Maalouf. The family is of Lebanese descent via th ...

and owner of the

asked DeGraff and Morton to recreate their Chicago steakhouse N9NE and after-hours Ghostbar at the Palms. N9NE opened

Rain Nightclub Palms Casino Resort is a hotel and casino located near the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned and operated by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. It includes 703 rooms and a casino. It was originally owned by th ...

, Ghostbar, N9NE Steakhouse, and Skin Pool Lounge - all at the Palms. For Earth Day 2009, the N9NE Group unveiled the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada's (RTC) first Grease BUs, powered by used vegetable oil from N9NE Steakhouse.

Playboy Club at the Fantasy Tower at the Palms

In 2006, N9NE opened the

Playboy Club The Playboy Club was initially a chain of nightclubs and resorts owned and operated by Playboy Enterprises. The first Playboy Club opened in Chicago in 1960. Each club generally featured a Living Room, a Playmate Bar, a Dining Room, and a Club R ...

at the Fantasy Tower at the Palms, the first Playboy Club since 1988, in partnership with

Playboy Enterprises PLBY Group, Inc. is an American global media and lifestyle company founded by Hugh Hefner as Playboy Enterprises, Inc. to oversee the ''Playboy'' magazine and related assets. Its headquarters are in Los Angeles, California. The company is focus ...

. Michael Morton's father, Chicago restaurateur

Arnie Morton Arnold Morton (1922 – May 28, 2005) was a restaurateur who founded Morton's Restaurant Group/Morton's Steakhouse. Early life Arnie Morton was born in Chicago, the son of Mort and Isabel Morton. He grew up in the Hyde Park neighborhood on the ...

, built and operated the original chain of Playboy nightclubs. The Las Vegas Playboy Club closed summer 2012.

Dallas

In Dallas, Morton and DeGraff partnered with Ross Perot Jr. to create a "new urban showcase" in Victory Park feature Nove Italiano, N9NE Steakhouse, Ghostbar and the retail store Stuff.

Environmental activity

The N9NE Group, in conjunction with Green Mountain Energy's BeGreen Business division, works to make its nightclubs environmentally-conscious. In 2007, the N9NE Group offset 100% of its electricity usage by purchasing renewable energy credits made from wind and biomass sources. The company also offers guests the opportunity to purchase a "BeGreen" ticket to help the company continue to purchase renewable energy credits. The N9NE Group has used Sustainable Waves' solar powered lighting and sound equipment at many of its events.

References

{{Morton family 1992 establishments in Illinois Hospitality companies of the United States