⛳Colonial drives $20M+ to charities; $21M and $9.2M 'mistakes'; PBR and WWE are biz neighbors.

As part of a $3.25-billion deal, recent newcomer Professional Bull Riders has been acquired by TKO Group Holdings, which owns Ulitmate Fighting Championship (UFC) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). TKO is acquiring PBR, On Location and IMG from Endeavor Group, which is majority owned by TKO. Earlier this year, PBR moved from Colorado to Mule Alley in the Fort Worth Stockyards. It presents more than 200 events a year. 

The University of Texas at Arlington Libraries has been designated a Patent and Trademark Resource Center by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. “This designation conveniently provides patent and trademark research resources ... enabling product and technological innovation, research, and commercialization,” said John Wang, Dean of Libraries. It will be located in room 510 of the UTA Central Library. 

A spirited fourth-quarter comeback fell short and the Dallas Cowboys lost to San Franciso, 30-24, Sunday night. The Cowboys scored two 4th quarter touchdowns and had an opportunity for a winning drive. Four incomplete passes followed. The Cowboys fell to 3-4, losers of three straight, and are 2.5 games behind Washington in the NFC East.

This year’s Charles Schwab Challenge Birdies For Charity campaign generated a record $20,444,796 for 33 local charitable organizations. Since the tournament started Birdies For Charity 20 years ago, $171 million has been raised for participating local charities. (see video)

The Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership separates from the Fort Worth Chamber when 2025 arrives and EDP President & CEO Robert Allen -- on The Fort Podcast with Chris Powers -- told some stories from the past 18 months and a few about his previous job with Governor Abbott.

An $80 million grant announced by the U.S. Department of Transportation will help pay for the infrastructure of a Smart Port for developer Hillwood in Alliance. Smart ports use data analytics to help operators make better decisions faster, integrating freight via air, rail and truck. Included in the project is a connector bridge from AllianceTexas' inland port to SH 170 to alleviate freight traffic and help with autonomous vehicles, which are tested at Alliance.

Would you, could you? Community Uplift, in partnership with Hope Farms and the Black Firefighter's Association of Fort Worth, opened its second mini library as part of a "Community Corners" literacy initiative. This mini is Dr. Seuss-themed and aims to inspire a love for reading among children in underserved communities.

Don Munson, CEO of Fort Worth-based Saddleback Leather, announced he was "designing the coolest, highest quality boots in the world I could figure out how." He said he is working with "perhaps the most famous shoe designer in the world," the factory is in Italy, and the boots should be available in early 2025.

In Monday Mansion we take a look at what you can get for $3.4 million:

• A 6,172-square-foot luxury townhome in Southlake Town Square.

• This 3-bed, 3.5-bath custom home near Colonial Country Club.

• A renovated 1945 log home on Eagle Mountain Lake.

Early voting ends Friday, and Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Here’s everything you need to know about voting in Tarrant County.

The Fort Worth Chamber announced it would have a toolkit available in January for small businesses facing homelessness challenges. 

Wondering about whether the water pipes servicing your home or business are galvanized and require replacement? Fort Worth has a lagoon full of information here. 

Chicago-based Portillo’s says its 32-foot “Beef Bus” food truck will be in D-FW ahead of the opening of a Grapevine store. The Beef Bus will offer buy-one, get-one sandwiches (limit one/customer) until food runs out. The Beef Bus will appear Fri., Nov. 1 to Sun., Nov. 3, at 11 a.m. at Grapevine Mills Mall. The new Portillo’s in Grapevine will open soon at 460 W. State Hwy. 114.

Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 3, which means you should set your clock back an hour before you go to bed. The good news: You will get an extra hour of sleep. The bad: It’ll be dark by late afternoon. Standard time will last until March 9, when we will again “spring forward."

Most popular newsletter links from last week:

• Man has $250K lifetime first-class ticket revoked after costing airline $21M.

• New federal income tax brackets for 2025.

• Timex is about to sell a watch for just $1.

• The ten most popular pet names of 2024.

Scary news right before Halloween: A study found that the average American consumes 80 pounds of sugar yearly.

Significant stat: Five companies - Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet (Google), and Meta ( Facebook) report quarterly earnings this week. They represent $12 trillion in market cap, or 23.2% of the S&P 500, according to Deutsche Bank. 

Believe it or not: An Illinois man was angry when he tried to buy a lottery ticket, but the machine malfunctioned and gave him the wrong game. He decided to roll with it and then won $9.2 million.

Announcements:

• Fuzzy's Taco Shop: Promotes Chief Marketing Officer Patrick Kirk to President and Chief Marketing Officer. Hires Marshall Claycamp as Chief Operations Officer.

• HSC College of Public Health: Adds Mindy Hansen as Associate Professor.

• Crewise: Adds Jenny Kocher as Administrative Project Coordinator.

• Love Nina Art: Launched by watercolor artist Nina Herndon.

• Fort Worth Report: Hires Chelsea Davis as Audience Engagement and Events Manager. 

• Lyons School of Accounting (Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech): Honors Whitley Penn CEO Larry Autrey as Distinguished Alumnus.

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