2013 Hooters International Swimsuit Pageant Girl, Hard Rock Casino & Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

History
Hooters, Inc. began operations in Clearwater, Florida, founded by six Clearwater businessmen (Lynn Stewart, Gil DiGiannantonio, Ed Droste, Billy Ranieri, Ken Wimmer, Dennis Johnson), built on the site of a former rundown nightclub that had been purchased at a low price. The store actually opened on April 1, as an "April Fools Day" joke, because the original six owners believed that their prospect was going to fail. Indeed, so many businesses had folded in that particular location that the Hooters founders built a small "graveyard" at the front door for each that had come and gone before them.
In 1984, Hugh Connerty bought the rights to Hooters from the Original Hooters 6. Robert H. Brooks and a group of Atlanta investors (operators of Hooters of America, Inc.) bought out Hugh Connerty. In 2002, Brooks bought majority control and became chairman. The Clearwater-based company retained control over restaurants in the Tampa Bay Area, Chicago metropolitan area, and one in Manhattan, New York, while all other locations were under the aegis of Hooters of America, which sold franchising rights to the rest of the United States and international locations. Under Brooks's leadership, the collective Hooters brand expanded from one restaurant to more than 425 stores worldwide. Brooks died on July 15, 2006 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, of a heart attack. Brooks' will gave most of Hooters of America Inc. to his son Coby Brooks and daughter Boni Belle Brooks.