I may have mispelled his name..but he's the owner of the Landry's empire here. As you know, he's been rumored to be VERY interested in buying our beloved Astros. I saw him this morning on channel 11...it was taped from a party last night. Craig Biggio was with him. Giff Nielsen asked Biggio what he thought the parties would be like after a World Series. Biggio smiled and said he was really excited about this season. Then Tillman says, "Yeah..and Drayton says he won't sell the team until he wins a World Series, so let's hope that's this year!" just thought there were a few of you here who would be interested in that.
Dude has some serious bank... He's also been a major force in the development of some parts of the Gulf Coast area. If you've ever seen Nasa Road 1 between I-45 and Highway 3 now and five years ago, you'll see. I remember back in 2000 when he was pushing for a new convention center in Galveston on the seawall. The Moody family was running a serious smear campaign against him. Every day, the convention center idea was being trashed, and Fertitta was being metioned in a lot of the ads. The Convention Center passed in the neighborhood of 70-30, so he's well respected in the Houston/Galveston area. I've heard that Drayton will sell the team after the all star game...
I'm going to be shocked if the Astros aren't sold after this season. Their value will never be higher.
I don't know. I don't think Drayton would even be talking to Fertitta if he didn't think Fertitta could afford the team. People know him as "the guy that own's Landry's", but that includes Joe's Crab Shack, The Downtown Aquarium, Saltgrass Steakhouse, Rainforest Cafe, Cadillac Grill, Willie G's, Vic & Anthony's, Ocean Journey Aquarium, Muer Seafood Resturants, Brenner's Steakhouse, Chart House Resturants, The Crab House, plus the entire Kemah Boardwalk. Plus, he just aquired three new resturants. Total revenues for 2003 were $1 billion, with a "b"... What does a baseball team cost these days? $150 million? $200 million? Yeah, I think he has the cash for it.
According to this article from July, he's worth over $200 million. According to Forbes's franchise values from last year, the Astros are worth $337 million. I doubt he'd get a $100-150 million discount so he could buy the team, so he needs to find partners.
I have heard that he's worth more than that, a lot more, but a good deal of it is off the books. So, I don't think the funds could all of a sudden re-appear in order to be used to buy the team, but one never knows. While I cannot prove what I am saying about his wealth, it's a well-known rumor in many circles.
Well, considering Landry's market cap is less than $800 million, I don't see where his money would come from. What else does he do besides Landry's?
He's a big real estate developer. As I mentioned before, he runs the new convention center under construction in Galveston...He's a lot more than Landry's. We'll just have to wait and see if he has enough cash to get the Astros by himself...
What is his business reputation? He seems to be doing a lot of good, but then again, I don't know anything about him except that he owns a lot of stuff.
Joe's Crab Shack isn't...but it just sucks. Landry's Seafood House is online with the prices at Pappadeaux and other seafood restaurants like that. He also owns the San Luis Hotel..and the new Inn at the Ballpark downtown...along with the Kemah Boardwalk Hotel. He's a HUGE democrat...had tons of fundraisers for Clinton.
I actually like Willie G's but it's overpriced as well. Haven't been to Vic and Anthony's. The Aquarium isn't too bad. I think Landry's is a little more expensive than Papa's but there prices are a little steep also.
He is very successful. That's the bottom line. He is extremely proactive and aggressive. The question, in some quarters, is the manner in which he remains successful, and fattens the bottom line. Me? I just have a fat bottom.
Dishonest, overbearing, incredibly meddlesome, crooked, hucksterish, P.T. Barnum-esque, fly-off-the-handle-yelling-and-screaming tempermental, the list goes on and on. I really don't care what he does with his business, I just don't want him at the helm of my beloved Astros. You guys complaining about Drayton's perceived penchant for bottom-line-profit management should be very, very wary of Tillman, he's worse. Those of you who think MMP is a bit garish now, wait 'till Tillman has his way with it. As a buddy of mine put it, "he'd put 500 seats on the roof & charge people $10 to ride it as it opens & closes."
Just to let you guys know...Landry's makes lots of money, but financially, they are a very poorly run company. He does not have enough money to buy the Astros unless he sells everything he owns.
that isn't the first time i've read those descriptions of him...i know people who've worked with him on different sorts of projects and have made similar comments.
