Tilman Fertitta’s efforts to buy Golden Nugget parent company Landry’s Restaurants from shareholders were destroyed along with the company’s signature restaurants on Galveston Island, Texas.

Fertitta, who is president, chairman and CEO of Landry’s, told the Securities and Exchange Commission that he will not be able to pay the previously promised $21 per share to buy Landry’s Restaurants Inc.

The offer hinged on financing from revenues at the company’s properties in Texas, which were all but destroyed by Hurricane Ike last month. The restaurants sustained an estimated $50 million in damage and might not open until next year.

With the restaurants closed, Fertitta does not expect to meet certain benchmarks—benchmarks that were being met before the storm—necessary to obtain financing for the transaction. Fertitta said in the SEC filing that he will put together a new offer “at a s

By Casino Connection Staff