Congressman Bid on Wynn Before Fertitta’s Stake Was Announced

Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw had invested in gambling giant Wynn Resorts before Tilman Fertitta’s initial stake became public. As reported by casino.org, Crenshaw made his purchases several days after Fertitta’s stake and several days before the latter was made public.

Crenshaw Bought Shares Shortly After Fertitta

According to the report, Crenshaw spent between $1,001 and $15,000 on Wynn Resorts shares on October 25, 2022. The transaction came six days after Tilman Fertitta’s initial stake in the gambling company, which came on October 19 of the same year.

Six days after Crenshaw’s purchase, Fertitta’s stake was publicly announced via a Schedule 13G filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The filing confirmed that Fertitta alongside another entity had purchased a total of 6.91 million shares of Wynn stock. This total purchase was notably equivalent to 6.1% of all outstanding shares.

Fertitta’s huge investment in Wynn led to a 10% intraday rally in the stock and, by extension, turned Crenshaw’s transaction into a profitable investment.

Crenshaw’s purchase was highlighted by Unusual Whales, a research firm that tracks stock trading by Congress members.

Fertitta’s Purchase Benefitted Crenshaw

While some might write off the Texas congressman’s investment as a stroke of good fortune, there might also be those who believe that Crenshaw was tipped off about Fertitta’s announcement before it was made public.

Official data, however, showed no indication of potential ties between Crenshaw and Fertitta, with donation data highlighting no transactions between the two men.

Of course, there is also the fact that Crenshaw’s district isn’t far away from Houston where Fertitta resides, meaning that the two might have potentially met up.

In any case, Crenshaw continues to hold on to his Wynn stock to this day. The shares have notably gone some 56% up since his purchase.

Fertitta Might Become the Next US Ambassador to Italy

Fertitta, for context, is the owner of the Golden Nugget casino, the Landry’s restaurant chain and the Houston Rockets franchise. He has been an active investor ands has also showed prominent participation in political affairs.

Recent rumors suggested that President-elect Donald Trump might be considering designating Fertitta as the US ambassador to Italy. These rumors followed the nomination of Kimberly Guilfoyle as the United States ambassador to Greece, which further highlighted the Trump team’s tendency to appoint people close to the Trump family in positions of authority.

In any case, if Fertitta is to become the US ambassador to Italy, he might find himself unable to actively participate in his role at Wynn Resorts.