The DEA had been monitoring Mario’s movements for some time. Monday they called in to report. “The new guy’s name is Dave Bradford, from Tampa. We have some great pictures, particularly of the girls. The other men we have seen before. Bradford and Mario’s restaurant partner stayed the night. The others left right after they docked. Martin and Peters are headed back to Tampa.”
Mario’s Miami business associates went home yesterday, but just showed up at the office an hour ago. Mario and the new guy, Dave I think, just got into the office too. No Fred. There must be something going down.”
“Keep an eye on them if you can. Were the hookers able to tell you anything about Bradford?”
“Just that he is a unlucky gambler and a sucker for backrubs. Cyndi said he came across as a pretty straight guy. We’ll see.”
The par-5 11th is a slight dogleg right, and is reachable in two, particularly for Buzz. Friday Dave reached it with a driver and 3-wood. Today he popped-up his drive and didn’t even reach the first cut of the fairway. Dave didn’t need Ken to tell him that he swung too hard. Buzz crushed a drive down the right side, narrowly missing the fairway bunker. Advantage, Buzz.
Dave’s second shot was almost as bad, topping a 3-wood, and leaving 190 yards to the green. Relax, Dave thought. He could hear Ken saying; tempo, slow down, don’t sway. He started laughing, thinking of the all the things Ken had taught him. I wish he were here to pick the right one. Maybe I was thinking too much?
Buzz was only 220 to a back pin and hit 3-wood to the center of the green. Bradford cleared his mind and attempted to slow down his swing. The result was better, but he still ended up 20 yards short of the green. Maybe I swayed or something? Who knows? Dave’s pitching wedge almost hit the flag but rolled through the green to the back-fringe. Dave was lying 4, and still had a 20 footer for par. Buzz narrowly missed his eagle putt and tapped in for birdie and a 2-up lead.
Dave came downstairs around 8 o’clock and Mario and Fred were on the veranda having breakfast. Fred and Dave stayed at Mario’s Sunday evening while Bill and Buzz had driven home.
“Join us, Dave,” Mario offered. “There is fruit and Danish on the counter. Coffee and juice are on the table. Help yourself.”
“Coffee and juice are fine Mario, I’m not hungry,” Dave said as he sat down. “Tell me, what’s the plan today?”
“You and I are going to head down to my offices in Miami Beach. Alberto, Kurt and Pedro have prepared a one hour overview on some projects we are working on. After that, I have a proposal that I think may interest you; if not, no hard feelings. Fred will be pick you up after lunch to drive you back to Tampa.”
“Can you give me an idea of what we are talking about?”
“Sure, but I would prefer not to get into the details until after you see our little dog-and-pony show. I’m looking for a partner on a series of projects we are planning throughout the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean. I think you may be the person.”
Why would Mario need me? I wondered as we drove to Mario’s office.
Thirty minutes later Mario started the presentation. “Dave, our goal is to be one of the largest resort development and management companies in the world. Kurt, start us off. Dave, Jump in if you have questions”.
“We have 10 projects that we consider Phases I and II of our development plan,” Kurt explained as he projected a chart onto the wall.
Phase - Project Name - Est. Cost
1.1 Cabo San Lucas, Mx Resort and Casino $350M
1.2 Miami Beach Marina and Condominiums $150M
1.3 Dominican Republic Mixed Use Facility $275M
1.4 Las Vegas Casino & Golf Course $225M
Total Phase I Funding Requirements One Billion Dollars
2.1 Costa Rica Resort and Ecology Center
2.2 Palm Beach Condominium Development
2.3 San Miguel Del Lago Resort & Casino
2.4 St Martin Golf Course & Condominiums
2.5 Orlando Convention Center & Hotel
2.6 Honduras Mountain Resort
Total Phase II Estimate (WAG) $3.2 Billion
Bradford was overwhelmed by the magnitude of Mario’s plans and the money they were looking at raising. $4.2 Billion dollars was more than he could grasp.
Kurt skipped over the Cabo San Lucas project. He had two or three slides for the other nine. There were color photos of the existing property sites to supplement the Power Point slides. Mario and Alberto interrupted several times to clarify a point or describe the beauty of the undeveloped land. Apparently, Mario had been to each project location. Several questions popped into Dave’s mind, but he decided to just watch and learn.
Kurt completed his portion of the presentation. “That’s it, Dave.”
“Any questions at this point” Mario interjected?
Dave thought for a moment. “Well, Mario; it seems like a large mouthful to bite off for a small organization, or am I missing something? $4.2 Billion is more than I could comprehend. How do you plan on financing that much money?”
“Dave, Alberto will get into the timeframes, manpower and revenue streams. How we raise the $4.2B is why you are here. Alberto, you’re up?”
Alberto used Excel spreadsheets and Gantt charts to break out their funding needs. “Dave, we will need $4.2 billion, but not all at once.”
The next slide showed a time-phased implementation plan for the ten projects. “As you can see, we will need about one billion the first year. This allows us to start the Cabo San Lucas Casino and the three other Phase I projects. We won’t start the six Phase II projects until Year 3, after the casino is open and throwing off profits. By year seven the projects are self-funding. Return on investment is approximately 30%.”
“I’ll ask the million dollar question again, or should I say the billion dollar question; where are you getting the money?”
“That’s why you’re here. Dave, we need help. As I told you earlier, our Mexican banks pulled out at the last minute. We need to find another financial partner.”
“Why me, Mario? Why not some large firm that has more resources and experience than I have?”
“Dave, we believe in doing business with friends; people we know. It makes for a better, long-term relationship. We are impressed with your work on the Cozumel project, and the work you are doing in Orlando. Fred speaks well of you, as have Joe and several others that we contacted.”
“I appreciate that Mario, but raising even one billion dollars won’t be easy. What exactly do you have in mind?”
“Here’s what I was thinking, Dave. We’d like you to head up a new company that will raise the money for these projects. This company would also be responsible for establishing audit controls and managing the investment of profits. In return, you would receive normal broker commissions and a small percentage of the business; let’s say 5%. Alberto, do you care to add anything?”
“Mario mentioned financial controls over these projects. Any lender will require this. There is going to be a lot of cash handled. Your background with Arthur Andersen is perfect.”
“That’s a lot to digest,” Dave said aloud as he tried to grasp their offer. It seemed too good to be true.
“Dave, listen to Pedro’s presentation regarding the Cabo San Lucas project while you think about it. This will be our flagship and Pedro will be the General Manager of the hotel and casino when we open.”
The project was huge; In addition to a 400 room, five star Marriott, there was a 50,000 sq. ft. casino with 200 slot machines, 30 blackjack tables, five crap tables, two discos, three restaurants and a variety of other amenities including two Fazio designed golf courses.
“The project is ready to begin; all we needed is $500 Million in initial funding. We thought we had the financing arranged through the Bank of Mexico, but the bank backed off at the last minute.”
When Pedro finished, Mario asked, “Well, Dave, any questions?”
“Mario. How much equity do you have in these projects? Are we looking for an
80% loan to value, 90%? Will you consider giving up a portion of ownership?”
“We have $10M cash invested in the Cabo project plus land appraised at $20M. Who knows what a lender will want? We are open to any reasonable suggestions, Dave, as long as we keep 51% ownership and day-to-day control.”
“Are you interested?
“I still have some reservations, Mario. You’ve given me a lot to think about. May I have a week or two to mull it over before I decide?”
“That’s fine, Dave. If you have any questions, feel free to call anybody here. So, if that’s all, why don’t we see if Fred’s here and you head back to Tampa.”
Bradford had a lot to think about on the way home.
”They just finished. Shelton and Bradford look like they are heading back to Tampa. Is there anything else you want me to do here?”
“Try to find out what you can about this Bradford guy and how he fits into Mario’s operation. Ask the FBI to do a background check. This could be important.”
Chapter 12
Par 3 – 145 yards
Daytona Beach Hotel Financing