• Steve Wynn Casino History Site
• Steve Wynn Casino Owner
• Steve Wynn Casino History Las Vegas
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Wynn Resorts is a name that goes hand-in-hand with the brick and mortar gaming industry. Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, Wynn is the prototypical hotel and casino operator, with some of the most iconic casino properties in the world. Despite the company somewhat limited history, the fact of the matter is that Wynn Resorts is a company that brings in revenue in upwards of $5 billion on an annual basis, and has a reach that extends far beyond its North American corporate headquarters.

The History of Wynn Resorts

As was mentioned above, Wynn Resorts was founded in 2002, but its roots can be traced back much further. Steve Wynn, who since the early 1970s was tasked with heading Mirage Resorts, decided in 2000 to sell Mirage to MGM Grand. With some of the proceeds from that sale, Wynn immediately turned around and purchased the Desert Inn for almost $300 million. The Desert Inn, for those who might be unfamiliar, was one of the first casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, having opened its doors in 1950. Wynn decided against retaining the aging theme of the Desert Inn, and opted to knock it down to make way for his budding vision.

Around the time the Desert Inn was demolished, Wynn became partners with a Japanese billionaire by the name of Kazuo Okada. Before long, and thanks to the wealth and influence of both Wynn and Okada, Wynn Resorts became a public company via their late 2002 IPO. Though it took some time, Wynn Resorts’ first hotel and casino, Wynn Las Vegas, opened its doors in the middle of 2005. While visitors were just beginning to take in the newly-constructed Wynn Las Vegas, the company was already planning new ventures overseas. In the Spring of 2004, Wynn Resorts broke ground on a second casino project, one that was located in Macau; the special administrative region of China that allows for legal gambling.

The construction overseas did not take long, and by the end of 2006 Wynn Macau opened its doors to the public. To this day, Wynn Macau remains not only one of Wynn’s most successful ventures, but also one of the most successful hotels and casinos in Macau. Back in Las Vegas, Wynn Las Vegas was experiencing just as much success, if not more. Due to the massive influx of visitors in the first year, Wynn Resorts planned an extension of Wynn Las Vegas. That extension would be named Encore and the site was eventually opened just before the end of 2008.

But in 1972, Steve Wynn, a local real estate investor and former slot supervisor at the Frontier, bought a controlling stake in the Golden Nugget. Two years later, Wynn, now a company board member and its executive vice president, started a $2 million renovation, and in 1977 opened the casino’s first hotel tower. Rain may have threatened to fall on Steve Wynn's parade, but that didn't stop thousands from showing up Thursday night for the gala opening of Mirage Resorts Inc.' S flagship Bellagio hotel-casino. A kaleidoscopic array of tourists trooped into the world's most expensive casino resort after it was opened to the public just before 11 p.m. Casino mogul Steve Wynn is widely known for his role in helping to turn Las Vegas into the gambling destination it is today. It's been a rocky few weeks for Wynn after the revelation of sexual.

Wynn Resorts has added a few more properties in Macau and is even making inroads on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, and is continually growing its footprint and market share simultaneously.

Wynn Resorts Properties

Wynn Las Vegas

Wynn Las Vegas may have opened its doors in 2005, but it is still one of the most iconic and successful casinos on the Las Vegas Strip. With more than 2,700 rooms, a ton of restaurants and shops, and a gaming floor that is just shy of 190,000 sq. feet, it offers everything you would expect from a megaresort on The Strip. The site has been renovated a handful of times since it was opened, and it does well to maintain its iconic nature without sacrificing any modern comforts.

Wynn Macau

What Wynn Macau lacks in guest accommodations, it makes up for in gaming space. Despite having less than 600 hotel rooms, Wynn Macau has well over 280,000 sq. feet of gaming space and plenty of eateries to go along with it. The gaming space is great, but the award-winning hotel is what really keeps people coming back.

Encore Las Vegas

Steve Wynn Casino History Site

Encore Las Vegas opened in 2008 and sits directly adjacent to Wynn Las Vegas. In fact, the two sites are connected so that folks can seamlessly move between the two. Though the gaming space sits at just under 75,000 sq. feet, there are more than 2,000 guest rooms and one of the most popular night clubs in Las Vegas.

Encore at Wynn Macau

Encore at Wynn Macau, in many ways, emulates Encore Las Vegas as it is more or less an extension of the already existent Wynn Macau. With that being said, Encore at Wynn Macau is strictly a hotel and shopping property, as it serves to increase the total number of Wynn Macau hotel rooms to over 1,000. The site opened its doors in the middle of 2010.

Steve Wynn Casino Owner

Wynn Palace

Wynn Palace is the newest and largest Wynn Resorts property in Macau. Unlike the other two, Wynn Palace is situated on the glamorous Cotai Strip of Macau. Featuring more than 1,700 rooms and 300+ gaming tables, Wynn Palace certainly lives up to its regal name. The site first began operations in August of 2016 and is quickly becoming one of the top spots on the Cotai Strip.

Steve Wynn was born in New Haven, CT on January 27, 1942. His given name was Stephen Alan Weinberg but his last name was changed to Wynn in 1946 at the age of four. His father owned several bingo parlors in Maryland which Wynn inherited after his father’s death in 1963. Shortly thereafter, Wynn purchased a minority stake in the Frontier Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in 1967. This was formerly located across the street from where Encore stands today, but the lot is currently vacant.

While owning the small stake in Frontier, he simultaneously operated a liquor distributing company. The income from this company was used in the deal that would help propel him into the gaming industry.

Steve Wynn Casino History Las Vegas

Wynn’s biggest success in his early years was purchasing a parcel of land on the northwest corner of Flamingo Road and Las Vegas Blvd. This is the corner occupied by Caesars Palace. He acquired it from Howard Hughes in a land swap in 1971. The deal was completed with the help of Parry Thomas. Wynn quickly proclaimed that he would build a small casino on the odd-shaped property. Caesars did not want to risk having an eyesore mini-casino as a neighbor and paid Wynn $2.25 million for the property.

Steve Wynn Casino History Games

Wynn Revamps and Expands the Golden Nugget

Thomas and Wynn decided to invest their new wealth into the Golden Nugget on Fremont Street. The pair felt that the casino was poorly managed and was ripe for a hostile takeover. They purchased enough stock to get Wynn on the Board of Directors. Existing management was ousted and Wynn quadrupled revenue at the property in one year. He expanded the hotel and added amenities to make it one of the most luxurious resorts in Las Vegas.

Atlantic City became the next stop for Wynn where he would go on to build the Golden Nugget in 1980. He eventually sold it to build Mirage in Las Vegas. The Golden Nugget in Atlantic City became the Atlantic City Hilton, which transformed into Atlantic Club. The resort closed in January 2014 however. The current Golden Nugget in Atlantic City is the former Trump Marina and is not related to the former property other than by name.

The proceeds from the sale of Golden Nugget were put to use in Las Vegas. Wynn purchased the parcel of land that now hosts Mirage and Treasure Island from the Howard Hughes estate. In November 1989, Mirage opened on that property. It was the first development on the Las Vegas Strip since 1973.

Mirage Las Vegas Development

Steve Wynn Casino History Yahoo

Mirage was the first themed resort on the Strip. It cost $630 million and was thought to be a risky investment. It was financed with junk bonds. Treasure Island opened on the property four years later. The Mystere Cirque du Soleil show opened at Treasure Island. It was the first of its kind in Las Vegas. The production still runs today.

In October 1998, Bellagio joined the Mirage family. At a cost of $1.6 billion, it was the most expensive construction project in Las Vegas history at the time.

The Mississippi gaming market was on fire and Wynn decided to join it. He built Beau Rivage in the heart of the Biloxi Strip in 1999.

Wynn sold his empire of casinos to MGM in June 2000 for $6.6 billion.

Wynn and Encore Las Vegas

Wynn personally purchased the Desert Inn. This was diagonal from Treasure Island at the intersection of Spring Mountain and Las Vegas Blvd. Desert Inn was imploded to make way for Wynn Las Vegas, which opened in April 2005. Encore opened in December 2008. Properties with identical names are located Macau, the largest gaming market in the world.