Wynn Las Vegas Magazine by MODERN LUXURY

Wynn Las Vegas - 2016 - Issue 1 - Spring+Summer

Wynn Magazine - Las Vegas

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32 The spewing volcano in front of the Mirage began an era of showman- ship along the Las Vegas Strip. But Wynn didn't solidify the decision until he'd made calls to Barry Diller, Donald Trump, and Steven Spielberg to ask their professional opinions. Characteristically for Diller, Wynn laughs, the media mogul responded, "'Why are you asking me a stupid question like this? I don't know what the "Le Rêve" idea was about in the first place. Call the place the Wynn and stop screwing around with this "Le Rêve" busi- ness.'" Wynn perfectly intones Trump's voice to recall the second conversation. "'I'll tell you one thing. Everybody in New York is talking about your new hotel. They know you're calling it "Le Rêve" because you've got the painting, but they know it's you. So you might as well call it Wynn—you're gonna get the f lak anyway.' I said, 'Okay, thanks, Don,' and called Spielberg." The third call sealed the deal for Wynn. "'If you told Katie [Kate Capshaw, Spielberg's wife] and me we were going to a new hotel in Las Vegas called "Le Rêve," we'd need more information. If you told us we're going to Steve Wynn's new hotel, we don't need more information. Why are you having trouble with your surname? It's not Lipschitz or Spielberg. And what about the double entendre of Wynn? Your name's not "Lose."'" Putting his name on his hotels, Wynn says, came down to accountability—whose gate, he muses, swings both ways. "People love accountability. People think they know me that don't. Or people ascribe to me qualities that I don't deserve because the people I work with do something wonderful. If something's wrong, then I'm a jerk, but if something's nice, I'm a genius. The counter- point is that accountability is a good thing when people are trusting you with their stay. They want to know that someone cares." All over the Wynn and Encore grounds, he says, people approach him to thank him for creat- ing a wonderful place. In-person criticism? "Only my mother did that once," he laughs. What started as Wynn's modus operandi has become the brand. But Wynn doesn't see his properties as a string of luxurious one-offs. "Our idea in China and Boston is the same," he emphasizes. "The board and I feel that if we do a wonderful job on a metro- politan grand destination hotel and casino, we'll create the template for cities like Atlanta or Dallas that would want to do this. The hotel we're building in Boston is a desti- nation—not a box of slots in a regional casino, but an addition to a city that makes people want to go there and vacation. Similarly, Wynn Palace in Cotai is going to be the photo-op for the city. It is orders of magnitude fancier than the competitors—and that's not developer-speak," he says. "They're case studies of why you can trust our brand if you really want to improve your city." That won't be the end of Wynn's to-do list. "They say you're only as good as your track record," Wynn says, a f licker of what is perhaps some new idea crossing his face. "So I'm busy creating a track record in Boston and China. And if we do that well, I want to reinvent Las Vegas one more time." " " PhotograPhy by Wendell Metzen/Photolibrary via get t y iMages "I opted to sell experience. And when you're selling experience, price is irrelevant as long as you keep the promise."—steve wynn

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