Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
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POWER STRIP continued from page 59 " We are very nimble because we are a small company. " —JOHN UNWIN It was a 30-year journey from his bouncing around the Strip for the first time at the tender age of 23 to confident Vegas CEO. That inaugu- ral trip, in 1982, made such an impact on the now-seasoned traveler that he created the Book & Stage in its memory. "I went to one of the casinos, and they had a lounge that was open to the whole casino floor," says Unwin, who grew up in Seattle but was living in Orange County at the time and already working in the hotel industry. As he played two-dollar blackjack and quarter craps, "there was B.B. King himself, playing in the casino lounge." The wide-eyed and young Unwin loved brag- ging to his friends back home of his brush with Boxing fan Unwin has brought the sport to Cosmopolitan. fame—even though he wasn't even really a fan. He went on to cut his teeth at Fairmont, Marriott, and Westin hotels, slowly working his way up the hospitality chain. These days he rubs elbows with such A-listers as Jay-Z, Adele, and Stevie Wonder. The former Ian Schrager Hotels COO moved to Vegas from NYC in spring 2004 to work at Caesars Palace before resigning five years later to take the number-one spot at Cosmopolitan. It's clear, however, that the fun-loving boss still retains some of the innocence he exhibited during his very first trip to Vegas: "When you're opening something, it's like throwing a party and hoping everyone's going to show up," he says. Show up they did, and he admits that the gig overall is "like playing at Yankee Stadium." There's been so much buzz around this tiny casino-that-could that Unwin estimates it had 12 billion media impressions worldwide its first year. This year, Unwin has spent his time fine-tuning the business's operations. He purged what didn't con- nect with customers and supplied more of what did, such as food and beverage offerings and high-end gaming areas, including the year-old Talon Club. "The first six months of the first year we lost about $19 million," he says. "Through the first six months of this year, we made about 43 million." But he isn't resting on his laurels. "That's a really good trajectory," he says. "But I have plenty left to do here." V A memento from the opening of the Talon Club. VIEW FROM THE TOP John Unwin's inspirations and inclinations. *attention span: "I read three novels at the same time. I am a voracious reader, and I like to think of myself as a student of popular culture. I love to tell stories because I think people, adults particularly, learn through stories. I also have several favorite quotes. One is by Colin Powell, who says, 'Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.'" *getaway: "Alaska. I'm an avid fly fisherman. I go to a place on the Kenai Peninsula." *green thumb: "I love gardening, but you would never know that about me because you can't do it in Las Vegas. It's my lost hobby. I still spend a lot of time cooking, which I love to do." *pick your poison: "I like Scotch and do unveilings in the Talon Club, which is our high-end gaming room. I also love Pinot Noir and Burgundy." *the other side: "If I were a player, I would like craps, because it's the most social. It's Unwin (LEFT) on a recent escape to Alaska. almost like a team sport—there's lots of yelling and screaming and high- fiving. But I don't play very often. I like being on my side of the table." 60 VEGASMAGAZINE.COM PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF JOHN UNWIN (ALASKA)