Wynn Las Vegas

Name

Wynn announced the resort's initial name, "Le Rêve" (French for "The Dream"), in October 2001. It was named after a 1932 Picasso painting that Wynn had purchased.^[10][11] Wynn trademarked the "Le Rêve" name earlier in 2001,^[12] and later purchased the rights from the Le Rêve hotel in West Hollywood, California.^[13][14]

In June 2003, Wynn announced that he had renamed the resort after himself;^[15] market research showed that "Wynn" had better name recognition. According to Wynn: "No one knows what Le Reve is. No one knows how to pronounce it".^[16] "Wynn" was once considered as a name for his previous resorts, The Mirage and Bellagio.^[16][17] By the time of the name change, he was already planning to build the Wynn Macau resort in China, and said, "Others have finally convinced me that the Wynn name would allow us to cross-market and offer a consistency of branding for all our properties".^[18] Three individuals in particular helped convince him to change the name: businessmen Barry Diller and Donald Trump, and film director Steven Spielberg.^[19][20]

France was opposed to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and this was also a reason for changing the resort's name. According to chief architect DeRuyter Butler: "The name Le Reve is very closely tied to France, which was an opponent to our political approach to Iraq. It wasn't anything derogatory toward France, but Mr. Wynn started to look at other potential names".^[21]

Wynn's surname signature is used as the resort's logo, and is present in neon lettering along the top of the hotel tower.^[22] The logo ends with a period punctuation mark. According to longtime local reporter Steve Friess, the resort "screamed Wynn Period as if to say, 'This is the Wynn. Period.' Wynn once told me as much, explaining it was a subtle way of saying that this is the definition of his embodiment as a resort, the ultimate".^[23][24] In a 2005 commercial, Wynn himself promoted the resort as "the only one I've ever signed my name to".^[4][25]

Financing and construction

The Desert Inn's Augusta Tower was imploded in October 2001,^[26][27] and construction on the new resort was scheduled to begin two months later. However, this was delayed by complications in excavating the former site of the Augusta Tower.^[28] The resort was expected to cost $1.6 billion,^[29] and the start of construction was further delayed by difficulty acquiring funds.^[30]

By June 2002, the project cost had increased to $1.8 billion.^[31][32] This would make it the most expensive casino resort in the world, topping Wynn's $1.6 billion Bellagio. Wynn announced that the project would be partly financed by bank loans and Aruze, in addition to an initial public offering (IPO) in Wynn Resorts. Wynn had previously wanted to retain private ownership and dismissed the idea of selling stock to raise financing.^[33][31][34] Wynn Resorts hoped to raise $470 million through the IPO, selling one-third of its shares; the remainder would be held by Wynn himself and Aruze.^[35][36] Ahead of the IPO launch, Wynn traveled around the U.S. to pitch his plans,^[37][38][39] spending three weeks on the road.^[40] Investors were apprehensive about the project because of the lengthy construction schedule ahead. In response, Wynn Resorts reduced the share price to attract investors.^[41][42]

Marnell Corrao Associates, which built Wynn's previous resorts, was hired as general contractor.^[31][43] Groundbreaking took place on October 31, 2002,^[44] with a ceremony attended by hundreds of people, including Nevada senators Harry Reid and John Ensign, and former governor Bob Miller.^[3][45] As of June 2003, construction proceeded on a 24-hour schedule, with rebar installation during the day and concrete pours at night.^[46] The tower was topped off in February 2004.^[47] As project costs increased, another stock offering in Wynn Resorts took place later that year to raise additional financing.^[48] Hiring began on November 1, 2004.^[49][50][51] Within three months, more than 80,000 people applied for jobs at the resort, which would employ 9,000.^[52] In total, the resort received 105,000 applications.^[53]

As of January 2005, construction crews were working on a 20-hour schedule each day to get the resort finished on time.^[54] At a final cost of $2.7 billion,^[55] it was the most expensive resort ever built.^[56][57] Analysts anticipated that Wynn Las Vegas would launch a new wave of resort construction on the Strip.^{[58][59][60][61]} The resort was also expected to help transform the northern Strip and attract an upper-class clientele to the area.^[62][63] Several new Strip projects were announced during Wynn's construction, including The Palazzo, CityCenter, Fontainebleau, and Echelon Place.^[64]

Opening and operation

Wynn kept many details about the project secretive until its opening, granting few interviews prior to that point. He said the resort's features were difficult to describe: "That's the reason there hasn't been a lot of chatter about the hotel. It's not because we're trying to keep a secret. This is a place that does not lend itself to verbalization. So, when you start to describe them, you resort to strained attempts to communicate something no one has seen".^[56] As the opening approached, Wynn appeared in a commercial promoting the new resort, in which he is shown on the roof of the hotel tower. The advertisement aired during Super Bowl XXXIX in February 2005, and was subsequently broadcast in Phoenix, San Diego, and Los Angeles.^[65]

Wynn Las Vegas opened at 12:01 a.m. on April 28, 2005,^[66][67][68] Elaine's birthday.^[69][70] It was the first new resort to open on the Strip since the Aladdin in 2000.^[54] The public opening was preceded by a private charity fundraiser reception for approximately 2,000 guests.^[70][71][72] An estimated 10,000 people attended the public opening.^[73] The resort marked Wynn's return to the Nevada gaming industry, five years after selling Mirage Resorts.^[74]

Within the first year, changes were made to several resort amenities as part of a fine-tuning effort.^[75] A second hotel resort, Encore Las Vegas, was built as a sister property. It opened directly north of Wynn Las Vegas in December 2008,^[76] occupying the remainder of the Desert Inn site.^[77] Additions were made to Encore in May 2010, at which point Wynn declared the completion of the $5.2 billion Wynn complex.^[78] A $99 million renovation of the Wynn hotel was completed in 2011.^[79]

In 2013, Wynn tapped Sean Christie to attract film productions to the resort. Christie, who oversaw several nightclubs on the property, put together a team and spent six months promoting the resort for film purposes.^[80] Wynn Las Vegas made its feature debut in 2015, with the release of two films: Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 was shot throughout the resort, while The Squeeze filmed on the golf course.^[81][82] The resort made subsequent appearances in the films Frank & Lola (2016)^[83][84][85] and The House (2017).^[86] By 2017, Wynn Las Vegas had become one of the world's most photographed hotels among the general public.^[87][88]

Plans for a new sister resort across the street, Wynn West, were announced in 2018.^[89][90] However, Wynn resigned from his company shortly thereafter, following sexual misconduct allegations. Leadership of Wynn Resorts changed and plans for Wynn West were canceled.^[91]

In March 2020, the Wynn properties were among the first Las Vegas resorts to close as the COVID-19 pandemic reached Nevada.^[92][93][94] The Wynn complex, along with other local resorts, reopened three months later. In contrast to most other resorts, the Wynn properties reopened with all amenities allowed under state health guidelines.^[95] Air travel saw a reduction in the early months of the pandemic, and the Wynn resorts relied largely on drive-in tourists from Arizona and California. However, visitation soon declined after both states endured a surge in COVID-19 cases.^[96] Wynn Resorts reduced its work force,^[97] and Encore temporarily shifted to a four-day weekly operating schedule.^[98][99] As revenue improved in 2021, a $200 million renovation of the two hotel towers was announced.^[100][101]

In October 2022, a mass stabbing spree occurred in front of the resort.^[102][103]

Union history and tip policy

A few months after opening, the resort signed an unprecedented 10-year union agreement with the Culinary Workers Union. Previous agreements at other resorts had only gone up to five years. The Wynn contract covered 4,000 workers;^[104] the resort's 600 table game dealers were among those not covered.^[105]

In August 2006, Wynn Las Vegas announced a tip-sharing policy requiring its dealers to share tips with their managers.^[106] Wynn dealers made up to $100,000 per year, making this among the most profitable positions in the gaming industry. The policy was meant to equalize incomes between dealers and supervisors; the latter earned significantly less income, resulting in a shortage of supervisory positions. Dealers said the policy could cost them $20,000 in annual income.^[105][107] In addition to tips, Wynn also gave supervisors a $5,000 raise.^[108] The tip-sharing policy was later implemented at Encore Las Vegas as well.^[109][108]

Two Wynn dealers filed a lawsuit against the resort challenging the policy,^[110] but were eventually dismissed by a judge.^[111] Two other dealers filed complaints with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and also filed lawsuits against Wynn, alleging that he went on a tirade during a meeting with dealers.^[112] In 2007, the Nevada Legislature attempted and failed to pass a bill which would have ended the resort's tip-sharing policy.^[113][114] Later that year, dealers voted to unionize through the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU), hoping to put an end to the policy.^{[105][111][115]} A couple of dealers were fired allegedly over their pro-union stance.^{[115][116][117]}

An agreement on a final union contract was slow-moving.^[118] Meanwhile, litigation regarding the tip-sharing policy continued for several years.^[119][120] In 2010, the state labor commissioner ruled it legal. Later that year, dealers voted to approve a 10-year union contract with TWU. Wynn officials were happy with the agreement, which was identical to one previously offered by the resort a year earlier. Tip-sharing continued under the union contract.^[121][122] The labor commissioner's ruling was appealed by the dealers and later overturned by a judge, prompting further litigation.^[108][123] Federal lawsuits were filed by dealers in 2013 and again in 2018, seeking to recoup lost tip wages. A $5.6 million settlement was reached in 2021, benefiting approximately 1,000 current and former dealers. That year, the dealers voted to join the United Autoworkers Gaming Union in a three-year deal. It protected Wynn dealers from the tip-sharing policy, which remained in effect at Encore.^[124]

In a separate case, the resort's nightclub employees were also required to share tips with management. The workers, already covered by the Culinary union, filed a class-action lawsuit against the resort in 2010, alleging that the policy was a violation of union contract.^[125][126] The suit was dismissed the following year by a judge, ruling that the issue should instead be handled through arbitration.^[127]