Part 4: The Man Who Reinvigorated Steve Wynn was still a couple of years shy of becoming a teenager in 1952 when Typically, Wynn\u2019s first steps into gaming weren\u2019t timid ones. In the early Wynn next turned his attention to Flushed with optimism and with his father\u2019s dream still kicking around in his He did it by building The Mirage, a $630 million all-inclusive complex that he The birth of The Mirage in 1989 redefined <\/span> Suddenly, the Strip, which had not seen significant growth in several years, The success of The Mirage spawned the Excalibur, the castle-configured casino Wynn would later build Bellagio<\/span>, on the site of the \u201d Wynn, the architect of the modern Las Vegas gaming and sports betting So how did it feel to rub elbows with the power elite? <\/p>\n McCain never said.
\nalways has been a city built on hopes and aspirations but only a handful of
\ntrue visionaries have had a unique and lasting impact of the growth and
\ndirection of this desert outpost. Of the four pillars of
\nVegas<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> innovation, Benjamin \u201cBugsy<\/span>\u201d
\nSiegel, Howard Hughes and Liberace are gone but one architect remains, a man
\nwho continues to reinvent this unique city to this day. <\/p>\n
\nhe stood on a dusty patch of desert highway called the Strip and listened
\nintently as his father, a Maryland bingo parlor operator, told him of his dream
\nof expanding his business there. Michael Wynn died in 1963 but his dream – and
\nthen some – never left the mind of his innovative son. It would take 26 years
\nbut Steve Wynn would realize his father\u2019s dream. <\/p>\n
\n1970s, using money he\u2019d earned in the family business, Wynn purchased a parcel
\nof real estate adjacent to
\nfrom Howard Hughes. The next year he sold the land to Caesars for a profit of
\n$760,000. He used the money to accumulate stock in the downtown Golden Nugget
\nand, by 1973, at the age of 31, was the youngest casino chairman in the history
\nof
\npaying $8.5 million for the Strand Hotel. He promptly demolished the
\nand built another Golden Nugget which, in 1987, he then sold to Bally\u2019s for a
\nrecord $440 million. <\/p>\n
\nhead, Wynn then returned to
\na city which, despite its gaming persona, still was in search of an identity.
\nWynn defined it. <\/p>\n
\npromised \u201cwould have mystique, like a lady half-dressed.\u201d It did. <\/p>\n
\nultimate tourist destination, the home of wondrous new sights and experiences,
\nwhere casino gambling and sports betting were the main but not the only
\nattractions.<\/span> A tropic paradise of waterfalls and foliage, luxury
\naccommodations, gourmet restaurants, a rain forest, an exploding volcano, a
\nswanky shopping mall, rare white tigers, an aquarium with bottle-nosed
\ndolphins, and the city\u2019s most spectacular – and expensive – show, Siegfried
\n& Roy, there never had been anything quite like<\/span>
\nit. In fact, Wynn was forced to add a new term to the gaming lexicon just to
\ndescribe The Mirage. He called it a \u201cmegaresort<\/span>.\u201d <\/p>\n
\nwas awash in megaresort<\/span> projects. In the eight years
\nimmediately after Wynn first unveiled his plans to build The Mirage, other
\nwould-be entrepreneurs played follow-the-leader, adding 30,000 rooms and $3
\nbillion worth of investments to the Strip. <\/p>\n
\nwith 4,000 rooms. Then came<\/span>
\nnext door to the Excalibur. Hardly content to watch others build, in October of
\n1993, Wynn added another property of his own,
\na pirate-themed facility adjacent to The Mirage. Two months later the city
\nwelcomed the MGM Grand, with 5,005 rooms, the largest hotel,
\nold Dunes Hotel on the corner of
\nand
\nand, most recently, Wynn Las Vegas, his high-end signature property that now
\nstands on land where the Desert Inn once stood. <\/p>\n
\nhave the creative genius of people like Steve,\u201d said former Governor Bob
\nMiller. <\/p>\n
\nexpansion, just smiled at the remark, comfortable with the presence (and
\naccolades) of elected officials. In fact, Wynn has golfed with many politicians,
\nincluding Arizona Senator Sen. John McCain, the presumptive 2008 presidential
\nnominee of the Republican Party. <\/p>\n