Wynn Las Vegas

Wynn Las Vegas
Address	3131 Las Vegas Blvd South Las Vegas, Nevada 89109
Opening date	April 28, 2005
Theme	Life Imitating Art Imperfect Dreams
No. of rooms	2,716
Total gaming space	111,000 sq ft (10,300 m2)
Permanent shows	Le Rêve
Signature attractions	Luxury Ferrari/Maserati Dealership Lake of Dreams Wynn Golf Club
Notable restaurants	Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare Lakeside by David Walzog Okada Stratta SW Tableau Wing Lei
Casino type	Land-Based
Owner	Wynn Resorts Limited
Years renovated	2010 (all Resort and Tower Suite Rooms, villas were done in 2008)
Website	www.wynnlasvegas.com

Wynn Las Vegas ("Wynn") is a resort and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The US $2.7 billion resort is named after casino developer Steve Wynn and is the flagship property of Wynn Resorts Limited. The resort covers 215 acres (87 ha). It is located on Las Vegas Boulevard and Sands Avenue (on the N.E. corner), directly across The Strip from the Fashion Show Mall.

The 614-foot (187 m) high hotel has 45 floors, with the 2,716 rooms range in size from 640 sq ft (59 m²) to the villas at 7,000 sq ft (650 m²). The complex also includes a 111,000 sq ft (10,300 m²) casino, a convention center with 223,000 sq ft (20,700 m²) of space, and 76,000 sq ft (7,100 m²) of retail space. Together with the adjacent Encore, the entire Wynn resort complex has a total of 4,750 rooms.

The resort has earned AAA five diamond, Mobil five-star, Forbes five-star, and Michelin five-star ratings, and is considered to be one of the finest hotels in the world. Wynn Las Vegas and its sister property Encore Las Vegas collectively hold more Forbes five-star awards than any other resort and casino in the world. Wynn Las Vegas also made Forbes Award history by earning five-star ratings in every category - Hotel, Restaurant, and Spa - for two consecutive years.^[1] It has held the distinction of winning the award in the Hotel Sector for 4 consecutive years, since 2007. Interestingly, the building is the first high-rise to be cleaned by an automatic window washing system.^[2]

History

The site was assembled by buying the Desert Inn Hotel and golf course for most of the land. The buyout included the redesigning of the historic golf course, which was renamed the Wynn Golf Club. The remainder of the property was acquired by purchasing private residences that were generally located along Paradise Avenue. While some owners sold early on, others held out. This resulted in numerous legal actions between the various parties.^[3] In the end, the site acquired totaled 215 acres (87 ha).

Wynn Las Vegas LLC contracted with Marnell Corrao Associates on June 4, 2002 to design and build the resort. Roger Thomas is the interior designer for the hotel, and he designed many of the public spaces, as well as the majority of components of the Guest Rooms and Villas. The original name for the project was "Le Rêve" but was changed to "Wynn Las Vegas" well before the project was complete. The original name lives on in the stage production. Built at a cost of US$2.7 billion, it was the largest privately-funded construction project in the nation. This compares with the budget for reconstruction with the World Trade Center site which at that time was projected to be $1.7 billion.

Wynn Las Vegas opened on April 28, 2005, Wynn's wife's birthday, the 55th Anniversary of the opening of the original Desert Inn, and five years from the day Steve Wynn purchased the site. Early advertising for the resort featured exterior images of the hotel tower, with Steve Wynn standing on the roof, just above his signature logo. The initial commercial aired in some local spots during the 2005 Super Bowl, and eventually national spots as opening drew near. A "teaser" website for the resort included both the commercial and a "making-of" video.

The hotel runs a monthly magazine, called "WYNN", and is available in all guest rooms at both Wynn and Encore, as well as online at www.visitwynn.com.

On May 12 and 13, 2007, Wynn dealers voted 444-149 in favor of representation by the Transportation Workers Union. The vote is a result of controversial policy changes made by Wynn to share tips with floor staff.^[4]

Film appearance

Since the Wynn's completion, the resort and other hotels on the Strip has been shown in many films and television shows based on Las Vegas.

The Encore Theater was home to Beyoncé's sold-out I Am... Tour, which was featured in I Am... Yours: An Intimate Performance at Wynn Las Vegas, filmed from July 30 to August 2, 2009. The resort is prominently featured in the 2009 film 2012, where the film's main characters flee a destroyed Las Vegas by narrowly flying a plane similar to the Antonov An-225 between the crumbling Wynn and Encore towers as they collapse onto one another.

Features

In contrast to his previous hotels Bellagio, The Mirage, and Treasure Island, there is no Las Vegas Strip attraction to draw in passers-by. Instead, visitors must venture inside to see what the hotel is all about.

At its opening, the Wynn was the tallest hotel building on the strip (a record which lasted two years). It was the first Vegas casino to feature a car (Ferrari-Maserati) dealership^[5] Other firsts:

• The Wynn combined the room key and the casino frequent-player card in one card
• The world's largest distribution of HDTV, into hotel rooms using high-speed Cat-6 Ethernet cables
• The largest installation of Voice over IP technology for hotel phones

It was also among the first casinos to install RFID tags inside chips to better detect counterfeiting.

Additionally, The Wynn is featured as a Top U.S. Hotel by the Zagat Survey.^[6]

Attractions

Ferrari-Maserati dealership sign by YESCO

Penske-Wynn Ferrari-Maserati dealership

Wynn Las Vegas was the first resort to include a luxury car dealership. Brand new factory-authorized cars include the Ferrari and Maserati brands. Used cars are sold "as-is" and include other luxury car brands, with some cars on display ranging in price from little more than $100,000 to $1.6 million. The dealership also includes parts and other car-wares.

Non-buying guests of the resort can go into the dealership to take a look around. When the resort opened, there was no fee to enter, but the dealership became so crowded that management began charging $10 for admission;^[7] registered Ferrari-Maserati owners are exempted from this fee, as well as children accompanying paying adults. The Penske-Wynn is one of the few casino car exhibits in Las Vegas metropolitan area. Other exhibits can be found at The Palazzo, Imperial Palace and Caesars Palace. However, the Penske-Wynn Ferrari-Maserati dealership along with Lamborghini Las Vegas showroom and dealership at The Palazzo are the only two casino/dealerships in the Las Vegas area.

The dealership is placed near the valet parking of the resort, so that people can look at the model cars while waiting for their own cars to arrive.

The cars are not the only thing that the resort offers with the Ferrari name. A Ferrari Store accompanies the dealership, Offering such goods as apparel, racing merchandise, electronics, and even a home gym all branded with the Ferrari logo. This is the first ever factory authorized Ferrari Store in North America and only the seventh in the world. The staff wear Ferrari pit crew outfits and a sound system blasts engine noises as would be heard on a race track.

Lake of Dreams

In a departure from the trend established when The Mirage opened of providing sidewalk attractions to draw in customers, Wynn Las Vegas is constructed so that visitors must enter the building to view the attractions. The main attraction is a large, curtain waterfall behind a mountain that faces the strip. The waterfall falls into a 3 acres (1.2 ha) lake.

The show can be viewed from the Parasol Up (a lounge and viewing area), and can be viewed through a glass window with no audio. Or, the show can be viewed from Parasol Down, with a larger outdoor view. Visitors can go to the platform at the Parasol Down lounge to view the show with full-volume audio. Those dining at SW or the new Lakeside Restaurant by executive chef David Walzog may also have a full view of the show while dining.

Shows

Le Rêve

Main article: Le Rêve

The first production show to open was Le Rêve. Le Rêve is set in a 1 million gallon water-oriented theater where no seat is more than 40 ft (12 m) from the stage. The production was created by Franco Dragone.

Le Rêve was the working name of the resort before it was changed to Wynn Las Vegas. "Le Rêve" means "The Dream" in French, and the name of the centerpiece painting that Steve Wynn owns, Le Rêve by Picasso.

Most recently, Wynn Las Vegas bought the rights to the show from Dragone to make some changes, including the logo. Wynn now owns all rights to the show, with Dragone still in the label.

Avenue Q

Avenue Q, a Tony Award-winning puppet and people musical which enjoyed considerable success on Broadway, was the second production show to open at Wynn. It debuted on September 8, 2005, in the 1,200-seat Broadway Theatre and closed on May 28, 2006.

Monty Python's Spamalot

Main article: Spamalot

Spamalot, a Tony Award-winning comedic musical based on Monty Python and the Holy Grail, opened for previews on March 8, 2007, at Grail Theater (formerly, The Broadway Theatre). The official run began on March 31, 2007, and starred John O'Hurley as King Arthur through September 26, 2007. The show closed on July 13, 2008.

Danny Gans

On April 17, 2008, Wynn Resorts announced that Mirage headliner Danny Gans would move to the resort in February 2009.^[8] Gans moved into the theater formerly used by both Avenue Q and Spamalot, which was renamed Encore Theater and is marketed as part of the Encore expansion. Gans died on May 1, 2009.

Garth Brooks

On October 15, 2009 Garth Brooks announced that he would be coming out of retirement to play a continuing set of weekend shows at Wynn starting in December 2009. Brooks will occupy the facility left vacant after the death of Danny Gans. The first set of shows will take place on the weekends of: December 11–13, 2009, January 1–3 January 22–24, 2010, February 12–14, 2010, and February 26–28, 2010

Steve Wynn has refused to divulge the financial portion of the agreement however he has said that Wynn will provide Brooks with a private jet so that he can quickly get between Las Vegas and his home in Oklahoma.

SINATRA Dance With Me

On October 19, 2010 Wynn Resorts announced a limited engagement of a new romance, titled SINATRA Dance With Me. Conceived, choreographed and directed by Twyla Tharp, with music arranged and produced by Emmy Award winning composer Dave Pierce, the show will open on December 11, 2010 to celebrate and honor Frank Sinatra's 95th birthday the following day. SINATRA Dance With Me follows four couples as they fall in and out of love at a swinging nightclub. Blending the legendary vocals of Frank Sinatra with a big band and 14 of the world's finest dancers, SINATRA Dance With Me weaves classic standards including "Fly Me To The Moon," "My Way" and "That's Life" in a soaring dance fantasy of romance and seduction.

Nightclubs

Tryst

Tryst is the upscale main club located in Wynn Las Vegas, famous for having a 90 foot (27 m) waterfall and lake in the middle of the club.

XS

XS is the new flagship of Encore's nightlife scene and one of the most extravagant in the United States. Bottle service includes a $10,000 cocktail.

Blush

Blush is an ultra luxury, boutique lounge that opened on Labor Day 2007. Blush closed in 2011.

Restaurants

• Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare, Italian coastal cuisine, executive chef Paul Bartolotta
• The Country Club, New American steakhouse
• Okada, Haute Japanese cuisine, executive chef Masa Ishizawa
• Lakeside, Modern American cuisine & Molecular Gastronomy, executive chef David Walzog
• La Cave Wine Bar, Modern Molecular cuisine & Wine Bar
• Pizza Place, Casual Continental cuisine and Gelato Parlor, Wynn Esplanade
• Red 8 Asian Bistro, Southeast Asian cuisine
• Stratta, French cuisine, executive chef Alessandro Stratta
• SW, American cuisine, executive chef David Walzog
• Tableau, Modern American cuisine, executive chef David Spero
• Wing Lei, Michelin One Star, Haute Chinese cuisine

Daniel Boulud Brasserie was closed on Fourth of July Weekend 2010 because Boulud chose to seek a new space for his Las Vegas restaurant. Lakeside by David Walzog opened in its place on Friday, October 29, 2010.^[9]

Alex closed indefinitely on January 15, 2011, with the space now being used for private functions only. Stratta remains open. Wynn cited "better use of the space", but may analysts disagree.^[10]

Shops and boutiques

Wynn Esplanade Shoppes

• Brioni
• Cartier
• Chanel
• Christian Dior
• Graff Diamonds
• Manolo Blahnik
• Cartier
• Oscar de la Renta
• Louis Vuitton
• Rolex
• Vertu
• Alexander McQueen
• Jo Malone
• OutFit
• Wynn & Company Watches & Jewelry
• Wynn LVNV
• San Giorgio

In Wynn Las Vegas

• Decorazzi
• Bags, Belts & Baubles
• Tiny Baubles
• Cabana Shop (on Pool Deck)
• Mojitos Resort Wear
• The Pro Shop
• W.Ink
• Ferrari Dealership & Store
• The Show Shop

Amenities

18th green

Wynn Golf and Country Club

The Wynn Golf Course is the only golf course on the Las Vegas Strip. It was designed by Steve Wynn and Tom Fazio, who previously worked together on the Shadow Creek Golf Club, and exclusive neighborhood in nearby North Las Vegas.

The Tower Suites at Wynn Las Vegas

The Tower Suites at Wynn Las Vegas consists of all suites in the separated southernmost section of the main tower. These 296 rooms, all suites have a private driveway with Rolls-Royce house cars and chauffeurs, as well as a private entrance with koi pond, a separate check-in area and elevators, and a private pool area. The hotel has since become popular among the wealthy and lucky. In 2006, The Tower Suites at Wynn Las Vegas was evaluated independently from the rest of the property by Mobil Travel Guide for their 2007 ratings. It was awarded the first ever Mobil Five-Star rating awarded to a hotel in Las Vegas and has since received numerous other five-star awards, making the Tower Suites one of the finest boutique hotels worldwide.^[11] In 2010, the Wynn Tower suites share their 5-star rating with the Encore Tower suites and the 51 Skylofts at the MGM Grand for all of Nevada.

Encore

Main article: Encore Las Vegas

On April 28, 2006, the resort celebrated its one-year anniversary by breaking ground on a second hotel tower.^[12] Called Encore the tower is a $2.3 billion, 2,034-room hotel project adjacent to the existing resort and on the remaining frontage of Las Vegas Blvd. Encore opened on December 22, 2008.

Future development

Wynn Golf Course redevelopment

The Wynn Las Vegas Golf Course.

Wynn Resorts are developing a long-range master plan for the 142-acre (57 ha) golf course that will include a large mixed-use hotel, casino entertainment resort complex. The complex may include multiple waterfront hotels built around a lake offering water sports and other entertainment. The complex also may include multiple restaurants, retail offerings and entertainment venues. Wynn Resorts have not yet developed specific plans for such a complex, and there can be no assurance that such plans will be developed. Wynn Resorts cannot predict the cost of such a development or whether Wynn Resorts will be able to obtain the necessary financing for the development on suitable terms, if at all. It is not expected that any construction on the golf course land would begin before 2009.^[13]

Additional villas

In February 2007, Wynn Las Vegas submitted a request for approval to construct four additional villas on the South side of the property, which would bring the total number of villas to ten. The description of the new villas closely matches that of the six existing villas on the property.^[14]

Suite Facelift

Wynn Las Vegas is undergoing significant renovations from August 2010 through April 2011. Close to 2,700 of the hotel's rooms and suites will be renovated. The total cost of the renovations, which also include a revamp of the Baccarat section in preparation for the winter holidays, will cost $99 million.

Notes

1. ^ "Wynn Resorts Announces 2010 AAA and Forbes Awards". Wynn Resorts. 10 November 2009. http://www.wynnpressroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=61. Retrieved 2008-12-16. 
2. ^ http://www.skypro.com
3. ^ Wynn holdouts frp, azstarnet.com
4. ^ Wynn dealers vote on union from the Las Vegas Review-Journal
5. ^ dealership
6. ^ "Wynn Las Vegas Casino Resort". Zagat Survey. http://www.zagat.com/Verticals/PropertyDetails.aspx?VID=27&R=98292&AJX=Ne%253D1118%2526N%253D221+3703+4294932780%2526Nr%253DOR%2528Item%252520Status%253AActive%252CItem%252520Status%253ATemoporarily%252520Closed%2529%2526VID%253D27%2526Ns%253DFrontmatter+N. Retrieved 2009-03-17. 
7. ^ Rethinking Auto Showrooms: Shark Tanks, Anyone?, The New York Times, Retrieved September 7, 2007
8. ^ Press Release
9. ^ [1].
10. ^ [2].
11. ^ Mobil Travel Guide
12. ^ Vegas Today and Tomorrow
13. ^ Wynn Resorts - Investor Relations: SEC Filings
14. ^ Clark County Development Services

References

• Wired News
• Mobil Travel Guide

External links

• Official Wynn Las Vegas website

Coordinates: 36°07′46″N 115°09′58″W / 36.12944°N 115.16611°W / 36.12944; -115.16611