Steve Wynn Casino Macau
Billionaire Steve Wynn is not happy with the government of Macau. The casino magnate let loose on a conference call Thursday after his company's Macau division reported a net revenue decline of. Wynn had earlier criticized Macau’s regulators over their sudden decision to crackdown on the gambling industries and impose strict regulations on casino operators which hurt their bottom line. Steve Wynn stated that while his company did take a hit in Macau, things have changed in the last 12 months and Wynn Macau was once again doing well.
Photo courtesy the Encore at Wynn
The Encore at Wynn in Las Vegas—one of Steve Wynn’s many properties.
The casino magnate is opening his most expensive property to date in the “Las Vegas of China.”
Steve Wynn Casino Macau Entertainment
Reports of Macau’s demise as the gambling capital of Asia have been greatly exaggerated.
At least according to international casino magnate Steve Wynn, who last week opened a new $4.1-billion casino resort in the autonomous territory on the South China Sea—a city nicknamed the “Las Vegas of China.”
The 1,700-room resort sits in the heart of the Cotai Strip and boasts features unlike those at any other resort in the world. Among them: air-conditioned gondolas circling a man-made, 8-acre lake; a $100-million water fountain show synchronized to music; a spa with a $450 facial that uses gold leaf and crushed diamonds; and about $200 million in art and Chinese antiques displayed throughout the property. There also is a rooftop garden, and a retail space with shops from Chanel, Cartier, Hermes, and Prada, to name a few.
Overall, the property represents Wynn’s most expensive casino resort to date—almost double the $2.3-billion price tag for Encore Las Vegas, which opened in 2008.
Under the auspices of Wynn Resorts, Ltd., the 74-year-old Wynn built a number of other resorts in Las Vegas, one in Mississippi, and another, smaller resort in Macau. He currently is building a hulking resort in a suburb of Boston, scheduled to open in 2019.
Article continues below advertisement
Still, in Macau, the opening comes at a precarious time. Following a government crackdown on corruption, the territory has endured a gambling slump for more than two years. The government is also in the midst of rebranding the destination to make it more family-friendly. Two other big casinos will open in the next calendar year—Las Vegas Sands’ Parisian Macao, a $2.7-billion, French-themed resort is expected to open September 13; and MGM China, a $2.5-billion project expected to open in early 2017. With roller coasters and giant aquariums, both of these casinos will cater to wealthy families with kids.
Wynn has different plans. The billionaire noted in a recent interview with Bloomberg that his new resort is “an adult resort” that’s “not for children.”
To demonstrate this point, Wynn noted that the resort is doubling-down (see what we did there?) on high-rollers. Wynn has promised that 60 of his new resort’s 400 table games will be high-stakes and has vowed to lure Asian whales who may have stopped playing altogether back into the fold.
Only time will tell if this strategy is successful. Until then, gold-leaf facials for everyone!
Steve Wynn Casino Macau No Deposit
Matt Villano is a freelance writer and editor based in Healdsburg, California. In nearly 20 years as a full-time freelancer, he has covered travel for publications including TIME, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Sunset, Backpacker, Entrepreneur, and more. He contributes to the Expedia Viewfinder blog and writes a monthly food column for Islands magazine. Villano also serves on the board of the Family Travel Association and blogs about family travel at Wandering Pod. Learn more about him at Whalehead.com
Officials in China's gambling enclave of Macau have raised concerns about sexual misconduct allegations against casino mogul Steve Wynn.
Steve Wynn Casino Macau Casino
Steve Wynn Casino Massachusetts
The intervention adds to mounting pressure on Wynn and Wynn Macau(WYNMF), the business that generates most of the profit for his gambling empire. The Hong Kong-listed division of Wynn Resorts(WYNN) has lost more than $2 billion in stock market value over the past two days.
Steve Wynn Casino Macau Buffet
The plunge comes after a Wall Street Journal investigation uncovered decades of sexual misconduct allegations made against Wynn, the 76-year-old founder and CEO of Wynn Resorts. The company's board of directors has launched an investigation into the allegations, which Wynn has denied.
In a statement Tuesday, Macau's Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau said it had expressed concern about reports of Wynn's 'involvement in inappropriate behavior' during a meeting with Wynn Macau's leadership. It said it has asked the company for more information.
The Macau government 'pays great attention to appropriate qualifications of gambling companies' main shareholders, board members as well as key employees holding important positions, and will strictly implement relevant provisions,' the bureau said.
Wynn Macau said in a brief statement that it will fully cooperate with any requests from the bureau. Wynn is the chairman and CEO of the Macau unit.
Wynn Macau shares sank nearly 5% in Hong Kong on Tuesday, following a 6.5% drop on Monday. Meanwhile, Wynn Resorts' stock has been hammered in the U.S., plummeting 10% on Friday and 9% on Monday.
Macau is a tiny former Portuguese colony that is the only place in China where gambling is legal. Gaming revenues in the city dwarf those of Las Vegas.
Wynn is one of a handful of companies licensed to operate casinos in the Chinese territory. It runs two huge resorts there, Wynn Macau and Wynn Palace, which together generated about 65% of Wynn Resorts' total operating profit last year.
Following the allegations about Wynn reported by The Wall Street Journal, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission has said it is reviewing a license it previously issued for a resort casino to Wynn Resorts.
-- Yazhou Sun contributed to this report.