Wynn Las Vegas

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Wynn Las Vegas

Number of rooms		2,716
Theme		Life Imitating Art
Gaming space		111,000 ft² (10,200 m²)
Permanent show(s)		Le Rêve
Signature attraction(s)		Luxury Sports Car Dealership Lake of Dreams
Notable restaurant(s)		Alex Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare Okada Tableau
Owner		Wynn Resorts Limited
Date opened		April 28, 2005
Casino type		Land-Based
Major renovation(s)		none
Previous name(s)		Desert Inn (which includes Wilbur Clark's Desert Inn, ITT Sheraton Desert Inn, and MGM Desert Inn)
Casino website		Wynn Las Vegas

Wynn Las Vegas is a casino resort located on the Las Vegas Strip, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The resort is named after casino developer Steve Wynn and is the flagship property of Wynn Resorts Limited. The resort covers 215 acres.

Wynn Las Vegas is one of the tallest buildings in Las Vegas, towering 60 stories over the Strip. It is located at Las Vegas Boulevard South and Sands Avenue, diagonally from the Fashion Show Mall.

The 2,716 rooms range in size from 620 square feet (58 m²) to the villas at 7,000 square feet (650 m²) with a 111,000 ft² (10,200 m²) casino, a convention center with 223,000 ft² (20,700 m²) of space, 76,000 square feet (7,000 m²) of retail space.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Inspiration and vision 2 Attractions 2.1 Penske-Wynn Ferrari-Maserati dealership 2.2 The Wynn Art Collection 2.3 Lake of Dreams 3 Shows 3.1 Le Rêve 3.2 Avenue Q 3.3 Spamalot Las Vegas 4 Nightclubs 4.1 Le Bête 4.2 Tryst 4.3 Lure 5 Restaurants 6 Shops and boutiques 6.1 Wynn Esplanade Shoppes 6.2 In and around Wynn Las Vegas 7 Amenities 7.1 Wynn Golf and Country Club 7.2 The Tower Suites at Wynn Las Vegas 7.3 Villa Suites 8 Future developments 8.1 Spamalot 8.2 Encore 8.3 Wynn Golf Course redevelopment 8.4 Vanity - The Original Sin 8.5 Additional Villas 9 External links 10 Sources 11 References

[edit] History

The site was assembled by buying the Desert Inn Hotel and golf course for most of the land. The remainder 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.^[1] In the end, the site acquired totaled 215 acres (870,000 m²).

Wynn Las Vegas LLC contracted with Marnell Corrao Associates on June 4, 2002 to design and build the resort. 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.

The historic Desert Inn Golf Course was rebuilt while the hotel was being constructed. The course is now known as Wynn Golf and Country Club.

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 resort was featured on an episode of the Fine Living network's What Makes it Tick, which was produced by NorthSouth Productions.

Wynn Las Vegas, designed by Jon Jerde, 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. When it opened, the Wynn had many firsts and notable features, including:

• The first casino to combine the room key and the casino frequent-player card in one card
• The first casino to include a car (Ferrari-Maserati) dealership.^[2]
• 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.

[edit] Inspiration and vision

Wynn purchased the Desert Inn hotel and casino to obtain property for his future dreams. The Desert Inn was imploded to make room for his new hotel project. Along the way, Wynn Resorts Limited was formed and continued development with Wynn being the controlling stock holder.

Wynn has stated that the major shift with this new resort is the concept of designing from the "inside out." 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. Wynn has said that "there is no franchise in a casual observer, there is a franchise in a guest."^[3]

[edit] Attractions

[edit] Penske-Wynn Ferrari-Maserati dealership

Wynn Las Vegas is the first casino 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. The cost of tickets was $10.00 when the resort opened, unless you were a Ferrari-Maserati owner, while kids got in for free. The Penske-Wynn is one of the few casino car exhibits in Las Vegas. Other exhibits can be found at the Imperial Palace and Caesars Palace. However, the Penske-Wynn Ferrari-Maserati dealership is the only casino/dealership in Las Vegas.

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.

[edit] The Wynn Art Collection

Main article: Steve Wynn (developer)#The Wynn Art Collection

The Wynn Gallery, which had charged an entrance fee, closed shortly after the start of 2006 as a result of poor ticket sales. The artwork from the former gallery are now scattered around the resort.

[edit] Lake of Dreams

In a departure from the trend established when The Mirage opened of providing free sidewalk attractions to draw in customers, Wynn Las Vegas is constructed so that visitors must enter the building to view the free attractions. The main attraction is a large, curtain waterfall behind a mountain that faces the strip. The waterfall falls into a 3 acre (12,000 m²) lake. Both the waterfall and lake have images displayed on them to produce a show called "Lake of Dreams". This show starts on the hour beginning in the afternoon. When the show is inactive, the waterfall creates an animated color sequence on the screen.

The show can be viewed from the Parasol Up (a bar 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 view. Visitors can go to the platform at the Parasol Down bar to view the show with full-volume audio. Diners can also choose some restaurants around the resort to get a full view of the show while dining. Children under 18 are prohibited from going to Parasol Down.

[edit] Shows

[edit] Le Rêve

The first production show to open was Le Rêve. Le Rêve is set in a 1 million gallon water-oriented theatre where no seat is more than 40 feet (12 m) from the stage. The production was created by Franco Dragone and is similar to the shows produced by Cirque du Soleil.

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 brought 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.

Main article: Le Rêve

[edit] Avenue Q

Avenue Q, a 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.

One of the main reasons why Avenue Q closed was, according to Steve Wynn, real estate land and money. Wynn contracted with Spamalot to perform at Wynn Las Vegas. However, in order to house Spamalot, a third theater needs to be built. The only room left for the theater was on the skirts of the golf course or in the middle of the convention spaces for the planned Encore expansion tower. Since Wynn did not want to invade the golf course or cut between the convention spaces of Encore and Wynn Las Vegas, he was forced to terminate the Avenue Q contract. Wynn was quoted as saying "Avenue Q was making money, but not enough money."

[edit] Spamalot Las Vegas

Spamalot, based on Monty Python and the Holy Grail, is set to debut March 8, 2007. The Broadway Theater will be replaced by the Grail Theater'. '

[edit] Nightclubs

[edit] Le Bête

This nightclub catered to high-rollers and tourists and included an attractive entrance with dog feet. The club was unsuccessful with this focus, and Wynn closed Le Bête. When the venue reopened, it was called Tryst; it boasts a large terrace with views of a private lake and towering waterfall. See below.

[edit] Tryst

The original full-scale nightclub on the property, Le Bête, was temporarily closed during a redesign to improve performance. Le Bête reopened as Tryst^[4] in 2006, with a popular weekly event called Retro on Sunday nights.

Tryst was named as one of the hottest nightclubs on the Strip by critics.^{[citation needed]} It has been debated whether the club's name was meant to allude to a kind of love affair, (see Tryst), or the dance move of the same name. Steve Wynn himself later confirmed on his website that Tryst was indeed an allusion to an intimate romantic interlude.

Tryst rivals competing clubs designed by the Light Group for The Mirage and Bellagio, as well as Pure (nightclub), Tao Nightclub, and others. Tryst is the flagship of the Wynn's nightlife scene.

[edit] Lure

Lure is the second nightclub and ultra-lounge of Wynn Las Vegas. It is one of two nightclubs that opened with the resort. Its counterpart club was the failed Le Bête, which has since been reopened as Tryst. Lure's convenient location just off the casino floor puts it in an increasingly popular class of establishments known "casino clubs". These clubs offer relaxing and intimate environments where patrons looking to escape the excitement of the casino can socialize and drink. Lure has been acclaimed by critics as one of the "hippest" clubs in the city.^{[citation needed]} While Le Bête's successor, Tryst, has overshadowed Lure, the club has a strong and loyal following and is one of the most popular ultra lounge style clubs in the city.

[edit] Restaurants

[edit] Shops and boutiques

[edit] Wynn Esplanade Shoppes

[edit] In and around Wynn Las Vegas

[edit] Amenities

[edit] Wynn Golf and Country Club

The Wynn Golf and Country Club 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, also in Las Vegas. Use of the course is restricted to hotel guests at a cost of $500 per round.

[edit] The Tower Suites at Wynn Las Vegas

The Tower Suites at Wynn Las Vegas consists of all rooms and suites in the separated southernmost section of the main tower. These rooms and suites have a private driveway and entrance, a separate check-in area and elevators, and a private pool area. 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 and only Mobil Five-Star rating ever awarded to a hotel in Las Vegas.^[5] Wynn Las Vegas itself received the Mobil Four-Star rating for 2007.

[edit] Villa Suites

In addition to the Fairway Villas, Wynn Las Vegas contains six Villa Suites which are not available to the general public. One of these villas is the private residence of Steve Wynn.^[6] Three of these villas are along the West side of the hotel, between the tower and the Lake of Dreams. The other three are located along the Western edge of the pool area, South of the tower. In February of 2007, Wynn requested approval to build four additional villa suites on the South edge of the property.

The Villas by the Golf Course Cost an average $5,000 a night.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Future developments

[edit] Spamalot

The Broadway Theatre is being renovated for the Las Vegas production of Spamalot, a Tony Award-winning comedic musical based on the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, scheduled to open in 2007. The Wynn Las Vegas production of Spamalot stars John O'Hurley as King Arthur. Preview performances begin on March 8, 2007

[edit] Encore

On 28 April 2006, the resort celebrated its one year anniversary by breaking ground on a second hotel tower.^[7] Called Encore, the tower will be a $2.1 billion, 2,034 room hotel project adjacent to the existing resort and on the remaining frontage of Las Vegas Blvd. Originally envisioned as an expansion of Wynn Las Vegas, Encore will be a full-scale resort and is set to open in the first quarter of 2009. The hotel will feature a 74,000 sq.ft. casino, several restaurants, bars, and nightclubs. As of March of 2007, construction was on the 18th floor, and will be about 60 floors when complete, making it the tallest hotel in Las Vegas.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Wynn Golf Course redevelopment

The land that the Wynn Golf Course currently sits on is becoming increasingly valuable in the wake of rising land prices on the Las Vegas Strip. Wynn has said he will eventually replace the golf course with a massive mixed use resort project similar to Project City Center. It is expected to include several boutique hotels along with a large central lake feature.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Vanity - The Original Sin

In December of 2006 it was reported in the Las Vegas Sun that Lure would close and re-open as Vanity - The Original Sin in January or February of 2007.^[8] However, no official announcement was ever made and Lure remains in operation.

[edit] Additional Villas

In February of 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.^[9]

[edit] External links

• Official Wynn Las Vegas Site
• Wynn Las Vegas Virtual Tour
• Wynn Las Vegas Spamalot
• Encore at Wynn Las Vegas News
• Wynn Las Vegas 2005 Super Bowl Commercial (In multiple format)
• CNBC Reports Steve Wynn's Big Bet (In Windows Media Player format).
• NBC's Today Show with Steve Wynn's Story (In Windows Media Player format).
• NBC's Today Show Steve Wynn Interview 04/28/2005 (In Windows Media Player format).
• NBC's Today Show looks at the new Le Reve show at the Wynn Las Vegas (In Windows Media Player format).
• NBC's Today Show looks at gourmet restaurants at the Wynn Las Vegas (In Windows Media Player format).

[edit] Sources

• Wired News
• Mobil Travel Guide

[edit] References

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Coordinates: 36°07′46″N, 115°09′58″W