There’s been quite the buzz for Encore over the Internet. This quote from Oskar Garcia’s AP piece explains, I think, why Wynn gets it more than anyone except Jack Binion and a few others:
Wynn expected thousands to jam the entrances to the casinos on Monday night, as some of his best customers ceremoniously pull the first slots and play the first hand at each machine and table with $2 million in house money.
If they win — at prices of $1,000 to $25,000 — they get to keep the winnings, but Wynn says he expects they’ll play some more no matter what happens.
“I’ve never met a gambler that would win a bet and retire from gambling,” he said.
There’s something else about the place that I didn’t mention yesterday–like Wynn, it has a sense of humor about itself. Many of the other luxury joints take themselves way too seriously. I don’t get the feeling that Encore does. There’s a real sense of whimsy running throughout the place. I’m sure a guy that’s just blown $25,000 at mini bacc would beg to differ, but I can see it.
I’ve got an idea that I will hopefully get to develop more in an essay somewhere: Encore is a themed hotel, but it’s themed around ideas, not a time or place. It’s not homogeneous, but it all ties together because it comes back to the idea of change, metamorphosis, and reinvention…which is the essence of Las Vegas, after all.