steve wynn

Understanding the Wynn Legacy and its Impact on Las Vegas

Since last night, I’ve had many, many questions about Steve Wynn. I decided to write up some of my thoughts, and Vegas Seven published them: The news of Steve Wynn’s resignation from the company he founded, Wynn Resorts, has brought more questions than answers in Las Vegas. Most of those questions won’t be answered for […]

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Vegas Seven

E. Parry Thomas Built This City, One Loan at a Time – Vegas Seven

In this week’s Green Felt Journal, I look back at the legacy of Parry Thomas, with an assist from Steve Wynn, who knew Thomas better than most: It’s no understatement that without Parry Thomas, Las Vegas would look much different today. Read more: E. Parry Thomas Built This City, One Loan at a Time –

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Vegas Seven

If you don’t see a video, it’s…

If you don’t see a video, it’s here: http://youtu.be/EqZ82UwJuBQ

Author David G. Schwartz summarizes chapter 15, “A Clockwork Volcano: Las Vegas Strikes Back,” of Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling (Casino Edition).

This chapter starts by discussing some of the technological changes that made possible the rise of slot machines, like the introduction of video poker and wide area progressive games like Megabucks. It then talks about The Mirage, which opened in 1989 and kicked off the 1990s boom for Las Vegas. Although it completely changed the Las Vegas Strip, before it opened, many were skeptical that it would succeed.

We then learn about other important companies like MGM Mirage and the Mandalay Resort Group, which, through a series of mergers (including one with Mirage Resorts) became MGM Resorts. Las Vegas Sands, which owns the Venetian and Palazzo, is also profiled.

For more information about the book, visit http://www.rollthebonesbook.com

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life in vegas, video

Talking about Steve Wynn talking about Mirage at TWHT

Sometimes I like to share things that I find while plumbing through the archives, just because. Yesterday I did just that at Two Way Hard Three: Working on my lecture for tomorrow about Las Vegas gaming in the 1980s and 1990s, I wanted to go back to some of the original sources. So I’ve been

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Two Way Hard Three

Marilyn Spiegel interview

About 2 weeks ago, I interviewed Marilyn Spiegel for a profile piece in Vegas Seven. There are always space constraints, so I thought it would be a good idea to record the interview and post at at UNLV Gaming Podcasts, mostly so she can share her story in her own words. I”m having some issues

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news about gambling, writing

Wynn points to the future

I’ve got a new Las Vegas Business Press column up, in which I discuss the historical context behind Wynn’s musings about moving to Macau. Steve Wynn made headlines when he suggested he might consider moving the headquarters of Wynn Resorts Ltd. to Macau from Las Vegas. As always, Wynn's forthrightness points the way to a

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news about gambling

CityCenter and traffic

I’ve been busy today getting the slot hold occasional paper finished up, so running the risk of CityCenter fatigue, here’s an excerpt from my last LVBP column about, you guessed it, CityCenter: This might be the most novel thing visitors notice about CityCenter, at first. And its hard to believe that its not by design.

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news about gambling

Encore echoes

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

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news about gambling

LVBP article

After what seems like months, I see that I’ve got another Business Press article available online: Once, casinos threw huge parties to remind the community that they were a year older. Large cakes in the shape of the hotel were common, with showgirls gamely framing the desert in well-circulated publicity photographs. Casinos bought advertisements that

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news about gambling

Happy birthday Bellagio

It’s hard to believe, but the Bellagio is a decade old. Ten years ago today, Steve Wynn taught the fountains to play…metaphorically, I guess. That’s right, on October 15, 1998, the Bellagio opened its doors. Here’s a reminder from the October 15, 1998 LV Sun: And so it begins: the latest, the greatest — and

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news about gambling

Wynn hates bloggers

Steve Wynn doesn’t think much of the blogosphere. And I agree with him on this point. In many cases, would-be pundits’ reach exceeds their comprehension. From the LVRJ: Wynn, who controls 24 million shares of the company’s 111.8 million outstanding shares, is bullish on the future, not only for Wynn Resorts but the gaming industry

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news about gambling

The economy and room rates

Hey, they’ve finally posted my latest piece in the Las Vegas Business Press. Here’s a taste: The economy, as the blurb that crawls across your television screen says, is bad. Really bad. And don’t you forget it. For those dealing in luxury goods and services, the perception of an economic decline is just as ruinous

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news about gambling

Book Review: Winner Takes All

Christina Binkley. Winner Takes All: Steve Wynn, Kirk Kerkorian, Gary Loveman, and the Race to Own Las Vegas. New York: Hyperion, 2008. 304 pages, hardcover. Over the last decade, the Las Vegas Strip has become increasingly consolidated. Once, there were a host of casino owners: Aztar, Bally Gaming, Boyd Gaming, Circus Circus Enterprises, Grand Casinos

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book reviews, life in vegas

Macau’s Fortune

Interesting summary of the current state of Macau from Fortune, via CNN: Hunter S. Thompson would have found much to fear and loathe in Macau, the former Portuguese colony rebranding itself as a gambling paradise. The good doctor (rest his soul) would have been vexed to discover that Macau, surrounded by water and crowded immigration

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gambling & culture, news about gambling

Night on Wynn Mountain

Technically, this story isn’t set ON the mountain at Wynn Las Vegas, but inside it. But it’s an allusion to a popular piece of classical music and just sounds better than “INSIDE THE ARTIFICIAL MOUNTAIN AT WYNN LAS VEGAS.” Ace KLAS-TV reporter Edward Lawrence somehow got inside the Mt. Wynn and, with the help of

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news about gambling

And an opening

Closings were in the news yesterday, but there was a big opening in Macau as well. From the AP: Thousands of gamblers crowded into American billionaire Stephen Wynn’s new $1.2 billion casino resort on Wednesday in Macau — the Chinese territory that may soon unseat the Las Vegas Strip as the world’s most profitable gambling

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news about gambling