Steve Wynn and film director Brett Ratner making the Encore Vegas Hotel's television commercial, which aired the night
before Thanksgiving on November 26, 2008. In the commercial, Steve Wynn once again climbs to the top of the 48 story
building, as he did three years ago in the Wynn Las Vegas commercial. No special effects or film Hollywood tricks involved!
THE WYNN ENCORE DEBUT
Encore Las Vegas Rooms
The full Encore commercial as aired on prime-time national television November 26, 2008 - and continues to run its high-profile publicity
campaign on most every major TV show of the season, including NBC's annual Rockefeller Center's Christmas Tree lighting ceremony.
THE KING OF LAS VEGAS
CBS 60 Minutes
April 9, 2009
The Wynn Encore
Full Wide Screen Version of CBS' 60 Minutes April 9, 2009 Interview with Steve Wynn. 12 minutes.
"What moves people, when they have time for recreation and leisure, is to know they can go
somewhere and have an experience that's richer, more exciting, more beautiful
and more fun than they can have any other day of their life."
Steve Wynn
WestVegas.com's tribute to Steve Wynn building the Wynn Encore Vegas, showing construction progress in September 2007.
This video includes photos of the Desert Inn Hotel which was located on the exact site of the Encore from 1950-2003.
For history of the Desert Inn - click West Vegas.com's Encore History Page which is part of my InOldLasVegas.com website.
STEVE WYNN - A VIDEO HISTORY
This Google Video Box, of specially selected videos, includes both the first and second complete Charlie Rose Interviews.
Other rare videos include Steve Wynn's birthday dinner (at the Golden Nugget casino) with Tom Breitling and Tim Poster,
interviews by Robin Leech where Mr. Wynn gives his thoughts on the current economy of gaming, the interview by KLAS
TV, along with other assorted interviews - as well as his hotel guests personal videos showing their rooms and experiences.
Wynn in thought & silhouette at the Bellagio Fountains.
Interesting Wynn Facts:
* Steve Wynn was the Best Man at Willie Nelson's wedding.
* Steve's wife, Elaine, won the 'Miss Miami Beach' Beauty Pageant and later became UCLA's 'Spring Queen'.
* First Lady, Michelle Obama spent her January 17th, 2008 birthday staying at the Wynn Las Vegas Hotel.
* Time Magazine named Steve Wynn one of 'The World's 100 Most Influential People' in 2006.
* Steve Wynn is a member of the Board of Trustees at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
* Steve Wynn hangs some of the world's best paintings at his resort - (Van Goghs, Picassos & JMW Turner).
* Wynn Resorts appointed the 'Golden Boys' Tim Poster and Tom Breitling (the two Internet millionaires and
former owners of the Golden Nugget Casino) as Senior Vice Presidents of Strategy & Development.
* The new 'Sinatra Restaurant' at the Encore ("The most stunning restaurant in the country" says Steve Wynn)
will have Frank Sinatra's 1953 'From Here to Eternity' Academy Award Oscar on display.
Stay tuned for more fun & fascinating 'Wynn Facts' to appear on this webpage!
Steve Wynn's History
Arrangement & Enhancement by Camden Graphics
Born on January 27 (the same day as Wolfgang Mozart, Lewis Carrol & William Randolph Hearst) makes Wynn an Aquarius with
the inborn traits of being imaginative & communicative, having a need to act as an idealistic humanitarian. Other famous Aquarians
are Oprah Winfrey, Charles Dickens, Edward Manet, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Society's Water-Bearers.
Aquarians are known for their intuitive ability to understand people and human nature a bit differently than the other eleven
astrological signs might. In this regard, the hotel business allows Steve Wynn the opportunity to use his natural traits in
an arena that suits him well - in a business that deals specifically with meeting the intimate needs of other human beings,
by providing them an extravagant, fantasy-fullfilling, home-away-from-home, wonderland.
Think what you will about astrology...you will never-the-less see that Steve Wynn's extroverted approach to people,
is a lot different than...say that of Howard Hughes' more introverted, Capricorn nature.
Being this type of 'people person' is one of the reasons for Steve Wynn's success. Add to his basic inborn traits - the
unique type of mentoring, schooling, experiences and environments through Steve Wynn's life and you can see how
Wynn's past has created his present and future experiences.
This Steve Wynn biography is much different than other boiler-plate bios you might read, in that it isn't so much concerned
with listing all the many personal and professional events of his life. This biography attempts to understand the various
factors that caused Steve Wynn's constant rise thru the field of success. Input, desires, motivations and experiences
are what create our lives. In the case of Steve Wynn - this biography tries to find the logic behind his life of success.
Steve Wynn - In Old Las Vegas
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Steve Wynn's first view of Las Vegas was in 1953, right after his 12th birthday. His father, Mike, established the bingo
parlor on the second floor of the 'Silver Slipper Gambling Hall' (above right) - for the Last Frontier Hotel.
The Silver Slipper was located exactly across the street from where the new Wynn Encore Hotel has ironically risen.
Mike's dream, for success in Las Vegas, would come true through the son he inspired. Tweleve-year old Steve Wynn.
InOldLasVegas.com Collection. Restoration & Enhancement by Camden Communications.
Mid-Fifties view of the Silver Slipper, located directly across the street from the Desert Inn. The Silver Slipper was built
north of the original Last Frontier in 1950. During the 1950s, Steve Wynn's father Mike owned and operated several
prominent bingo parlors on the East Coast. Mike's friend, Maurice Friedman (then president of the Last Frontier) asked
him to come to Las Vegas to help establish a bingo hall on the second floor of the Silver Slipper. Mike operated the
parlor until April 1953 and then moved back east to oversee his bingo operations in Maryland.
Steve Wynn's 1953 trip to Las Vegas and the Last Frontier set the stage for his eventual, full-time return in 1967.
Neighborly Disputes
A Funny 1955 - Maurice Friedman News Story
News article discussing a fistfight between Last Frontier's Maurice Friedman & El Rancho's Beldon Katleman.
Steve Wynn - School Days
Steve Wynn spent four years attending the Manlius Military Academy - in preparation for West Point. He graduated in 1959.
In 1959, Steve Wynn decided to attend the University of Pennsylvania to study English Literature and Business.
The University of Pennsylvania, America's first University, was founded in 1740 by Benjamin Franklin. It is ranked with
Harvard, Princeton and Yale as one of America's top four Ivy League universities. Penn is a leader in the arts and
humanities, the social sciences, the natural sciences, architecture, communications and education.
Other University of Penn alumni include the United States' President William Henry Harrison, poet Ezra Pound, Supreme
Court Justice William Brennan, Cisco Computer Systems' Len Bosack, Harvard University president Drew Faust, coach John
Heisman, investor Warren Buffet, entrepreneur Donald Trump and Las Vegas' UNLV Director of Gaming Studies David Schwartz.
While there, from 1959-1963, Steve Wynn was a student of Cultural Anthropology and English Literature. His curriculum
included courses in Medieval, Renaissance & Transatlantic studies - Postcolonial and Globalization Theory, American Literature
and Contemporary Poetics. He also attended the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business.
Steve & Elaine Wynn
Steve Wynn's father, Mike, acquired many friends in East Coast gaming and hotel operations over the years he spent operating
his bingo establishments. One friend was Miami hotel-man Michael Pascal. Pascal's daughter was then attending UCLA as
a political science major. She had also been voted 'Miss Miami Beach' as well as UCLA's 'Spring Queen'.
While Steve was still attending the University of Pennsylvania (in 1962) the two fathers worked together to arrange a date
between their two kids, Steve and Elaine, in Miami. After some time watching their fathers bet on jai-alai, Steve and
Elaine drove over to Miami's Fountainbleau Hotel for dancing in the Boom-Boom Room.
The photo above shows the Fountainbleau Hotel and the type of environments that Steve and Elaine were familiar with.
The hotel and gaming business were parts of their life from an early age.
(Side note: The Fountainbleau & Encore share similar, curved shapes. A new Vegas Fountainbleau is being built north of Encore).
As romance blossomed between the young couple - they made plans to marry after Steve's graduation in June 1963.
Unfortunately, one of life's strange twists caused a change in their life's direction.
At age 43, Steve's father Mike was diagnosed with heart problems. His doctor advised open-heart surgery. The surgery was
unsuccessful and Mike died on the operating table on March 19, 1963. While Steve was still attending school, with just three
months until graduation - he suddenly had to handle his father's business affairs and take over managing the bingo parlors.
After Steve graduated in June, he had a whole different set of obligations to deal with than those he might have planned.
Two months after Mike died - and just weeks after graduating...Steve and Elaine were married (June 29th, 1963).
Whatever problems were at hand, in operating Mike's gaming operation and caring for Steve's mother and Steve's
eleven year old brother, the young couple decided they would handle together.
The four years following the death of Steve's father were spent finalizing his affairs and operating the bingo parlors.
Taking over his dad's helm, at the young age of 22, was surely a heavy weight on his shoulders - but also a time
when Steve would develop business traits that would help lead him to where he is today.
In 1966, Steve and Elaine had their first child. A daughter. During this time Steve was also attending law school at
Georgetown University. Then he received a call from his father's old friend - Maurice Friedman - the man for whom
Mike had established the Silver Slipper's Bingo Parlor. Maurice needed investors for the 1967 expansion of the Frontier.
Learning Las Vegas
1967-1972
GAMING
In 1967 Steve, Elaine and their one year old daughter moved to Las Vegas. Steve worked as a keno and slot manager at
the Frontier from February thru October. He also made a five per-cent investment in the Frontier Hotel. Soon after,
the Frontier was purchased by Howard Hughes (the former aviator and heir to the Hughes Tool Company).
SHOWS
After the sale of the Frontier, Steve entered into a partnership with Matt Gregory (who produced 'Mod Squad Marmalade'
at the Sahara) and the two began producing other Las Vegas lounge shows under the business name of Cassandra Limited.
ATMOSPHERES
The next phase of Steve Wynn's self-created apprenticeship is one of his most important learning and planning stages.
In 1969 Steve bought a company named 'Best Brands Wine & Spirits of Nevada'. He became the exclusive distributor
for Dewar's Scotch and Shenley Industries. For three straight years he visited and sold liquors & wines to
most every hotel and restaurant in Las Vegas and Reno.
Through these years he was able to study each business operation and the atmospheres they provided their customers.
Wynn is quoted as saying "I wrote almost every wine list on The Strip".
If ever there was a way to become an expert on Las Vegas atmospheres, restaurants and nightclubs - this
was the way to do it. He sold his business in 1972 and moved onto the next stage in his career.
A BANKROLL & A PROPERTY
In order to stake a claim a person needs a sufficient bankroll. Whether by luck or design, or both - Steve Wynn made his.
In Las Vegas, there are lots of stories, myths and partial half-truths behind the big accomplishments of various people.
Far be it from me to attempt to know (or care to know) any of the behind-the-scenes financial details attached to anything.
The only thing anyone can know is that - in this next phase of Steve Wynn's life - he made the most of opportunity.
Hughes & Wynn
Howard Hughes print available.
Aviator and Bashful Billionaire, Howard Hughes, had a long history with Las Vegas from its early days in the 1930s. He was
so enamored with the town that he produced the movie 'The Las Vegas Story' in 1952 through his RKO movie company.
After selling his interests in his Trans-World Airlines, in the mid-1960s, Hughes put his money into a new business venture.
His next business adventure would be his acquisition of several Las Vegas hotel-casinos between 1966-68. During those two years
he purchased the Desert Inn (where he lived on the top floor) the Sands, the Castaways, the Silver Slipper, the unfinished Landmark
Hotel, a large tract of land in West Las Vegas (called Summerlin - named after his mother) another piece of vacant land at Flamingo
and Paradise (now the site of the Hughes Business Center) along with various plots of vacant land all along the Strip.
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In late 1967, Hughes purchased the Frontier just months after Steve Wynn had bought into the hotel. At the time, Hughes owned
every major casino and all the Mid-Strip land seen in the photo above. Encore & Wynn Las Vegas now stand on the left.
During this time Hughes had plans to acquire most every major hotel in Las Vegas, since he considered Las Vegas to be a good
site for a major international airport and a good location for future aviation business. At the time almost all of Hughes' business
interests were firmly entrenched in Las Vegas. He had major plans for making Las Vegas a city of the future.
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In competition with Kirk Kerkorian's new International Hotel, just across the road from the Landmark, Hughes rushed to open his
1969 hotel-casino before Kirkorian opened his the International. Both hotels opened just two days apart on July 2nd and July 4th.
During this time Hughes was the key player in Las Vegas casino operations. His plans for the future of Las Vegas went so far
that he purchased a TV station to broadcast his RKO movies (the station was located a half-block north of the current Encore).
Throughout this time in Las Vegas - Howard Hughes never sold-off even one of his many properties. Yet, in 1971 he made a deal
with the young 30 year old, Steve Wynn, to sell him one of the most important pieces of property to ever exist in Las Vegas. Why
Hughes specifically chose Steve Wynn to be the buyer of this strategic piece of valuable property, few people truly know.
Why Hughes would sell his property to Wynn remains a mystery. It was a piece of property that Caesars Palace tried to buy for
several years. If Steve Wynn had a special ability to convince Hughes to release this one piece of key-property is a fact known
only to a handful of Las Vegas insiders. Whatever the full story is, this one highly unusual deal gave Steve Wynn a very strong
foothold in Las Vegas and a certain type of annointing and prestige through-out the town.
The 'Las Vegas Sun' newspaper ran a 1971 article on the story saying: "Among Las Vegas' brightest business luminaries,
one on a rapid rise to fame and power is also the youngest. At age 30, Steve Wynn, Thursday closed a deal many men
his senior would give their eye-teeth to have". From that point on Steve Wynn became Las Vegas' newest, rising star.
After the government stepped in to stop to Hughes from acquiring anymore casino properties (due to anti-monopoly policies)
Hughes ended up leaving Las Vegas for good and died a few years after. After Hughes' departure - the future of Las Vegas
casino development was in new hands - mainly those of Kirk Kerkorian and Steve Wynn.
The photos & captions below show and explain a bit more of this remarkable Hughes-Wynn deal.
Steve Wynn's Prize Property
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This 1965 view (looking west) shows the construction of Caesars Palace and the empty desert of West Vegas. The road leading
to the new freeway was named Dunes Road, for a few years, and later became West Flamingo Road. Caesars was built on
property that was owned by Kirk Kerkorian - which he leased to Caesars and sold to them a few years later.
The slim property, between Dunes Road & Caesars, was owned by Howard Hughes & used by Caesars as a south-parking lot.
Howard Hughes would not sell this property to Caesars, but - for some reason, instead offered to sell the land to Steve Wynn.
Wynn then sold his successful liquor distribution business and purchased the lot in 1971. For a time he had plans to build
a small casino on the lot (much like the similar and highly successful Barbary Coast built across the street in 1978).
He produced a scale model for a 500 room hotel and slot-machine casino.
This highly strategic piece of land was very much desired by Caesars. The building of the new Dunes Road suddenly made
the property a valuable corner lot and Caesars wanted the land.
According to Steve Wynn: "Caesars wanted the corner more than I wanted the hotel".
Steve Wynn sold the property to Caesars in October 1972. The sale allowed Caesars to own their side of what later became the
famous Four Corner intersection of the Las Vegas Strip and Flamingo Road. The money Wynn received from the sale gave him the
bankroll needed to buy into downtown's Golden Nugget casino. Wynn applied for his first Nevada gaming license the same
week he sold the property to Caesars. Steve Wynn received his Nevada gaming licence in March 1973.
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This 1965 photo shows the newly completed Dunes Tower and the empty lot where Caesars would soon start constructing its hotel.
At the time, Flamingo road ended at The Strip. The 1965 construction of Dunes Road (between the Dunes Hotel and Caesars)
would lead traffic onto the new freeway. Suddenly - a valuable corner would be created, which Caesars didn't own. This is why the
Howard Hughes' property became so valuable. Instead of selling the property to Caesars - Hughes decided to place the land
firmly into Steve Wynn's hands - as if passing a metaphorical baton. There-after, Steve Wynn held 'the ace of all aces'.
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This 1971 photo shows the completed Caesars Palace and their use of the former Wynn property for parking. The other
corners were occupied by the Desert Villa Motel (future Barbary Coast Casino), Kerkorian's Bonanza (future site of
the orignal 1973 MGM & 1986 Ballys), and the Dunes Hotel (future site of Steve Wynn's Bellagio).
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Early 1970s south-western view of the Dunes shows the adjacent Wynn property. A little over 20 years later, Wynn would
be the owner of the Dunes property (which he purchased in 1992). Within those 20 years he would first own and operate the
Golden Nugget and build his Mirage Hotel. By 1998 he would also open his Treasure Island Hotel and complete his Bellagio Hotel
(on the former Dunes Hotel site). Notice the size of the former Dunes Golf Course. MGM's City Center is now rising in top-left.
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1972 view of The Strip, from the Dunes, looking northward. Wynn's Mirage hotel would later open (1989) just beyond Caesars.
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Early 1970s night view from Dunes Skyroom. Bellagio's north shops & fountains are now where the cars parked and sign stood.
This 1977 view of the Strip was taken from the corner of the Dunes' (now Bellagio) parking lot. It looks northward up the
Las Vegas Strip. Back then, the right side road was named Flamingo Road and the left side was named Dunes Road. The
Wynn property is seen on the left, where the white pick-up truck is parked. The first Flamingo hotel tower is seen being built.
This 1999 view was taken from the exact same location as seen in the photo above. Caesars circular, sidewalk-rotunda is seen
on the site of the former Wynn property. The rotunda (placed in 1978) has since been removed and a new entry now stands there.
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This 1978 photo shows the Wynn lot six years after its sale to Caesars Palace. The Wynn property is seen just beyond the Dunes.
That year Caesars built the circular, sidewalk-rotunda and its elevated walkway on the lot. The construction of the
Barbary Coast can be seen right across the Strip - proving the importance and value of the two slim properties.
Coast Casinos later expanded around Las Vegas with its Gold Coast, Sun Coast, South Coast (South Point) & Orleans.
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This 1980s view (looking east) shows the Wynn property & Caesars sidewalk-rotunda (far right) and the completed Barbary Coast.
This 2000 photo shows the former Wynn lot's use by Caesars Palace. Caesars expanded its famous showroom across the
lot to the edge of Flamingo Road. They would later build an additional hotel-tower on that site.
Current view of Las Vegas shows how Caesars has utilized the former Wynn property by building its Augusta Tower on
that same plot of land. The red-roofed tower is seen on the right side of the photo above.
Current view of Caesars (seen from the Bellagio) shows the hotel-tower erected on the former Wynn lot.
Caesars property and the Augusta Tower shows the current use of Wynn's lot. That one piece of Hughes property became a
prime property for Wynn as well as Caesars. Selling the property (Oct. 1972) gave Wynn the bankroll for what came next.
Steve Wynn's - Golden Nugget
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Fremont and Second - Circa 1962. Seen shortly after the remodeling of Binion's Horseshoe.
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After Wynn's sale of the (former Hughes) property to Caesars in 1972, he was able to purchase a controlling interest in downtown
Las Vegas' Golden Nugget Casino. The Golden Nugget opened in 1946 and was long known as 'The Million Dollar Casino'.
During the early days of Fremont Street - the main downtown hotel was the 1932 Apache Hotel. In 1944, the Apache first
leased its bottom floor out to Tony Cornero for use as the S.S. Rex Casino. In the late 1940s the Eldorado Casino began
using the Apache's ground floor for casino use. In the early 1950s, the Apache Hotel & Eldorado Casino was purchased
by Benny Binion and the entire building became Binion's Horseshoe Hotel-Casino.
Yet, all through those early years, the Golden Nugget remained a casino without a hotel. By 1977, Steve Wynn renovated
the casino and built a 500 room, luxury hotel behind the gaming area.
Photo shows the Golden Nugget after its Victorian styled remodeling - when a block long neon facade was attached.
This is the way the Golden Nugget looked when Steve Wynn began running it after 1973.
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1950 photo of the interior and saloon at the Golden Nugget. Notice the stage-side television, showing Las Vegas casinos'
early use of cutting-edge media technology to show sporting events like boxing, golf and even Gorgeous George wrestling.
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1957 photo of the intersection of Fremont & Second Street. The Mint Casino had just opened in 1957 (replacing the former
Club Savoy which caught on fire the year before). The Golden Nugget remodeled its facade (in 1957) by installing a flat-paneled
sign that ran to the adjacent Lucky Strike Bingo Hall. By the mid-1960s the Golden Nugget acquired the adjacent Lucky Strike
as well as the space formerly occupied by the Nevada Club, The Californian and the short-lived Diamond Jims'.
Courtesy of 'The Las Vegas Centennial Committee' - Graphic Enhancement by Camden Co.
This 1980s photo shows the same intersection of Fremont & Second Street. During the Eighties, Binions bought out The Mint
and became a block-long property. The Plaza Hotel was built in 1971 on the former site of the Union Pacific Railroad Terminal.
Under Steve Wynn's reign, The Golden Nugget remodeled its facade and even added palm trees to Fremont Street.
Wynn's operation of the Nugget transformed the property into a top-class hotel, casino and show-place.
During 1995, a metal-canopy was erected over the entire four blocks of Fremont Steet from Main Steet to (Fifth Street)
Las Vegas Boulevard. With video screens under the canopy, the event is called The Fremont Street Experience.
In 2003, Steve Wynn sold the Golden Nugget to the two young Internet millionaires (of Travelscape and Expedia fame) Tim
Poster and Tom Breitling. After successfully running the hotel for two years, they sold the Golden Nugget to Tilman Fertitta
and his Landry's Seafood Company. Fertitta's cousins currently own and operate the successful Station Casinos in Las Vegas.
In 2008, Tom Breitling and Tim Poster were appointed as 'Senior Vice-Presidents of Strategy & Development' at Wynn Resorts.
A Funny 1974 - Steve Wynn News Story
In 1974, San Francisco police raided a senior citizen's penny-ante poker game and arrested the 80 year old players.
After their charges were dismissed, Steve Wynn flew them to Las Vegas for a night of food, fun, shows and free poker.
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