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Steve Wynn - Vegas Billionaire
Who is He?
Steve Wynn is a Las Vegas casino online developer who has enjoyed an unprecedented amount of success in the past two decades. Considered by many to be the father of the new Las Vegas, Wynn has been largely responsible for Sin City's recent shift toward a family-holiday destination.
Consistently on the cusp of a new and innovative idea, Wynn has surprised many with his risky approach to business and property development. In 2004, Time magazine called Wynn "not only a great salesman of insane ideas and a clever real estate player but also the gaming industry's most brilliant designer".
About the Man
Steve Wynn was born Stephen Alan Weinberg in New Haven, Connecticut in 1942. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1963, with a degree in English Literature. His is your typical story of a member of the middle-class who, through persistence and hard work, lives the American dream and, in his case, winds up a billionaire.
It seems Wynn was destined to make a name for himself in the gaming industry. His father ran a chain of successful bingo parlors on the eastern seaboard, but he passed away while receiving heart surgery just as Steve was graduating from college. Steve therefore took over the family business and within a few years had made enough money to invest in the Frontier Hotel and online casino in Las Vegas, and in 1967, he moved his wife and two small children there with the hope of expanding his budding business interests. Wynn probably wouldn't have imagined the scale of success which would come his way in the following years.
During the early 70's he used profits from another real estate transaction to buy a controlling interest in a downtown casino called the Golden Nugget. Wynn renovated, remodeled, and expanded the Golden Nugget into a four diamond resort with great success in attracting upmarket clientele to downtown Las Vegas. In 1987, Wynn sold the Golden Nugget for $440 million and started work on what would become his flagship enterprise, the Mirage, which opened on the strip in 1989.
The tremendous success of the Mirage would usher in a new age for casino development in Las Vegas. Hotel/Casinos/Online Poker would be replaced by lavish entertainment complexes featuring stunning visual attractions such as waterfalls, volcanos, and roller coasters. Wynn is often credited with spearheading this move towards lavishly grand "Disney-like" development in Las Vegas.
Regarding Wynn's personal life, not much is known. Much like other billionaires, he remains very guarded about his private matters. We know that he's an avid art collector, and you can see many pieces from his personal collection on display at his Bellagio Hotel and Casino, including works by Warhol, Van Gogh, and Picasso. He is also chairman of the Moran Eye Institute at the University of Utah and a member of the Advisory Board at the center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. Furthermore, he is on the Board of Trustees at the University of Pennsylvania, is on the Board of the George Bush Presidential Library and, most recently, was named Vice Chairman of the Kennedy Center's 2000 Corporate Fund Board.
His Vision
In 1993 Wynn opened Treasure Island right next to The Mirage, another four diamond resort, highlighted by entertainment from Le Cirque du Soleil and the Battle of Buccaneer Bay, a man-made lagoon featuring a pirate ships and cannon balls. Treasure Island, yet another brainchild of Wynn's, is truly one of Las Vegas's most exhilarating resorts.
In 1998 another of Wynn's projects, the Bellagio, was opened. This luxury hotel features an artificial lake, an indoor conservatory, a world-renowned art gallery, and a plethora of high-end shops and boutiques geared towards the filthy rich and famous.
In 2004, Steve Wynn's net worth doubled to $1.3 billion as he announced plans for his most ambitious project yet, a new hotel, casino, and entertainment complex called Wynn Las Vegas (pictured). It opened the following at an estimated cost of a whopping $2.7 billion.
For nearly 40 years, Steve Wynn has brought vision and excitement to Las Vegas, and at only 65 years-old he's not even close to being finished.