Wynn Las Vegas

> ***"The only hotel I've ever signed my name to"*** -Steve Wynn during the opening commercial
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Wynn Las Vegas, or simply the Wynn, is a 2,716-room mega-resort, hotel and casino located on 3131 South Las Vegas Boulevard on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The resort was built by businessman Steve Wynn and opened on April 25, 2005. The hotel is currently owned by Wynn Resorts. It is connected to Encore Las Vegas, which opened in 2008 and was an add-on to the Wynn.

The Wynn is home to Re Leve ("The Dream" in French), and a massive dancing fountain located on the corner of the casino.

The resort contains to outlet centers: Esplande, a luxury shopping center that opened with the hotel, and the Wynn Plaza Shops, which opened in November of 2018 and is home to many art sculptures.

## History

### **Concept and Construction**

In 2002, Steve Wynn announced that a new resort and casino would be replacing the previously occupying Desert Inn Hotel and Casino, which closed on August 28, 2000 after Steve Wynn bought it on the same year. It was revealed on October 23, 2001, that the new resort would be named the "Le Reve", and was going to be a mix between a French and Asian-themed resort that would include four resorts in one built around a public plaza that included cafes, shopping, and bistros. "Le Reve" would also contain an art museum using art pieces made by Van Gogh, Picasso, and other artists, a 48-story, 2,701-room all-suite hotel, a convention center, and a three-acre swimming pool. It was also said that it would contain an 111,000 square foot casino, 18 restaurants in total, a Ferrari and Maserati dealership, and a giant 18-hole golf course. It was expected to have 8,000 employees when it opened.

To help with the construction, the Desert Inn would slowly become demolished and imploded to make way for the new resort. The Desert Inn's Augusta Tower was imploded October 23, 2001, while the casino floor of the property was used as a temporary art gallery called "The Wynn Collection", containing 14 masterpieces that were originally taken from the Bellagio after it was bought out by MGM Mirage. The Desert Inn's golf course was kept, although its name was changed to the Wynn Golf Club. Some problems arose during the acquisition of the Desert Inn's properties, including many of the long-time residents of the nearby Desert Inn Estates refusing to move out of their homes so it could be demolished, with some homeowners claiming that the upcoming resort was removing their access to their own neighborhood with the widening of Sands Avenue, the main road that the Wynn would take place on. However, other residents of the Estate, along with people who worked at the Desert Inn in general, claimed that the property was becoming a "shell of its former self", with reports of the pool being filled with bugs carrying diseases and such. The Estates were demolished anyways.

On June 18, 2002, Steve Wynn filed a registration statement for a public offering that would finance the new resort. The document, which was filed by Wynn Resorts, stated that the registration uses a cost of $2.4 billion, which was more than any other hotel and/or casino in Las Vegas's entire history. The registration also described other costs for the amenities and structures at the resort.

Groundbreaking of Le Reve took place on November 1, 2002, with a groundbreaking ceremony hosted by Steve Wynn and his wife at the time, Elaine Wynn, along with 200 company associates digging away into the foundation. Fireworks were launched during the event as well.

In the middle of the construction period, the Le Reve changed it's name to the Wynn, named after Steve Wynn. The new logo for the resort was actually a cleaned up version of Steve Wynn's signature. A year later in 2004, Steve had announced that a second tower would be built after the resort opens, named the "Encore at Wynn Las Vegas"

### **Opening**

The Wynn officially opened for business on midnight of April 28 2005, the same day as Elaine Wynn's birthday, along with the Desert Inn's 55th anniversary, at a staggering cost of $2.7 billion, making it the most expensive casino in the world. A crowd of approximately 10,000 people were inside of the new resort and casino during its grand opening.

One notable thing about the grand opening of the Wynn was what happened prior. During Super Bowl XXXIX, a commercial was shown where Steve Wynn was sitting on the very top of the hotel tower, announcing the opening of the Wynn. A behind-the-scenes video about the commercial, which was shown on to the Wynn's website at the time, showed that the commercial was made by having Steve Wynn actually managing to sit on top of the tower, where the logo was below. A helicopter was used to show both Steve and the resort near the end.

### **Pre-Encore (2005 - 2008)**

Amenities of the Wynn during it's early years before the opening of the Encore included a 110,000 square foot casino, including 27 poker tables. Inside the casino was a Ferrari dealership that showcased Steve Wynn's Ferrari Enzo, costing $60,000 to be registered. Along with the Ferrari were 52 cars being displayed; forty of them were used, while the other twelve were considerably new. 45 spa room swere also present.

Outside of the Wynn, the 47,042-yard Wynn Golf and Country Club contained 70 holes, all playable for five hundred dollars.

## Attractions

### **Lake of Dreams**

A lake located in the middle of the casino that performs light shows that start every day from 6 PM to 11:30 PM. During the show, the lake displays lights that contain over four thousand color combinations, along with holographic imagery and puppetry. In front of the display is a forty foot waterfall that spills into the lake, along with lush landscape and a pine-topped mountain.

### **Le Rêve - The Dream**

The Wynn's main attraction. It is a water and acrobatic fantasy show created by Dragone that follows through various "dream sequences". Some notable occurrences during the show include many different synchronized swimmers and an 80-foot dive. It is currently shown every Friday through Tuesday at 7 PM and 9:30 PM.

## Extra Facts

### **Social Media**

* ***Facebook:*** https://www.facebook.com/wynnlasvegas/
* ***Twitter:*** https://twitter.com/wynnlasvegas/

* ***Instagram:*** https://www.instagram.com/wynnlasvegas/