For those of you joining the Jack Binion saga already in progress, the former Horseshoe Gaming CEO took a position with Wynn Resorts in July 2006. Binion was to run Wynn’s Macao casino and oversee construction of its (still unbuilt) Cotai Strip project. Perhaps Binion didn’t cotton to living in China but, whatever the reason, once Wynn Macau was open, the aging casino boss quickly relinquished his role as chairman of Wynn International Marketing, having lasted four months in the role. He then took a seat on the Wynn Resorts board of directors but is no longer with the company in that capacity either.
So what else has Binion been doing with his free time? "Skiing," says one source. Another reports that the grand old man of downtown Vegas recently gave a presentation at UNLV on the relationship between poker and the art of negotiation. A Binion-backed group, Marvel Gaming, sought a casino license in Sumner County, Kansas, but was not chosen. The semi-retired mogul also attempted to purchase the Monte Carlo hotel-casino from MGM Mirage in 2009 but was turned down. Even so, Binion’s reputation as a man who gave gamblers a square deal is so enduring that it’s understandable that people keep hoping that this well-regarded operator would return to the industry.
