As threatened, Steve Wynn is moving … but not to Macao. The mogul just dropped $24 million on a little pied-a-terre on Central Park South, in the city so nice they named it twice, New York, N.Y. (Corporate HQ, however, remains Las Vegas.)
In an amusing filip, Wynn’s new landlord is El Ad Properties, which is also his neighbor on the Strip. El Ad owns that big piece of vacant land where the New Frontier used to stand. It was to become a ginormous version of the actual Plaza, one of the more psychotic projects to emerge from the 2005-07 economic fever dream that gripped Vegas. With East Coast projects starting to occupy more of his time and interest, it’s almost inevitable that Wynn would keep a “listening post” on the Hudson River. Besides, it keeps him close to BFF Charlie Rose and to the art scene he so dearly loves.
Wynn has a vacation home in Sun Valley, Idaho as well. It’s great to lead different life styles in different cities year-round and to take his mind off the gaming business just occasionally.
But just like any CEO, Chairman, or entrepreneur, Wynn’s heart will always be in Vegas where he flourishes and continues to reign.
Macau will also dominates Wynn’s mind, design effort and business related inputs since Macau is where most Wynn’s future income will be generated.
It’s just a naive assumption and wishful thinking that just because the man vacations in the Big Apple, he is a now a certified, full-blown, die-hard Woody Allen type New Yorker. He doesn’t have more than 24 hours a day and Wynn has no business there. Period.
I heard an NPR reporter saying today that the Chinese government, alarmed that some government officials have been caught gambling in Macau with government funds, has restricted the number of government workers who can go there. I wonder how Wynn would like it if US governments did that kind of “preemptive cutting” of his Vegas customer base?