Steve Wynn, billionaire and chairman of Wynn Resorts, has developed some of the most well known casinos in Macau and Las Vegas over the years. However, the $4.2 billion Wynn Palace in Macau is the company’s most expensive project to date and is expected to open to the public on August 22.
Wynn Resorts decided to develop the Wynn Palace in the Cotai district back in 2011 when casino gambling was booming in Macau. Since then, Wynn Resorts has faced a number of challenges in developing and launching its new casino. The biggest challenge was the collapse of Macau’s gambling industry which was brought about due to the anti-corruption crackdown launched in 2014 by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Since then Macau’s casino industry has recorded 26 consecutive months of revenue decline as its VIP gambling segment has fallen apart.
The Macau government has also instructed casino operators to diversify their non-gaming operations and make it more family friendly. Steve Wynn has different views and recently stated that the Wynn Palace is not a place for children as there are better places than Macau and Las Vegas for children to visit.
The Wynn Palace?casino has developed a number of luxury offerings that are directed at a market segment over 21 years of age. The company has invested more than $200 million in Chinese antiques and art that includes a rare quartet of 18th century Qing Dynasty vases located throughout the property. Over $100 million was invested to develop the Performance Lake, which has a synchronized water show. Visitors to the casino will also be able to enjoy SkyCabs, which are air-conditioned gondolas that go around the performance lake.
The Wynn Palace has a total of 1,706 luxury hotel rooms and villas, a large conference space, an Opulent Spa that offers $450 gold leaf facials and over 18,580 square meters of space that has the biggest names in retail along with a number of great dining options. Visitors will also be able to see the mini-Eiffel tower which is part of the property.
Macau’s gaming regulator granted only 150 gaming tables to the Wynn Palace, 100 of which will be made available during the launch and the remaining 50 will be allotted during the next couple of years. Wynn Resorts was not thrown by the low table allocation saying that they expected and hired for only 100 tables and would move 250 tables from its Wynn Macau casino to the new property.
While MGM CEO James Murren and Las Vegas Sands Chairman Sheldon Adelson remain positive that Macau’s casino industry is in recovery mode, Steve Wynn is a lot more skeptical. In a statement, Wynn said “The last two places that opened did not cause the market to grow, did they? No. Will this one? Good question. We’ll get an answer to that in September or October. I’m anxious to see it myself.”
The Wynn Palace will face stiff competition from the Parisian Macao which is scheduled to open in September and the MGM Cotai which is expected to open in 2017.