Wynn Resorts CEO Doubles Down on China Casino Business
Steve Wynn, who made his name reinventing the Las Vegas Strip with large, luxurious casino resorts such as the Mirage, the Bellagio and Wynn Las Vegas, has a new canvas: China. The casino mogul says so much of his business is in the Chinese territory of Macau these days that he thinks of Wynn Resorts Ltd. as a Chinese company.
Gambling revenue in Macau is expected to be five times that of the Las Vegas Strip in 2011, even though it is just nine years since Beijing opened up the territory to Western casinos. At Hong Kong-listed subsidiary Wynn Macau Ltd., net profit more than doubled in 2010 to $4.42 billion Hong Kong dollars (US$568.7 million) from HK$2.07 billion. Mr. Wynn, who is the chairman and chief executive of both Wynn Resorts and Wynn Macau, says he flies into the Chinese gambling enclave at least every six weeks. He has plans to open a second casino resort there by 2015.
But running a gambling business in China isn’t without its challenges. There is fierce competition among the casino operators, not only with fellow U.S. companies Las Vegas Sands Corp. and MGM Resorts International, but also with local operators including Macau tycoon Stanley Ho’s SJM Holdings Ltd. There is also the question of government relations—Macau’s local government tightly controls the pace of development through access to land and labor.
Linda Chen. When Steve Wynn was asked by the WSJ, “Do you have anyone in mind to become the next CEO of Wynn?” he answered, “Incidentally, Linda Chen [chief operating officer of Wynn Macau] is on the board of the parent company. So if you ask me who could do it? A Chinese woman.”
Of course, we couldn’t agree more!
Encore Fireworks Spectacular Dazzles Macau with Steve and Linda