Wynn touts Las Vegas' nongaming attractions

Mirage Resorts Chairman Steve Wynn weaved a touch of humility, a few tantalizing hints about The Bellagio's performance and a promise that for Las Vegas the best is yet to come into a verbal tapestry that drew a standing ovation Tuesday at the American Gaming, Lodging & Leisure Summit.

Many in the crowd filling the Bellagio ballroom were investors eager for some insight into how Bellagio has fared since opening last October, not only for signs of how its parent company is doing, but to get an indication of where the overall Las Vegas tourist industry is headed.

And while Wynn offered only a few details, they were encouraging.

The spate of gloom-and-doom predictions about Las Vegas "has almost made me feel guilty about the results we're having," he said.

"I feel guilty about the $21 million table drop we had on Jan. 1 at Bellagio. I feel guilty about the $11 million table drop we had that day at The Mirage.

"I feel guilty that this hotel grossed $15 million in that one day, and The Mirage grossed $10 million. And I'm trying to forget that The Bellagio's restaurants each are doing $500,000 a day ... because there's no guarantee that will continue."

A better picture of Bellagio's impact will have to await the release and dissection of Mirage Resorts' fourth-quarter earnings report next month. Extrapolating numbers from what's traditionally the year's busiest day is an exercise in futility.

But Wynn expressed confidence about a future that will see gambling play an ever-decreasing role in the success of Las Vegas.

"Thanks to you guys," he said, referring to the casino investors in the audience, "we got our hands on all the money.

"And when we hit the '90s, we discovered that if our balance sheets improved, we could get access to even more capital. Now we find ourselves heading into 2000 with lots of money and a chance to do all kinds of things.

"It's probably a good time to ask ourselves if we're going to be able to match that capital availability with the creativity, boldness and energy we need to deploy it properly."

Wynn said gambling is becoming less and less a reason for people to travel to destination resorts, asserting, "No significant part of the world's population asks, 'Where can we go to gamble?' when planning a vacation."

"But the future for tourism and recreational resort development has never been better."

While casinos have been in the forefront of that development because of their strong cash flows, he said, the time may come when casinos alone "will have more slots and table games than players."

"The most provocative question put before me and my colleagues in 25 years is 'What this all means?"' he said. "And I think the most important thing that will determine the future of Las Vegas is what we here in Las Vegas do, not what people do elsewhere.

"This market is product-driven, not price-driven. It's about the substance of the 'invitation' that's here. Is Las Vegas rising to the moment to use the capital that's available to create that invitation?"

Wynn said he never dreamt Las Vegas would become a culinary or retail capital.

"But when The Venetian opens, a 3,500-linear-foot stretch (of the Strip) will have the greatest concentration of middle- and high-end shopping in the world.

"And by this time next year," he said, "every major chef in Europe and America will have an outpost within 2 miles of this building."

As for The Bellagio, he added, "We have seven or eight James Beard award winning chefs in this building, and there aren't that many in all of San Francisco."

"But we're not the only hotel that can boast the presence of outstanding artists like this," Wynn said, mentioning The Venetian, Caesars Palace, Paris-Las Vegas, MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay.

He also predicted "an explosion of theater here that within two years will redefine entertainment."

"Each night, every night, 365 nights a year, more tickets are sold here for the performing arts than in Chicago, London and New York combined," he said.

"Some 450,000 to 500,000 people come to this town every week to be entertained. Las Vegas' potential as the theatrical and creative center of the world is just about to be exploited."

The challenge, Wynn said, is for the creative talents in Las Vegas to build things better, not just bigger.

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