Wynn with a $1.5 Billion Expansion to Strip Property
Wynn Resorts Limited has announced plans for an extravagant expansion of their property, which is on the Las Vegas Strip, in Paradise, Nevada; the project has tentatively and aptly been named Wynn Paradise Park.
Wynn Las Vegas is a luxury hotel and casino located on the Strip, the property, worth $2.7 billion is the flagship resort for the company; standing on 215 acres of land, it boasts 49 floors, 2,716 rooms and ample entertainment space.
Expansion plans that were announced by Steve Wynn, chairman and CEO of Wynn Resorts, at a company investment conference, last Wednesday, include 1,000 new rooms, which will be centred around a 38-acre lagoon; the project is estimated to cost a total of $1.5 billion and if construction can begin later this year, as planned, they can aim to open the new facilities by 2020.
Wynn said to investors, “We have a chance to reinvent Las Vegas and make the whole venue an entertainment attraction … an idyllic beach paradise surrounded by white sand beaches. People come to Las Vegas from all over the world to live large and have a good time and we can dish up an irresistible entertainment attraction.”
The project is still awaiting the approval from the Wynn board of directors. There have been speculations, for weeks, that Wynn was planning to expand onto the adjacent golf course land, which would give them better access to the large number visitors that come to Vegas to attend conventions and meetings.
Joseph Greff, author of the J.P. Morgan investment report from the investment conference, said, “The project could be reviewed by the Wynn board by the third quarter and, if approved, construction could begin in fall.”
Wynn Paradise Park
Wynn Paradise Park, would be built on the 130-acre, 18-hole Wynn Golf Club, adding 260,000 square feet of space to the resort complex. A new tower, to house the 1000- room hotel, is expected to provide guest suites with a separate bedroom, living room and balcony, with unobstructed views of the waterfront, a number of food and beverage outlets, and further expansion of the current Country Club restaurant; the extra space will also act as customer meeting and loafing space.
A spokesman from Wynn Resorts Limited clarified, on Thursday that plans for the remaining portion of the golf course have not been decided yet. The current model for the project seems to accommodate golf course holes alongside the new developments; however, he further mentioned that the board has the power to change certain aspects of the plans before actual work is likely commence.
The Lake
According to a general massing model, distributed in a J.P. Morgan investment report on Wednesday night, the lake for the new development is to be positioned directly east of the existing hotel-casino complex; it highlights the approximate building placement but no final design.
The lake, which is be the central feature of this expansion will be 38 acres in size; the lagoon will offer visitors the opportunity to enjoy water sports such as skiing, paddle boarding and parasailing during the day. A 120 foot island will be built at the centre of the lake, with its 1-mile perimeter, all of which is to be decorated with white sand; and developed into beaches and a boardwalk. To further add to the spectacle, fireworks could be launched off the island into the night sky.
Greff said that the new hospitality facilities certainly have the potential to capture a different audience; with the beach and water sports activities envisioned on the lake, Wynn can expect to attract a lot of non-gaming revenue.
The only other facility in Las Vegas with similar water rights is Bellagio Las Vegas, however, their water rights are mostly tied to their fountains. Greff mentioned that Wynn Management, who have already noted the value and importance of these water rights realises that the limited availability, essentially limits any competition from other resorts.
The Tower
The tower structure, which will house all 1000 of the new hotel rooms, is expected to be as tall as the existing Wynn Las Vegas and Encore buildings but sport bronze-toned colours appropriated from their Macau properties. The structure would rest on the western lake shoreline with meeting areas expanding to the north and east of it as well as along the shoreline.
Greff said, in his report, the addition of the tower will only increase the capacity of the Strip by 1%, which will easily be absorbed by the market by their opening date in 2020.
The Wynn and Encore
The Wynn and Encore Las Vegas complex is already a marvellous feature of the Strip, with 4,748 hotel rooms, 186,000-square feet of gaming floor space, 34 food and beverage outlets; featuring celebrity chefs, two showrooms, three nightclubs and two spas. The complex also features 99,000 square feet of retail space, which is being expanded by another 75,000 square feet and opened to the public by 2017.
Other Projects
Wynn Resorts Limited is currently in the middle of two more major construction projects.
The Wynn Palace, first of the two projects, is a 1,700 room resort being built on the Cotai Strip in Macau. The project is due to be completed in the summer of this year and Wynn hopes to take advantage of the Chinese lucky number “8” and potentially open on August 8 (8/8), 2016, to take advantage of the local, Chinese market.
The second project,opened in 2019, is the Wynn Boston Harbor, in Everett, Massachusetts. Being within close proximity of Boston’s Logan International Airport and the Boston Garden sports arena, the property expects to take advantage of the 25 million game age residents living within 400 miles of the site
As mentioned by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority figures, tourism indicators continue to rise at the Strip; from 85.9% last year to 88.2% this year; Wynn is confident of their expansion plans. Announcement of the plans on Wednesday, was followed by a heathy rise in share prices for Wynn on Thursday; $10.44, or 11.66 percent, to close at $99.99.
