Mega Casino Owner Steve Wynn Appears On 60 Minutes

Casino News - July 27th, 2009 - Written by Jimmy

Self made billionaire, Steve Wynn, founder of such casinos and resorts as the Bellagio, Mirage, and Treasure Island, appeared on 60 Minutes, the very popular CBS news program. The piece aired around the story about how Las Vegas casinos are losing money in this struggling economy, at a time in which Steve Wynn just opened his newest mega resort, The Encore.

It would seem foolish to open a new resort under the economic conditions that America is facing, as many casinos and resorts in Las Vegas stand under construction, without work being done. Wynn explains that the Encore had been in the works for the last 4 years, and opening the resort was not going to put him out of business though times are tough. Wynn has always had a huge operating budget for all of his resorts which is rumored to be over $1 Billion in surplus funds, which he is banking on to carry his gambling empire through these difficult times.

At first glance, Wynn would appear like any other billionaire, however, you may not appear to him. You see, Wynn has been afflicted with a degenerative eye condition which he was born with. In childhood, the condition affected his nighttime vision, however, as Wynn aged, the condition has reduced his peripheral vision to almost nothing. A very sad story for a man who made a life for himself by paying fine attention to detail, when constructing his mega resorts.

Because of this condition, Wynn is forced to lean upon others, for guidance, as well as aesthetic decisions. In the interview with 60 Minutes, Wynn was having to be guided through his own casino, by the arm, because his vision is so terrible. This condition has even caused Wynn to lose some serious money. As Wynn explained to 60 Minutes, as he was about to sell one of the beautiful pieces of artwork, a Picasso,  from his extensive collection for $139 Million, Wynn turned to the right, arm extended, and poked a hole through the painting, with his thumb. Needless to say, the auction was called off after the painting was damaged. Wynn had the painting repaired, but has since decided not to sell the artwork.

Though Wynn has built and operated several resorts, he does not plan to rest upon his success or let his vision affect his way of doing business. Wynn's latest project, the Wynn Encore Macau is slated to open sometime in 2010, and promises to be one of the most extravagant resorts in the Wynn empire.