Inside Gaming Column: Macau Opening Excites Wynn

Las Vegas developer Steve Wynn, enjoying the final stages of getting Wynn Macau ready to open, says: "For me, it's fun. I've never opened a (hotel-casino) this small before. The anticipation is keen." His newest property, and his first overseas, is a 600-room, fully integrated resort in the former Portuguese colony of Macau off the coast of China. It opens Sept. 5 with a VIP party; the doors open to the public just past midnight.

Last week's events may change things, but Wall Street has been bullish on Atlantic City lately, largely because analysts see the likely effect of slots in Pennsylvania as more modest than once thought. Consensus growth estimates have been around 7.5 percent, thanks to capital investments now under way. Harrah's Atlantic City and the Borgata, a joint venture of Boyd Gaming Corp. and MGM Mirage, outpace the market. This may in part explain MGM Mirage's interest in a CityCenter East.

With high-speed, upgraded train service now set to start between New York City and Atlantic City in 2007, industry insiders say the key to success is keeping travel time at less than 2 1/2 hours. The proof will be in the pudding for the service paid for by a consortium of three East Coast casinos, but time was said to have spelled the failure of rail transit between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Still, with today's mag-lev technology and nonstop service, experts say similar trips could be made between L.A. and the Strip.

Coming soon to the Sawyer Building on Washington Avenue, live coverage of Nevada Gaming Control Board and Nevada Gaming Commission hearings when they are held in Carson City. The equipment is in and is being beta-tested now. Industry insiders have complained that the absence of videoconferencing made it difficult to know the nuances of the debates held out of town six months out of the year. Others ragged on the inconvenience of commuting. Plus wise guys complained about the cost of state officials spending their time driving back and forth. Welcome to the 20th century, a few years late.

Fortune magazine recently reported that George Maloof started the Hollywood trend in Vegas in 2001 at his Palms hotel-casino just off the Strip, with such celebrities as Britney Spears and Shaquille O'Neal at his clubs Rain and ghostbar. No disrespect, but fellows, have you ever heard of Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack, Debbie Reynolds and Johnny Carson? Even Bugsy Siegel, founder of the most celebrated early mob hotel, the Flamingo, came to us by way of Hollywood, where he operated cruise casinos for thes elite. George is doing great, but he hardly started it all.

Gaming Wire Editor Rod Smith can be reached by phone at 477-3893 or by e-mail at rsmith@reviewjournal.com.

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