SEARCH NEWS:

 

Wynn Says Financing Nearly Complete for Le Reve

LAS VEGAS — Steve Wynn expects financing for his planned Le Reve megaresort to be completed by the end of February, with construction to begin about six weeks later.

The water-themed hotel-casino will cost $1.63 billion, about the same amount he spent to build Bellagio while at the helm of Mirage Resorts, Wynn said this week.

"We're working on financing that will be a new thing for Nevada, something that (Gov.) Kenny Guinn would say is great for Nevada," Wynn said.

He declined to identify the financing method or the likely sources for the funding.

Wynn had earlier forecast a 28- to-30-month construction timetable for his planned 2,455-room, 42-story hotel tower and a man-made lake. If his prediction holds, Le Reve would open by September 2004.

Le Reve is French for "the dream," and the name of a Picasso masterpiece owned by Wynn and his wife, Elaine. The painting is displayed in his recently opened gallery at the Desert Inn site, the Wynn Collection.

The project's design elements are now being finalized, Wynn said in a Wednesday interview.

"I'm now working on the signature aspect of the hotel, the dramatic, eye-catching thing that will draw people in from the Strip," he said. "It has to make sense in terms of the overall project."

He cited the Eiffel Tower replica at Paris Las Vegas as well as The Mirage volcano, the Treasure Island pirate-ship battle and the Bellagio fountains as examples of successful signature features that capture the imaginations of Las Vegas visitors.

All except the Paris Las Vegas landmark are Wynn creations.

He promised that Le Reve will have a unique element distinguishing it from every other Strip property, but declined to reveal it.

"There are some things I just have to keep from our competitors," Wynn said.

Wynn paid Starwood Hotels & Resorts $270 million in 2000 to acquire the Desert Inn in June 2000, the month after MGM Grand bought Mirage Resorts and became MGM Mirage.

< Gaming News