Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
What casinos and hotels did Steve Wynn found in Las Vegas?
Steve Wynn founded The Mirage, Treasure Island, and Bellagio, among others, in Las Vegas.
Why did Steve Wynn step down as chair and CEO of Wynn Resorts?
Steve Wynn stepped down after a 2018 article in The Wall Street Journal revealed dozens of sexual misconduct allegations against him.
What is the significance of the 1932 Picasso painting âLe RĂȘveâ in Wynnâs life?
Wynn accidentally punctured âLe RĂȘveâ with his elbow, causing a tear in the canvas, shortly before he was supposed to sell it for $139 million.
Open full sized image
Wynn was highly involved in building out the Las Vegas casino scene. He was forced to step down from his position in 2018 after sexual misconduct allegations emerged.
Steve Wynn (born January 27, 1942, New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.) is an American businessman who founded several popular Las Vegascasinos and hotels including The Mirage, Treasure Island, and Bellagio. After a 2018 article in The Wall Street Journal brought to light dozens of sexual misconduct allegations against Wynn, he stepped down from his position as chair and CEO of Wynn Resorts.
Early life
After his sonâs birth in 1942, Wynnâs father, Michael Weinberg, officially changed the family name to Wynn to avoid encountering antisemitism. Wynnâs father died in 1963 from complications during open-heart surgery. After his fatherâs death, Wynn took over the bingo parlor business his father had operated in Maryland.
Wynn met Elaine Pascal on a blind date while he was earning his degree in English literature at the University of Pennsylvania. The two were married in 1963. In 1967 they relocated to Las Vegas, where Wynn paid $75,000 for a 3% stake in the Frontier Hotel and Casino. In 1972 he invested in stock in the Golden Nugget hotel and casino; he became chair and president of its board the following year. Wynn and his wife founded Mirage Resorts in 1976. In 1980 Wynn opened the Atlantic City Golden Nugget, financed by junk bonds sold by investment bankerMichael Milken. He and Elaine Wynn divorced in 1986, and Wynn sold Atlantic City Golden Nugget in 1987 for $440 million.
Hotel and casino career
Open full sized image
The entertainers performed at Wynnâs hotel The Mirage until Roy was mauled by one of their white tigers.
Photographs in the Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-DIG-highsm-15817)
After over 30 years in business, in 2024, The Mirage closed after MGM Grand (which had acquired the hotel in 2000) struck a deal to sell it to Hard Rock International.
In 1989, Wynn opened The Mirage hotel and casino, the first casino opened on the Las Vegas Strip in over a decade. The Polynesian-themed megaresort cost $630 million, making it the most expensive casino built at the time. Two years later, he remarried Elaine Wynn.
The Mirage was more family-friendly than most casinos on the Strip, with attractions like a large saltwater aquarium, a tropical atrium, and a 54-foot volcano that erupted every 15 minutes. Siegfried and Royâs long-running magic and animal act, which further helped broaden the resortâs appeal to families, was a centerpiece of the resort until Roy was mauled by a white tiger in 2003.
In 1993 Wynn opened Treasure Island, a pirate-themed hotel and casino. That year, Wynnâs 26-year-old daughter Kevyn was kidnapped from her home. After Wynn paid the kidnappers a ransom of $1.4 million, she was found alive and bound in a car at the Las Vegas airport.
Open full sized image
Wynn opened Treasure Island in 2003. The hotel features a pirate theme and has almost 3,000 rooms.
In 1998 Wynn opened his grandest and most expensive hotel yetâBellagio, a European-themed hotel that featured synchronized fountains outside. (The âdancingâ fountains would later become the setting for a major scene in the heist movie Oceanâs Eleven [2001]). The hotel also included an art gallery that would feature work from Pablo Picasso, Georgia OâKeeffe, and Andy Warhol.
Open full sized image
The European-themed hotel featured synchronizing âdancing fountainsâ in front.
In 2000 Wynn sold Mirage Resorts to MGM Grand, Inc. Two years later, he founded Wynn Resorts, Ltd., with his wife and Japanese businessman Kazuo Okada. The Wynn Las Vegas hotel opened in 2005, followed by the Wynn Macau a year later. The luxury hotel Encore Las Vegas opened in 2008. Wynn and Elaine Wynn divorced for the second time in 2010, after which the pair entered a multiyear legal battle concerning Elaine Wynnâs ability to control her stake in Wynn Resorts.
The $40 million elbow
Wynn was born with retinitis pigmentosa, a rare genetic eye disorder that weakens peripheral vision and causes night blindness. Wynn was originally due to sell the 1932 Picasso painting Le RĂȘve in 2006 to hedge fund manager Steven Cohen, who had agreed to pay $139 million, the largest sum to ever be spent on a work of art. However, Wynnâs lack of peripheral vision caused him to knock his elbow into the painting, creating a tear in the canvas. One of the guests in the room with him would go on to call the blunder the âforty-million-dollar elbow.â
After Donald Trump won the 2016 American presidential election, Wynn became the finance chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC). In January 2018 The Wall Street Journal published a piece outlining dozens of sexual misconduct allegations against Wynn, which he promptly denied. Shortly after the allegations became public, Wynn resigned as chair and CEO of Wynn Resorts, as well as from his role in the RNC. He ultimately paid tens of millions of dollars in fines and settlements associated with sexual misconduct.
When the allegations surfaced, Wynn had been developing a Massachusetts resort with a $2.6 billion price tag. Following the allegations, Wynn Resorts changed the resortâs name to Encore Boston Harbor from Wynn Boston Harbor. The resort opened in 2019. Similarly, the University of Pennsylvania removed Wynnâs name from a campus common area and a scholarship fund he had established. The university also revoked an honorary doctorate degree from Wynn.
Wynn and his wife contributed $1.5 million to Trumpâs 2020 presidential campaign. In May 2022 the U.S. Department of Justice filed a case against Wynn, alleging that Wynn had âlobbied [Donald Trump] and former administration officials at the request of the Peopleâs Republic of China.â A federal judge later dismissed the case.
