Wynn Paradise Park was an expensive add-on JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff characterized as a “theme park”.
Wynn Resorts dropped it plan to build the Paradise Park lagoon project, which was a longstanding goal of former CEO Steve Wynn. Instead, Wynn Resorts plans to renovate the 18-hole golf course located adjacent to the Wynn Las Vegas Resort & Casino.
Tom Fazio was brought in to revamp the golf course and evaluate what the construction of a nearby convention center will do to a couple of holes, according to new Wynn CEO Matt Maddow, who reported the decisions in a Q3 conference call.
The plan is to have the golf course completed and ready for business at this time next year. The golf course was closed in December 2017 for the current revamp, a move which cost the course an estimated $10 million to $15 million of business, along with roughly 16,000 rounds of golf.
The golf course is a favorite of visitors to the Wynn Las Vegas and the nearby Encore resort. Customers often receive free rounds of golf or reduced rates as part of their comps packages. Wynn Resorts is known for its high-end customers, who prefer playing golf at a higher rate than everyday visitors to Las Vegas.
Wynn Paradise Park
Steve Wynn announced ambitious plans to build Wynn Paradise Park in April 2016. The plan was to build an artificial lagoon between two of the company’s Las Vegas Strip resorts: Wynn Las Vegas and Encore Las Vegas. A new golf course would come along with the lagoon.
At the time of the announcement, Steve Wynn said he wanted to create a unique holiday for visitors to the Vegas Strip. Wynn said he was less interested in the casino experience than the resort stay, stating, “The people are gonna be here. I don’t give a damn if they put a nickel in a slot machine. I want them to pay my admission, I want them to stay in my rooms – I want them to drink my booze and eat our food.”
The flamboyant 76-year old developer added, “This really does reinvent Las Vegas. And I’m not a guy that does developer-speak very often – I let our projects talk for themselves.”
New Leadership, New Goals
That was in 2016, though. By February 2018, Steve Wynn was facing charges of sexual misconduct by the Wall Street Journal and other leading publications. Wynn eventually resigned as CEO in February, then sold his 12 million shares in the company by early March 2018.
Matt Maddox, a longtime board member, was elevated to chief executive. In an effort to bring new blood and new ideas to the board, Maddox brought in new board members in two separate waves.
The moves came at a time when Steve Wynn’s former wife Elaine Wynn was pressuring the longstanding board members to make wholesale changes. Now that the new board is established, it appears that Wynn Resorts has new goals in Las Vegas.
Lagoon in Jeopardy for Some Time
Since August, rumors swirled that Wynn Paradise Park was on the chopping block. J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Greff reported that the new board of directors was considering a different direction for the land in between Wynn LV and Encore.
At the time, Greff wrote, “Management noted that the focus has changed to more luxury resort experience than a theme park focus.”
Shareholders probably knew the decision was coming, due to close watch of the JP Morgan analyst’s previous report. In September 2018, when Joseph Greff claimed Wynn Resorts was an undervalued stock and a “good buying opportunity”, Wynn shares rallied 1.4% in premarket trading.
Wynn West Still on the Docket
Other parts of Steve Wynn’s vision remain in the plans of the company he founded in 2002. In January 2018, Steve Wynn announced his company would build the Wynn West, a 2000 to 3000-room hotel in the same complex. For the Wynn West, the company hired architects Roger Thomas and DuRuyter Butler, who had a hand in previous Wynn-backed Las Vegas resorts like The Mirage, Treasure Island Hotel and Casino, The Bellagio, and Wynn Las Vegas.
The “air conditioned umbilical hallway” planned to travel across Las Vegas Boulevard to connect Wynn West with the Beach Club outside Wynn Las Vegas continues to be a part of the plan. The three resorts need to be connected for visitors to receive the full experience, whether a lagoon exists on the premises or not.
