In his 1987 book, Donald Trump said of Steve Wynn, “He’s a great act. He’s a smooth talker, he’s perfectly manicured, and he’s invariably dressed to kill in $2000 suits and $200 silk shirts.”
Las Vegas casino billionaire Steve Wynn praised President Donald Trump for cutting taxes and regulations while discussing his company’s quarterly revenues reports. During a conference call with financial analysts, the Wynn Resorts CEO announced he would raise wagers and give bonuses to employees.
Steve Wynn said that the company received a $340 million windfall due to the tax break. He said that windfall increased 4th Quarter net profit to $492 million, compared to only $113 million in net profits for this time last year. To spread the wealth, he would raise wages and bonuses for US employees of Wynn, though the chief executive did not say which US employees would be eligible.
Wynn Resorts shares surged after the quarterly profits announcement. Steve Wynn’s stake in the company increased by $200 million itself, as shares rose to $195.23. That represented a rise of $15.59 per share or an 8.68% increase.
Wynn Resorts shares are at a 3-year high, corresponding to the collapse of the Macua gaming market in the second half of 2014.
Steve Wynn on the Tax Cuts
In his remarks to analysts from a number of US banks, Steve Wynn praised President Trump’s tax cuts, saying, “With the Trump administration, with the Republicans in Congress, we are seeing this fabulous renaissance. Any attempt to vilify or criticize this tax bill is a fruitless and pointless experiences. That impact of that tax bill is a tsunami of business activity and growth in America.”
2016 Inauguration Committee
Despite being a prominent member of the GOP who appears frequently on FoxNews, during the 2016 US presidential campaign, Steve Wynn did not take sides. He described himself as a friend of both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Wynn criticized the process of the US elections, saying that it brings down the dialogue. Saying he felt either candidate was capable of providing sound leadership, he said the process made both of them look bad.
Once Donald Trump was president-elect, Steve Wynn was one of 20 people chosen by Trump to be on the Inauguration Committee. Sheldon and Miriam Adelson also were on the same committee, which had the duties of event planning and entertainment planning of President Trump’s inauguration day in Washington DC.
Critical of Previous Regulations
Steve Wynn was named finance chairman of the Republic National Committee in early 2017. Since then, he has been a vocal spokesman for the Republican Party, while remaining critical of the previous Obama Administration. He said during this week’s announcement, “I am not trying to sound like a Republican commercial, but I am happy to do one.”
“We were victimized by the wet blanket, over-regulatory repressiveness of the Obama administration. All of us out here suffered.”
Wynn West Expansion
Of course, the Obama Era saw Wynn Resorts win a casino license to build the $2.4 billion Wynn Boston Harbor along the banks of the Mystic River in Everett, a suburb of Boston. It also saw Steve Wynn build his most expensive integrated casino-resort, the $4 billion Wynn Palace in Macao. The Wynn Palace opened in August 2016 on the Cotai Strip in Macau, while Wynn Boston Harbor has a planned opening in early 2019.
The tax cuts appear to have Steve Wynn optimistic about the future of the Las Vegas Strip. Wynn Resorts’s CEO discussed his plans for Wynn West, an expansion on the 38-acre lot where the defunct Alon project was located. Steve Wynn recently bought the lot for $336 million. Wynn West is expected to be a 2000 to 3000-room hotel complex, which will connect to the Beach Club outside Encore and Wynn Las Vegas by means of an “air conditioned umbilical hallway”.
Steve Wynn on Donald Trump
This is not the first time Steve Wynn has addressed Donald Trump. Steve Wynn is a notable friend and sometime rival of Donald Trump’s, as they were once competitors in the Atlantic City casino market. Steve Wynn once said of Donald Trump in a New York magazine interview, “His statements to people like you, whether they concern us and our projects, or our motivations, or his own reality, or his own future or his own present (you have seen over the years) have no relation to truth or fact.”
Donald Trump on Steve Wynn
Donald Trump mentioned Steve Wynn in his 1987 ghost written autobiography, The Art of the Deal. In a passage from the book which first introduced Donald Trump to many Americans outside New York City, the future president of the United States said of the Las Vegas Strip executive, “His entire world has been Las Vegas and Atlantic City and gaming. He’s a great act. He’s a smooth talker, he’s perfectly manicured, and he’s invariably dressed to kill $2000 suits and $200 silk shirts. The problem with Wynn is he tries too hard to look perfect and a lot of people are put off by him.”
