Steve Wynn Flirted with the Idea of Atlantic City Gaming, But Demurred Once Again.
Steve Wynn has passed on re-entering the Atlantic City gaming industry once more. Earlier this month, Wynn Interactive withdrew its application to enter the New Jersey online gambling industry, which is tied to Atlantic City casinos.
Had Wynn’s application been approved, the Las Vegas casino developer would have paired with a subsidiary of its longtime rival, Caesars Entertainment, on a gaming site. Instead, Wynn was allowed to withdraw its application two days after it signalled to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement that it wanted to do so.
Wynn Interactive’s Letter
On September 2, Wynn Interactive wrote a letter to the DGE which said “at this time, Wynn does not wish to proceed with its application.” Two days later, the Division of Gaming Enforcement agreed to allow the company to withdraw the application, which saved it considerable money.
It is the latest flirtation for Steve Wynn with a city he once dominated. Several times since he left the city in 1987, he has considered a return, but nothing ever came of the matter. Still, Wynn remains a key part of the city’s storied past.
Steve Wynn’s History in Atlantic City
In 1980, Steve Wynn and his Golden Nugget Companies opened the Golden Nugget Casino in Atlantic City, in partnership with Michael R. Milken. The casino was the 6th in Atlantic City since New Jersey’s legislature had passed legalized casino gambling in 1976. The development cost $140 million to build.
The Golden Nugget Atlantic City was Steve Wynn’s first major development after he first established his reputation by parlaying money from a land deal into a controlling interest in the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas, which had been owned by Howard Hughes. Thus, the Atlantic City resort bearing his company’s name was the first casino he developed himself.
Top-Earning Casino in AC
By 1983, the Golden Nugget was Atlantic City’s top earning casino. The resort’s Opera House became a venue for major entertainment acts, with famed appearances by Rat Pack members like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr., as well as other famous acts of the day, such as Don Rickles, Lou Rawls, and Dolly Parton. Steve Wynn became a bit of a celebrity himself, even appearing in an ad for the Opera House in which he brought towels to Frank Sinatra.
Not all of his memories from Atlantic City were good. Throughout the Eighties, Steve Wynn squabbled with New Jersey officials over a number of issues. In 1987, he sold the Golden Nugget to Bally Gaming for $440 million–a $300 million profit on 7 years of work.
Wynn Vows Never to Return
Because of his troubles with local officials, Steve Wynn vowed he would never again do business in Atlantic City. Despite considering his prospects a few times, he has held to that word. (The Golden Nugget was bought-and-sold several times, and eventually closed in 2014 under the name “Atlantic Club”.)
Two-Year Flirtation with AC Online Gambling
Most of those rumblings have been in recent years. In 2013, Steve Wynn was known to be considering a re-entry into the Atlantic City gaming industry in order to launch an online gaming portal. At the time, New Jersey was about to launch interactive gambling and it was seen as the next big thing.
After studying the issue, Steve Wynn decided the investment was not worth his time. He told the newspapers that online gambling “is not a good entrepreneurial opportunity.” It might better be put that it was not worth the trouble of a gaming executive pulling down billions from his businesses in Las Vegas and Macau.
Despite his pronouncements in 2013 and 2014, Steve Wynn has kept his options open. The deal with Caesars Interactive was a sign he still saw some value in online gambling. For a businessman, anything is on the table, if the numbers work out. But once again, the timing wasn’t right, and the deal wasn’t right.
