Fourth Wynn hotel to be built in Las Vegas Strip

Wynn's new hotel will have 2,000 to 3,000 rooms and will be built on the former Alon site across the street from the Wynn and Encore properties. It will be linked to both hotels by an “air-conditioned umbilical hallway,” Wynn said on a conference call Monday.

The 38-acre lot was purchased for USD 336 M in December. The company is also building a hotel, convention center and lake resort, Paradise Park, behind its current properties.

"We're creating a new kind of experience that is representing the modern era," Wynn Chairman Steve Wynn said during his fourth quarter earnings conference call Monday morning.

"It's like Picasso painting a painting," UNLV center for gaming research director David Schwartz said. Schwartz said the new project is another example of Wynn's commitment to Las Vegas.

"I think it's really positive for Las Vegas that someone like Steve is willing to invest a lot of money," Schwartz said. "Last year visitation dipped but he thinks it'll keep going up."

On the conference call, Wynn didn't offer any specifics on the timeline of the project but said he plans to move quickly.

"I've been thinking about it for a long time and sketching with it," Wynn said on the call. "I don't think the design development period is going to be very long on the Wynn West Property."

Visitors to Sin City fell 1.7 percent to 42.2 million in 2017, the first decline in four years, according to preliminary data from the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority. Declines were steeper in the last three months of the year after the shooting left 58 people dead. The gunman fired on a crowd below from a room on the 32nd floor of MGM Resorts International’s Mandalay Bay property, forcing casino operators to revisit their security procedures to make guests feel safe.

Room rates in Las Vegas rose 2.8 percent to an average of USD 129 a night last year, while the percentage of rooms occupied was little changed from a year earlier.

Wynn’s newest hotel rooms will feature 24-foot-wide window views, his-and-her bathrooms and 80-inch TVs. The company’s average room rates are rising and will likely hit $400 by the time all of the rooms under construction are finished, the executive said.

Wynn Resorts’ overall results, reported Monday, beat estimates thanks to strength in Macau. Revenue in Las Vegas fell 1.6 percent to USD 377 M, while adjusted profit dropped 9.2 percent to USD 104.1 M.