TLDR Steve Wynn spoke to a sold-out crowd of 600 at the Golden Nugget on Oct. 22 at a Neon Museum event. It was his first major Las Vegas speaking event since he left the gaming industry in 2018. Wynn said The Mirage, which cost $630 million, was profitable within its first hour after opening in 1989. He described how he convinced 91-year-old Grace Hayes to sell the last private home on the Strip. Wynn is barred from Nevada’s gaming industry, but his settlement allows public appearances.
Steve Wynn, the former head of Wynn Resorts, returned to a Las Vegas stage on Oct. 22 to talk about building The Mirage. It was his first major speaking event in the city since he left the gaming industry in 2018.
A sold-out crowd of 600 people filled the Golden Nugget showroom for the event. The Neon Museum hosted the talk, called “Reflections of The Mirage: A Conversation with Steve Wynn,” as part of its yearly Duck Duck Shed celebration.
The location had a link to Wynn’s past. He controlled the Golden Nugget from 1973 until 1989 before he turned his focus to the Strip.
Wynn is now 84 and legally blind from an eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa. He spoke for nearly two hours about the resort.
The Mirage cost $630 million to build, a huge sum at the time. Wynn said many casino leaders believed it would fail because of its high daily operating costs.
He recalled a Forbes story about the project that ran under the headline “Snake Eyes for Steve.” Wynn said he had shared his research with the reporter, but the magazine was not convinced.
The Mirage opened on Nov. 22, 1989. Wynn said 50,000 to 60,000 people came on the first day. “The place