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Oct. 20, 2009
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Wynn won't quiet views

Executive invites others to join his Obama criticism

By HOWARD STUTZ
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Steve Wynn
Casino executive says he plans to get involved in 2010 political campaigns

Wynn Resorts Ltd. Chairman Steve Wynn said Monday he plans to continue speaking out on what he calls the Obama administration's mishandling of the economy.

And he believes others in the business community should be taking a similar approach.

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    • "I feel very strongly about this, and it needs to be discussed," said Wynn, founder and chief executive officer of the company that operates Wynn Las Vegas, Encore and a casino in Macau. "I plan on speaking up every chance I get. Every businessperson ought to speak up or things are going to get much worse."

    But he plans to do more than talk. Wynn said he may establish a political action organization within Wynn Resorts that will empower his Strip casino's 14,000 employees.

    At Mirage Resorts, Wynn built a political arm in the 1990s that registered voters, provided campaign feedback to the company's employees, and helped favored candidates with grass-roots organizational materials.

    "I'm going to get real active in the next election," Wynn said of the 2010 midterm campaign.

    Two rival casino executives, MGM Mirage Chairman and CEO Jim Murren, and Harrah's Entertainment Senior Vice President Jan Jones, said they don't question Wynn's right to speak out. But they disagree with his opinion of President Barack Obama. Wynn, they said, is not expressing the universal opinion of casino operators.

    "(Wynn is) very well-known and he's a provocative speaker," Murren said. "He is a celebrity and he enjoys doing that. He does not speak for the industry nor does he speak for (MGM Mirage)."

    Wynn believes the president has not focused attention on job creation, and he said Monday the administration's policies will "punish" businesses.

    "It's a misdirected agenda. It's socialism lite," Wynn said. "All the things being talked about do nothing toward creating jobs. Eventually, this is going to start to dawn on the American people."

    In addition to Obama, Wynn was critical of Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

    However, Wynn, who is a Republican, said Monday that he supports the re-election of Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

    "My friend of 40 years will protect Americans from this kind of foolishness," Wynn said. "I don't believe Harry will let that happen. Remember, Harry is a conservative Democrat from Searchlight."

    Wynn appeared several times last week on cable television news shows to discuss the economy. He also participated in a round-table discussion with two Midwestern governors and an economist on "Fox News Sunday" with Chris Wallace.

    On Monday, Wynn clarified comments he made on the Fox show about government having never created jobs. However, he said public works jobs, such as the building of Hoover Dam in the 1930s, are not enough to bring America out of the recession. Jobs, such as those in the service sector created by the casino industry and private business, are more important than government employment programs.

    "If the government hires everybody, that's communism," Wynn said. "We know that destroys initiative."

    Wynn said the administration and Congress need to come up with policies that are favorable to business and that fuel capitalism and job growth, not attack it.

    "These macroeconomists don't understand what happens in each community," Wynn said. "When people have a job, they feel better about themselves, buy houses, pay taxes and become consumers. People without jobs don't have consumer confidence."

    Between its Strip and Macau casinos, Wynn Resorts employs 20,000 workers. The company hired 5,000 people in December when Encore opened. The sagging economy forced Wynn to make cutbacks at his two Strip resorts, although he said mass layoffs did not take place.

    Wynn is fresh off an initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that raised $1.87 billion for Wynn Resorts. The company is opening a second resort in Macau in the spring at a cost of $675 million.

    Last week, Wynn completed a high-profile deal that will bring country music star Garth Brooks into Encore's showroom over the next five years.

    Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871.

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    Angry@fools wrote on October 27, 2009 02:57 PM: Just when I thought Wynn had regained some sense of sanity he opens his mouth again.

    How soon before Kerkorian takes away your new toys Steve-O?


    AUDIT THE FEDERAL RESERVE!! wrote on October 27, 2009 12:57 PM: Wynn calls Reid " his friend of 40 years". You see people, when it comes to political favors, the Republican-Democrat battle lines are non-existent. Politicans are in it for the lobbyists and special interest kickbacks. Washington D.C. houses the worst criminals in our country's history, corporations run America, no pawns like Barack Obama.


    NWIOWA wrote on October 27, 2009 11:46 AM: Steve:

    Help me out here...you won't support B.O. because he is too liberal but you will support Harry Reid...who supports and drives all of B.O.'s agenda in the Senate? Wake up Steve...Harry Reid is an incompetent, back stabbing joke and he needs to go!


    Big Bro wrote on October 27, 2009 10:01 AM: Sad to see a sharp guy like Steve Wynn fooled by Harry Reid, lol


    vince joy wrote on October 26, 2009 09:23 PM: Steve Wynn, just another gutless businessman indulging a Left-Wing politician who can do him some good. I've lost all respect for this man who is devoid of principles!


    okra wrote on October 25, 2009 04:28 PM: That's funny Stevvie. Start a political organization for your employees, so they can lobby for... more tax cuts for YOU.
    Soon we'll have Wall Mart jobs for everyone!


    buck wrote on October 23, 2009 10:55 AM: Steve never said he was speaking for anybody else. he never even suggested he was. I cannot figure out where Jones & Murren get the idea was was doing that.


    MIKE VEGAS wrote on October 22, 2009 09:40 AM: ROB L TAKE YOUR STEVE WYNN EMEMA AND ENJOY IT. HE BUILT THE HOTEL AND CASINO TO MAKE HIMSELF AND HIS EGO MONEY. THE EMPLOYEES ARE A NESSACARY EVIL AND A BY PRODUCT. THE ARTICLE IS ON HOW IT'S OBAMAS FAULT FOR NOT CREATING JOBS. THE GOVERNMENT CAN'T CREAT JOBS ONLY LIABILITIES, AND I THINK LITTLE STEVIE IS A HYPOCRIT BY PASSING THE BUCK FOR HIS SHORT SIGHTEDNESS EVEN IF HE DID STEP INTO NEW TECHNOLOGY AND A NEW CENTURY. HOW JOBS DO YOU CREATE SINCE YOUR SO WILLING TO ASK THAT QUESTION


    Jay wrote on October 22, 2009 08:46 AM: The thing that is ruining the Republican Party are other Republicans. Steve Wynn is an example.


    Greg wrote on October 22, 2009 03:56 AM: Bernie Madoff probably cost Las Vegas more business customers and personal wealth than Bush 43, who presided over times and American events setting up the unusual economic malaise the Obama Administration stepped into less than one year ago.

    Our friends in Europe quietly did the math, and presumed last year it would take 6-7 years for America to be back with a really vibrant economy. We can shorten that with the right change and incentives by the federal government.

    Things could be a LOT WORSE for gaming executives.

    Any one of them could be teaching in CCISD in a challenged school for $35,000. a year, sharing their experience and expertise with young Nevadans rather than national media and the White House, as all politics is inevitably local and children are a community's best long term investment, even in Las Vegas.

    There are a lot of problems out there in the community, from one house and bedroom to the next.

    Making substantive headway on very complicated pushes like healthcare reform are going to be good for American business long term, and abuse of the financial markets is being given due diligence.

    For now we'll wait to hear specifics of the Wynn Economic Plan for America, which will probably look a lot like the plan staff and consultants like Frank Lutz are writing for Newt 2012, one which made sense in 1980, and might make sense again by 2020 with much different market criteria in place.


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