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May. 15, 2007
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

JOHN L. SMITH: Wynn shoots himself in the foot with bid to redistribute dealers' tips

JOHN L. SMITH
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Steve Wynn once shot off his index finger while playing with a pistol.

You'd think he would have learned his lesson.

Last September, Wynn fooled with the wrong end of another gun when he forced his dealers to share their tokes with floor supervisors.

Bang. That'll show those dealers.

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    • But in no time, it was Wynn who was doing the bleeding. Not at his lusty bottom line, but in the image department.

    Like workers in some gaudy gulag, Wynn Las Vegas dealers were warned not to speak with the press after the change. When they did, some media scolds chided them for being ungrateful.

    I've rarely seen such journalistic fretting about what working people earn. Breathless stories of dealers making up to $100,000 a year -- most of that in tokes, mind you, for their hourly wage is a pittance -- made them appear greedy and ungrateful.

    I'll let others measure the depth of the dealers' gratitude. In a business that celebrates greed, one that finds casino operators scoring insane salaries and scooping up gargantuan net profits, how anyone can criticize the dealers for battling to hang onto their tips is beyond me.

    Last, the card pitchers were warned against attempting to organize.

    Over the weekend, they voted by an overwhelming majority to do just that, electing to invite the New York-based Transport Workers Union of America to negotiate with management on their behalf. It was a decision that took real courage in the face of Wynn's intimidating influence.

    From the start, state bureaucrats and Wynn's lawyers warned the dealers they had no legal standing. They were told to save their money and forget about litigation.

    They didn't listen.

    They received only a partial hearing at the peoples' Legislature after an Orwellian afternoon in which they weren't allowed to mention the name of their billionaire boss. And yet they still refused to quit.

    When they talked about organizing, they were reminded how quickly they could be replaced. Some, in fact, were replaced.

    But as the months passed and Wynn's profits from his Strip and Macau casinos were reported along with his own $6 million annual salary, the story began to refocus. Legalities and ethics aside, Wynn had robbed Peter the dealer to pay Paul the floor boss, and he looked bad doing it.

    And looking bad is something Steve Wynn hates to do.

    After 40 years in the casino racket, Wynn has made a vast fortune by being a good boss and by reminding people about all the class he brings to the Strip. But in one move the multibillionaire made himself look cheap. He "redistributed" the dealers' tips without their consent, then tried to portray the dumb decision as an innovative business move. It was such a bright idea that not one major casino corporation endorsed it.

    When the blue smoke and bullying failed, Wynn tried the direct approach. Addressing his dealers on the eve of the election, his tough-guy talk was replaced by the measured speech of a contrite father figure, who apologized for his mistake and expressed gratitude for all the dealers have meant to his success. He implored them to vote against the union and said, "I gotta be your guy in order for us to really get great."

    It was taped and disseminated on the Internet.

    Trouble is, the dealers' guy screwed them out of a piece of their tips. Wynn should have rescinded his stupid policy before the unionization effort began. It probably would have derailed it.

    Instead, he escalated a fight that can only hurt morale at his casino. Not many good-news stories are generated from union contract negotiations.

    Wynn is a brilliant guy in many ways, but is there no one in his life who tells him when he's full of baloney and headed in the wrong direction?

    Over the years, Wynn has had a great relationship with his workers. Word of a new Wynn property opening sends a buzz of excitement through the casino worker subculture. People were genuinely thrilled to be part of his operations because they knew they'd be flying first class and making arguably the best tokes in the business.

    Steve Wynn has blown his credibility with his people.

    Now he'll have to hustle to stanch the bleeding from his self-inflicted wound.

    John L. Smith's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. E-mail him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or call 383-0295.



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    jeff c wrote on January 09, 2008 05:10 PM: WYNN NOT THE ONLY ONE!!

    Casino named Winstar in Oklahoma took 20% from every dealer every day and redistributed it to their floor staff...6-8 million in unreported funds extorted from their employees .


    leopold gemma wrote on December 25, 2007 03:23 PM: Thank you Mr. Smith. It is very nice to know that steve wynn isnt getting sympathy from everyone in the media. thank you for speaking the truth, and thank you for sticking up for the little guy. dealers have been paying themselves since Bugsy came to town. it looks like the inovator of the gaming world has just lit the spark
    of revolution. thank you Mr. wynn. You messed with one thing all dealers can agree on TOKES. Now we all have seen the light. ALL DEALERS NEED TO ORGANIZE!!!!
    FIGHT BACK


    Paul Moldon wrote on August 15, 2007 05:26 PM: Steve Wynn got his gaming start with the Golden Nugget, an insideer deal with the Teamsters (another union.) his first casino manager could bring him back to old Vegas spirit.
    Doesn't Irwin Molasky advise Wynn. Mr. Molasky has some of the deepest roots in the Vegas valley. Irwin moladky has vested interested in the Wynn, the previous Desert Inn and is a brillant businessman.


    tania c wrote on May 17, 2007 01:04 PM: I would like to thank Mr. Smith for writing such a wonderful column in the dealers favor. The fact that he is on our side, makes us feel better about working in such a place. I went to work for Wynn because like you said, he was supposed to be the Best. It turns out he has been nothing but a "cheap thief." I will tell you this, not only is there speculation that this whole thing was not only his idea, but that the family that is working for him encouraged him to do it...go figure, greedy bastards!!!! Anyways, thank you so much for having our backs, we not only did this for us but for every dealer in the country...


    Ron Teen wrote on May 17, 2007 12:48 PM: I DIDN'T LIKE HIM WHEN I WORKED AT THE MIRAGE, AND I LIKE HIM LESS NOW EVEN THOUGH I DO NOT WORK AT THE WYNN.

    R.T.


    Ronda Draper wrote on May 16, 2007 11:48 AM: Thank you, I work at the Wynn and we just don't believe or trust Mr. Wynn anymore. And I have worked for him before, so I did have faith that he would not let us down but he had 9 months to change things and chose not to he did this to himself.


    C.J. Smith wrote on May 16, 2007 06:32 AM: Ironic.
    Back in 2000 while I work security for Desert Inn a union attempted to organizes us.
    The sale of Desert Inn to Mr. Wynn was rumored, but rumores were dimissed by management. They didn't even want Mr. Wynns name mentioned in the same sentence as The Desert Inn. The top ececs. even attended our Graveyard shift roll call to explain how Starwood was going to care of all security personell.
    The union lost the vote and the next day it was officially announced Mr. Wynn had purchased The Desert Inn.
    It was common knowledege that Mr. Wynn objected to the union and the purchase would have been in jeopardy had the union won.


    Jennifer Kim wrote on May 16, 2007 04:56 AM: Thank you so much for a well written article that actually focuses on the issues and injustices the dealers are facing that resulted in an overwhelming majority vote for the union. The intimidation, the "hearing" they received, the terminations without progressive discipline, etc. Thanks for seeing the other side of a bad issue.


    RON HURST wrote on May 15, 2007 06:41 PM: GREAT ARTICAL, YOUR THE ONLY ONE THAT HAS GOTTEN THE WHOLE STORY RIGHT, THANKS


    CAS127 wrote on May 15, 2007 03:39 PM: Yeah, and come to think of it, Wynn "accidentally" punched that hole in the painting (nothing to do with financial stress on corp...that's why he is having to litigate with an extremely dubious insurance company - look it up...)


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