Wynn Las Vegas Opens (2005)
2005
- Date
- Opened just after midnight on April 28, 2005
- Location
- Las Vegas Strip, on the site of the former Desert Inn (opened April 24, 1950)
- Key people
- Steve Wynn (developer), Elaine Wynn, builder Tony Marnell, property president Marc Schorr
- Total cost
- About $2.74 billion, including land, design, construction, financing and pre-opening costs
- Desert Inn purchase
- $275 million in 2000; the Desert Inn closed for good on August 28, 2000
- Hotel at opening
- 2,674 rooms and suites in a 45-story tower, plus 36 fairway villas and 6 private-entry villas (company filing for 2005)
- Casino
- About 111,000 square feet
- Build time
- 30 months, according to builder Tony Marnell
- Opening crowd
- At least 10,000 people
- Staff
- 9,500 workers, picked from 105,000 applicants
- Where to see it today
- Wynn Las Vegas, with its Lake of Dreams show and Wynn Golf Club
About
Wynn Las Vegas marked Steve Wynn's return to the Strip. He had built the Mirage (1989) and Bellagio (1998) at Mirage Resorts. For his new resort he bought the Desert Inn, a Strip landmark that had opened on April 24, 1950. Online Nevada Encyclopedia says Wynn paid $275 million for it, closed it for good on August 28, 2000, and began imploding its towers in October 2001, starting with the Augusta Tower.
The resort opened just after midnight on April 28, 2005, which was Elaine Wynn's birthday. The Las Vegas Sun reported that at least 10,000 people crowded in, and that the date was exactly five years after Wynn bought the 217-acre Desert Inn site. Wynn Resorts' filing for 2005 puts the total project cost at about $2.74 billion. That figure includes the land, which also covered the future Encore site, along with design, construction, financing and pre-opening costs.
The design closed the resort off from the Strip. A 140-foot landscaped mountain hid the boulevard's glare and noise from the shops and restaurants. It faced a three-acre lake with waterfalls, and was planted with mature trees saved from the old Desert Inn golf course. Inside were a casino of about 111,000 square feet and the water show Le Rêve, which opened with the resort. Behind the hotel, Wynn kept and redesigned the Desert Inn's 18-hole golf course.
Builder Tony Marnell said his crews finished the job in 30 months, six months faster than Bellagio, even though Wynn had put a mountain in the way. Before opening, Wynn was already planning a second resort just north of the first. It opened as Encore in 2008, and together the two resorts became the Wynn and Encore complex on the north Strip.
What to expect
Wynn Las Vegas still operates on the old Desert Inn site. The three-acre Lake of Dreams, the resort's signature attraction from opening night, now hosts a free show using 5,500 LED lights and a 45-foot waterfall. According to the resort, shows run nightly every half hour from dusk, and you can watch from the complimentary North Show Terrace or from the SW Steakhouse patio.
The Desert Inn's old golf land is now the redesigned 18-hole Wynn Golf Club. The resort's page says the production show Awakening has its final performances through October 10, 2026.
More from the 2000s
Before and after
Good to know
- Sources differ by a day on the opening date. Online Nevada Encyclopedia gives April 27, 2005, while Wynn Resorts' own filing and the Las Vegas Sun's opening-night report give April 28, 2005, the moment the doors opened after midnight.
- The $2.74 billion total in Wynn Resorts' filing covers more than the building. It includes the Desert Inn land (Encore's site too), land for employee parking, financing fees and pre-opening costs.
- The Desert Inn cost $6.5 million when it opened in 1950, according to Online Nevada Encyclopedia. Howard Hughes bought it in 1967 and lived in its penthouse until 1976.
- The trees on the resort's man-made mountain were saved from the old Desert Inn golf course before it was remodeled, the Las Vegas Sun reported at opening.
- Wynn chose not to run a big pre-opening publicity campaign. Instead he gave Vanity Fair the first published photos of the property.
Questions about Wynn Las Vegas Opens (2005)
When did Wynn Las Vegas open?
Wynn Las Vegas opened to the public just after midnight on April 28, 2005, which was Elaine Wynn's birthday. The Las Vegas Sun reported that at least 10,000 people crowded in that night. It was exactly five years after Steve Wynn bought the old Desert Inn site, and the resort's opening came about 30 months into construction.
How much did Wynn Las Vegas cost to build?
Wynn Resorts' filing for 2005 puts the total cost at about $2.74 billion, and the Las Vegas Sun described it as a $2.7 billion megaresort. The total includes buying the Desert Inn land, which also covered the later Encore site, plus design, construction, financing fees, interest and pre-opening expenses.
What was on the site before Wynn Las Vegas?
The Desert Inn, which opened on April 24, 1950 as Wilbur Clark's Desert Inn. Over the decades its owners included Moe Dalitz and Howard Hughes. Steve Wynn bought it in 2000 for $275 million and closed it on August 28, 2000. Its towers were imploded starting in October 2001 to clear the land for his new resort.
How many rooms did Wynn Las Vegas have when it opened?
The company's filing for 2005 lists 2,674 rooms and suites in a 45-story tower, plus 36 fairway villas and 6 private-entry villas for premium guests. The casino covered about 111,000 square feet. Press coverage at the time rounded the hotel to about 2,700 rooms.
Is the Desert Inn golf course still there?
Yes, in a new form. Wynn kept and redesigned the Desert Inn's golf course, and it operates today as the 18-hole Wynn Golf Club. It also hosts events: the resort lists a Concours car show at Wynn Golf Club from October 29 to November 1, 2026.
Can you see the Lake of Dreams for free?
Yes. Wynn's page for the show says the Lake of Dreams show can be watched from the complimentary North Show Terrace, as well as from the SW Steakhouse patio and the Aft Cocktail Deck. Shows run nightly every half hour starting at dusk on the three-acre lake, in front of a 45-foot waterfall.