Elaine Wynn

Las Vegas, 1990s-present

Born: 1942, New York City (as Elaine Pascal)
Died: April 2025, aged 82, at home in Los Angeles
Moved to Las Vegas: 1967
Known for: Co-founding Mirage Resorts and Wynn Resorts with Steve Wynn
Resorts she helped develop: Golden Nugget, The Mirage (1989), Treasure Island, Bellagio (1998), Wynn Las Vegas and Encore
Nevada State Board of Education: Member 2012-2020, twice its president
UNLV Foundation: Board member 1983-2008, chair 1985-1991
Named for her: Elaine Wynn Elementary School (CCSD), named in 1991
After-School All-Stars Las Vegas: Founded in 1995
Las Vegas Museum of Art: Founding board chair; opening planned for 2029 in Symphony Park

About

Elaine Wynn, born Elaine Pascal in New York City in 1942, moved to Las Vegas in 1967 with her husband, Steve Wynn. Through Golden Nugget Corp. and later Mirage Resorts, she helped design and develop the Golden Nugget on Fremont Street, The Mirage, Treasure Island and Bellagio. Clark County's cultural division credits her with managing style and design, helping develop a more elaborate kind of resort-casino. The Mirage, which opened in 1989, was the Strip's first all-new resort in 15 years, and her daughters called it "their third sibling."

After Mirage Resorts was sold to MGM Grand in 2000, she played a key role in developing Wynn Las Vegas and Encore. The Wynns divorced in 1986, remarried in 1991 and divorced again in 2010. She stayed on the Wynn Resorts board briefly after Steve Wynn left the company in 2018 and, at her death, owned about 9 percent of the company, according to The Nevada Independent.

Her longest-lasting Las Vegas work was in education. She founded After-School All-Stars Las Vegas in 1995 and was founding chair of Communities in Schools of Nevada, a dropout prevention group. She served on the UNLV Foundation board from 1983 to 2008, chairing it from 1985 to 1991, and in 1989 funded the Lee Pascal Rose Garden on campus in honor of her mother. She sat on the State Board of Education from 2012 to 2020, twice as president, and the Clark County School District named an elementary school for her in 1991.

In her final years she turned to the arts. A longtime LACMA board leader, she was the founding board chair of the Las Vegas Museum of Art and made a major leadership gift to it. In July 2024 she spoke at the closing of The Mirage, saying, "We reinvest, we refresh, and we keep Las Vegas as one of the most exciting cities in the entire world." She died in April 2025 at 82.

What to expect

The Mirage, the resort her family treated as "their third sibling," closed in July 2024 and is being turned into Hard Rock Las Vegas. Wynn Las Vegas, which she helped develop, marked its 20th anniversary in April 2025 with many opening-day employees still on staff, according to Wynn Resorts. Her biggest unfinished project is the Las Vegas Museum of Art, a 60,000-square-foot building by Pritzker Prize winner Francis Kéré planned for Symphony Park downtown, with a grand opening targeted for 2029. The museum says a temporary LVMA Gallery and Media Lab will open nearby in fall 2026.

Her name also lives on locally at Elaine Wynn Elementary School, and the Lee Pascal Rose Garden she funded at UNLV.

More people who shaped Las Vegas

Las Vegas history

Las Vegas history, era by era

Good to know

Wynn Resorts said many opening-day members of the Wynn Las Vegas workforce were still at the property when she died, in the month of its 20th anniversary.
The City of Las Vegas granted the art museum about two acres in Symphony Park in fall 2024 as part of a public-private partnership.
As of December 2025 the museum said it had passed the halfway mark toward a $200 million fundraising goal.
She was a Democratic donor, in contrast to Steve Wynn, a Republican fundraiser, The Nevada Independent notes.
President Barack Obama appointed her to a six-year term on the board of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Questions about Elaine Wynn

Who was Elaine Wynn?

Elaine Wynn co-founded Mirage Resorts and Wynn Resorts with her former husband, Steve Wynn, and helped develop the Golden Nugget, The Mirage, Treasure Island, Bellagio, Wynn Las Vegas and Encore. She was also one of Nevada's leading education advocates and the founding board chair of the Las Vegas Museum of Art. She died in April 2025 at 82.

What did Elaine Wynn do for education in Nevada?

She founded After-School All-Stars Las Vegas in 1995, was founding chair of Communities in Schools of Nevada, and served on the State Board of Education from 2012 to 2020, twice as president. She also served on the UNLV Foundation board for 25 years. Former Gov. Brian Sandoval called her "a titan of education."

Is there a school named after Elaine Wynn?

Yes. The Clark County School District named Elaine Wynn Elementary School after her in 1991. The Nevada Independent reports it is less than four miles east of the Wynn resort. She also funded the Lee Pascal Rose Garden at UNLV in 1989 in honor of her mother.

What is the Las Vegas Museum of Art?

It is a planned stand-alone art museum in Symphony Park, downtown Las Vegas, designed by architect Francis Kéré, with a partnership with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Elaine Wynn was its founding board chair and made a major leadership gift. The museum is targeting a 2029 opening, with a preview gallery opening in fall 2026.

Did Elaine Wynn help design The Mirage and Bellagio?

Yes. Clark County's profile of her says she managed aspects of style and design and helped develop a more elaborate style of resort-casino, including The Mirage, which opened in 1989, and Bellagio, which opened in 1998. The Nevada Independent credits her with helping design and develop both, plus Treasure Island and the Golden Nugget.

When did Elaine Wynn die?

Elaine Wynn died in April 2025 at age 82, at her home in Los Angeles after a brief illness, according to her family foundation. Tributes came from both parties in Nevada, and Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley pledged to help the foundation complete the Las Vegas Museum of Art.