|
Steve Wynn went from running his father’s string
of east coast bingo parlors to the father of modern
Vegas by thinking BIG. This man has BIG THOUGHTS. He
rejuvenated Glitter Gulch when he revamped The Golden
Nugget in the 70s, and then proceeded to redefine the
whole ‘concept’ of Las Vegas when he opened
The Mirage in 1989. No one had ever envisaged anything
like it. And the Bellagio wasn’t too shabby either.
But this time Mr Wynn has surpassed himself with his
most opulent and expensive creation to date.
 10
REASONS WHY WE LOVE THE WYNN
AND ITS POKER ROOM:
- It cost 2.7 billion dollars.
- It has its own golf course (the only golf course
on the Strip!)
- It has La Bête – Vegas’ coolest
new hotspot, complete with giant manmade waterfall.
- We love giant manmade waterfalls.
- It has a topless pool. Thank you, Mr Wynn.
- It has a poker channel which you can view from your
room. You can sign up for a tournament without having
to leave your bed and your name will come up on the
TV screen when it’s time to go down. Bliss…
- It has a revolutionary comp system: You’re
issued with a player’s card when you put your
name on the list which gets swiped when you sit down
and you accumulate comp dollars for every hour you
play. You don’t have to know somebody at this
place to get a comp. If you play the $4/$8 game, for
instance, you’ll earn a dollar an hour.
- It has the comfiest chairs on the continent. These
chairs are way too comfy, making it a bit too easy
to get ‘stuck’. Oh, and there’s
great food service at the table.
- It has high definition TV screens everywhere, pumping
out sports to the masses.
- It has Daniel Negreanu. Yes, everyone’s favorite
diminutive Canadian poker genius is the Wynn Poker
Room Ambassador, and he’s often to be found
sitting amongst the mortals at the low limit games.
Oh, and he’ll play you heads-up for half a million
dollars if you ask him nicely.
And speaking of Daniel, here he is to tell us all
about it:
 What
got you involved with Wynn?
Well I was approached with the idea of being the poker
ambassador. Everything I’ve ever heard of Steve
Wynn… well, he basically built this city…
so it was an honor. I don’t know of any other
poker player who had been given an opportunity like
this, so I jumped at it.
What does your job entail?
They call me the ‘Ambassador’, which means
I’m here to help the players and liaise with the
staff on their behalf. If they have any criticisms or
suggestions I help them get their voices heard. I also
represent the room when I go on the road; talk to the
media – stuff like that. I just try to do as much
as I can.
How often are you in the cardroom?
It’s pretty sporadic and depends on what I’ve
got on, but try to get there at least twice a week.
I might be there five days in a row and then disappear
for ten days or so.
Tell us about the Daniel Negreanu Challenge.
How’s it been going for you?
I was down as much as $900,000 and up as much as $700,000,
and now I’m up about $100,000. I’ve played
around ten challenges. I played Barry in three different
games: We played Stud – he won; we played Pot
Limit Omaha – I won; we played Stud Hi/Lo –
I won. We plan on playing all the rest – and I
plan on absolutely destroying the guy (laughs).
Is it an ongoing challenge?
I’ll keep doing it as long as the money’s
there – as long as I don’t go broke.
What are the stakes?
$100,000 to $500,000 – the majority of the ones
I’ve played have been for $500,000.
Would you ever go higher?
Well, I’ve issued the challenge to everyone in
the world – any game they choose – and that
includes the likes of Phil Ivey or Ted Forrest –
anybody. So that’s why there’s a limit,
because there would probably be certain games where
I was an underdog, so I need to protect myself. But
if it’s the right kind of person – like
if you wanted to drop by – I’d make a million
dollar deal.
…erm, suddenly I don’t feel too
good. Can I get back to you on that one Daniel?
 From
the Manager:
Deborah Jardina, Wynn Cardroom Director
Background: “I’ve been
in poker for 15 years, and I’ve helped open a
lot of places. I worked for Lyle Berman for nine years;
I also helped open Hanbury Park up in Minneapolis. And
I had a consulting business where I was helping to set
up operations all over the country – cardroom
openings are just something I like to do. “
The Vision: “We wanted to provide
an environment that would be comfortable for the players.
The staff was meticulously handpicked. We auditioned
every single dealer – We did thousands of auditions
to find 120 expert dealers from all over the country.”
The Wynn Philosophy: “Customer
service is, in my opinion, second only to the integrity
of the operation. Those two things are so important
and they’re what have made me successful –
because I take this very personally. I try to look at
every detail.”
|
