Wynn Files IPO Plan for New Las Vegas Resort

Steve Wynn is betting that his reputation still is golden.

The casino mogul filed plans Monday to take his company, Wynn Resorts Ltd., public to help finance Le Reve, a new $2.4-billion Las Vegas mega-resort.

Few property developers have the cachet to sell shares in a project that has yet to break ground, industry analysts said. It’s really the persona of Wynn, the former chief executive of casino company Mirage Resorts, that will sell the offering, analysts said. “People want to bet on Steve Wynn, and more importantly, they don’t want to bet against him,” said Joseph Greff, gaming analyst at Fulcrum Global Partners in New York.

Le Reve (“the dream”), touted to be Las Vegas’ new preeminent luxury hotel, is Wynn’s answer to casino giant MGM Mirage’s properties such as Bellagio, the Mirage and Treasure Island, which redefined the city’s strip. Wynn founded Mirage Resorts, but a weak share price and a heavy debt load helped precipitate his sale of the firm to MGM Grand for $6.4 billion in 2000.

Most developers would expect to finance a project such as Le Reve with loans and private equity, then sell stock later when the company is able to attract investors with a financial track record, Greff said.

Instead, Wynn aims to raise as much as $408 million with an initial public stock offering and an additional $350 million through mortgage bonds, and finance the remainder through loans, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

The filing did not detail the number of shares to be sold or the price range. Wynn Resorts is seeking a Nasdaq listing under the symbol WYNN. It hired Deutsche Banc Securities, Bear Stearns, Banc of America Securities and Dresdner Kleinwort to manage the stock sale.

Le Reve, to be developed on the site of the old Desert Inn, won’t have a single theme. It will take its motifs from the Southwest. It will include a 45-story hotel tower, a lake and a man-made mountain.