Steve Wynn doesn’t wrap his hotels in bronze glass just because he likes the color. No, he has determined that the light passing through it makes his guests look more attractive “in 
rooms that have warmer light … One of the things that happens with glass is that the wavelength of the light affects the color palette on the inside of the room,” he told the Boston Globe, sounding anything like your standard-issue casino owner.
It’s not any old bronze glass, either, but a custom-made blend, to be found only at Wynn Resorts properties. Likewise, when all types of artificial turf were inspected and found lacking, “Wynn lawn” was invented to meet its owner’s standards. “He spends $2 million a year on fresh-cut flowers at his Vegas properties and replaces 8,000 flowering plants in their lobbies every three weeks,” marveled the Globe. It’s still a few weeks until we’ll get a look at the new plans for Wynn’s Everett megaresort but El Steve’s doing a good job of raising expectations.
* Further down the East Coast, Wilmorite Inc. CEO Thomas Wilmot isn’t waiting for the ink to dry on the casino permit awarded him Wednesday. He says the shovels are going in the ground today on 85-acre $425 million Lago Resort & Casino Hotel (whose unlikely neighbors include an Amish family). Taking a bit of a gamble, he’d already bought the structural steel, and had contracted for both the roof and foundation. (Can’t have the former without the latter, can you?) Mind you, Wilmot doesn’t have a casino license yet, but he’s not letting a little detail like that stop him, not when he’s just been handed the dream of a lifetime. His plans scoff at bingo and poker, emphasizing fine dining and a 2,200-seat performance venue instead.
Snowstorms prevented Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D, right) from joining Wilmot on the Southern Tier leg of a Cuomo “victory lap” but a crowd of 150 turned out to hail Wilmot when he arrived at the local airport. Wilmot opponents CasinoFreeTyre have been petitioning against him and now they’re thinking about suing the state because the dimensions of Wilmorite’s proposal grew during the approval process. Wilmot isn’t impressed. “If we’re open and on Friday night every slot has a fanny sitting in front of it, we’ll have to expand. I hope we have that problem,” he laughed.
* Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine continues to struggle with the problem of gray- and black-market gambling in the Buckeye State. Six allegedly illegal, storefront casinos have been busted in Toledo alone. (Clearly, the presence of perfectly legal Hollywood Casino Toledo has not solved DeWine’s problem through free-market means.) “Those operating these businesses are suspected of operating casino gaming devices where winners were paid in cash, which is in violation of Ohio law. While skill games and sweepstakes may be legal, electronic terminal games with cash payouts are not, and we will seek to hold accountable those who operate illegal casinos,” De Wine told the Columbus Dispatch.
* Penn & Teller are having some fun with Las Vegas‘ 40-millionth visitor milestone. Meanwhile, the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority is not resting on its laurels. No, for the LVCVA it’s on the 45 million.
