… and move to Macao. Or so he says. Given Steve Wynn‘s long track record of thinking aloud, I’d assign a low probability to this trial-balloon idea. Besides, in the U.S. the mogul can pop off at the government without any fear of official reprimand. Were a China-residing Wynn to lash out at Peking the way he’s done at Washington, a sharp rap across the knuckles could be his fate — or perhaps commercial retaliation. After all, his casinos exist on land owned by the government and they can be nationalized the minute Wynn’s lease runs out. (And for those who consider that scenario far-fetched, I would remind everyone how many Native American gaming enterprises dispensed with outside management the moment they were able.)
No Steve Wynn interview would be complete without a few veiled potshots at eternal nemesis Sheldon Adelson and his “boxes of baccarat.” He also addresses the implications of his divorce from Elaine Wynn upon the ownership of Wynn Resorts. Not to fear, he says, the Wynns and Kazuo Okada will continue to present a united front. As for the promised gardens of Wynn Cotai, it sounds as though they’ll be far more spacious and consciousness-altering than the much-hyped “pocket park” of CityCenter.
“Were a China-residing Wynn to lash out at Peking the way he’s done at Washington, a sharp rap across the knuckles could be his fate — or perhaps commercial retaliation. After all, his casinos exist on land owned by the government and they can be nationalized the minute Wynn’s lease runs out.”
– From what I read about Chinese business, I wouldn’t assume that his lease would be revocable, should he piss off some powerful Party members. Just ask some peasants whose families have lived on a plot of land for generations – whose entire village was taken and bulldozed to make room for a “private enterprise” coal-fired power plant.