Product Description

Steve Wynn is the former owner of the Bellagio - Las Vegas's latest monument to conspicuous consumption whose hotel and casino contain over $300 million in fine art and $1.5 billion in Wall Street money. He's a mogul whose empire at one point included the Mirage, the Golden Nugget, and Treasure Island. But how did he gain and wield his tremendous power in Nevada? And why did a confidential Scotland Yard report prevent him from opening a casino in London? When this biography, written by a local reporter, was first released in 1995, Steve Wynn brought suit against its original publisher and forced him into bankruptcy. Now available in paperback, the inside story of the biggest phenomenon to roil Las Vegas since Hoover Dam gives readers an intimate glimpse at the real business that's conducted beyond the gaming tables.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #142855 in Books
• Published on: 2001-02-01
• Released on: 2001-01-10
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Ingram
An investigative biography of the Las Vegas casino owner explores his ties to the world of organized crime, his relationship with junk bond dealer and convicted felon Michael Milkin, and his investigation by Scotland Yard. IP.

Customer Reviews

Inaccurate and biased
I have always had a fascination with Steve Wynn's hotels and was looking to learn more about him when I came across this book. However, after reading Mr. Smith's depictions of Steve Wynn, the only thing I know for sure is that Smith REALLY doesn't like Steve Wynn. He criticized his every move, looking only at the negative "hidden agendas" associated with things such as the Mirage Dolphins and the Bellagio Art Gallery that the rest of the world is grateful that Steve Wynn brought to us. He repeatedly tries to link Wynn to the mob, but can never make a convincing arguement. He only briefly touches on the building of the hotels, their success, and fails to mention how the Mirage, Treasure Island, and the Bellagio were innovators in three different generations of Vegas theme hotels. Despite the books 2001 copyright date, is now about 9 years out of date. It pre-dates the MGM-Mirage merger, and even cites the Fremont Street Experience as being "set to open in late 1995." A postscript to the paperback edition attempts to bring it up to date, but it feels rushed, with misspelled words and inaccurate details.

Smith seems to have about 100 pages of relevant information, and 254 pages of stories that are so loosely linked to Wynn that at times I forgot who I was reading about. Smith goes so far as to imply that the deterioration of the UNLV basketball program is due to Steve Wynn deciding that Jerry Tarkanian projected the wrong image for the university and that he had to go.

In addition to the anti-Wynn take on every story, Smith illustrates some stories with details that aren't even accurate. He implies that opening the Bellagio was a huge risk because of the increased competition for the "well-heeled gambler market" with the opening of the Venetian, Paris and Mandalay Bay in the ensuing years since the Mirage opening, implying that the market Wynn was seeking was already captured by these hotels. This seems to be a viable argument, until you realize that those three hotels opened AFTER the Bellagio's October 1998 opening.

Smith's writing is often biased. He frequently quotes his employer, the Las Vegas Review-Journal positively, and their rival newspaper, the Las Vegas Sun, negatively. Smith apparantly is not interested in providing an accurate portrayal of Wynn. Rather, he seems content try to pull every skeleton out of his closet, no matter how big of a stretch it is, to bring down Wynn's image. No wonder Wynn didn't want this book published.

If you are a Las Vegas history buff like me, there are a couple of interesting tidbits, but if you are looking for an accurate biography of Steve Wynn, this is not it.

Courage in the Face of Expensive Legal Bullying
Mr. Smith and his publisher are heroes of journalism for publishing the well-researched truth about someone who did everything he could to scare them into giving up.

doing it right on the wrong side of town
I liked the book mostly, but it was overdescribed with endless names that mean absoultely nothing while your trying to bite your teeth into this real life character. I think thats was the downfall of this incredible story for me. It may be necessary to be accurate, but put it in the back where it belongs. I thought that John Smith could have been a little more colorful and less blatant when he was telling the story. There was to much "Start" then "Stop", and flowed like a bumpy road. I think John Smith is the scared one, and you can smell the boot polish on his lips in various pages of his account. He should have been more ruthless on Steve Wynns case.
I think there is a great story to be told there, and one should climb onto it. John, has great writing ability, but should loosen up a bit, and provide some color for the reader. I am on to his next book, The Bob Stupak Story and I hope its not jammed with an endless roster of names.
To finish, a good book but needs to be re-written. I emailed him and told him I liked the book, and think with his numerous connections in nevada, it would be great if he wrote a story on the Mustang Ranch.
No reply.
I will keep an eye on what else develops story wise, in the incredible landscape of Las Vegas