Steve Wynn first revealed an idea for Wynn Paradise Park in early 2016. The plan for the expansion of the casino-resort has always been to build some kind of lagoon experience on the golf course. After two years of design consultation, the idea is finally taking shape with dates and some more details.
Read: Wynn Shows Us Paradise in Paradise
Wynn Paradise Park Construction Dates
The fabulous and expensive golf course at Wynn will be permanently closed on December 22. The first phase of construction will begin on January 3rd. The grounds will be leveled off and prepared for structural construction. The second phase of construction should begin in April. The first thing of note to go (besides the golf course) will be the demolition of the North Villas at the end of May.
New Hotel Tower
The new hotel tower will be 47 floors and have 1,500 rooms, suites, and villas. The new hotel tower has yet to be named. While “Paradise” might make sense, I’m not sure that would look good in the signature script font. The new part of Wynn will be in between Wynn and Encore and include a casino, restaurants, spa, convention space and more.
The new tower will be the shortest of the three at Wynn. The original tower is 49 floors and Encore is 52 floors. Wynn says that every room will overlook the lagoon and boardwalk.
Wynn Paradise Park Lagoon
The centerpiece of the Wynn Paradise Park expansion will be a massive lagoon. The water attraction will be approximately 1600 feet long and 650-700 feet wide. The irregular shape of the lagoon will be similar to an hourglass.
The lake will be near the Fairway Villas and go east (towards Las Vegas Convention Center/Paradise for 1600 feet). There will be a 30,000 square foot pavilion on the south (towards the Vegas Strip) side of the lagoon.
Let’s Get Crazy
Wynn Paradise Park will have a one-mile long boardwalk along the north (towards the Stratosphere) and east of the lake. There will be a carousel next to boardwalk on a finger of the lagoon. The attractions don’t stop here. Take a breath because the plans get a little crazy.
There won’t be an eight-foot tall king kong as originally planned but King Kong might make an appearance every night. (King King happens to make an appearance every night at the Wynn Palace Cotai.) There will be a midway of sorts at Wynn Paradise Park.
Every night there will be a Carnivale style parade and multiple carnival-like attractions. In addition to the carousel, there will a zipline and some kind of LED bumper car racing game. If and when cars touch there will be an audio and video reaction. Unlike the amusement ride, this will be a race with a form of Keystone cops chasing guests. If you win, you get a prize.
During the earnings call, Steve Wynn was more excited than I’ve ever heard him. It’s almost impossible to share his voice. You can read the transcript here or listen to Wynn describe this on the earnings call here.
Every night after dark on the east (towards Las Vegas Convention Center) side of the lake there will be a parade with floats like Carnivale in Rio. This will be an edgy parade that’s different than something like the Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year’s Day in California.
The parade will have about twelve 30 foot floats that employ some kind of audio and video features. While some ideas include spiders, King Kong, and the devil don’t expect something too cheesy. Consultants on the parade worked on the Lion King and Lake Of Dreams show at Wynn.
Everything must be monetized in #NewVegas. You will be able to pay to sit on the floats. The initial idea is to sell packages to 10-12 people per float. No word if this will include bottle service. That was a joke but perhaps there could be some kind of nightclub/float fun for the big spenders in the future.
Some Land Will Be Leftover
After construction is complete there will still be 40-60 acres of undeveloped land east and north for future development. They’re already talking to potential partners and Vital Vegas thinks the deal might already be done.
Wynn Paradise Park Is For The Conventioneers
Steve Wynn has a specific customer in mind for Paradise Park. The three resort towers will always cater to tourists but the location of the hotel and attractions are being created with convention customers in mind. Wynn expects to see significant traffic from convention goers at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Sands Expo & Convention Center and of course their new convention facility.
Over the years vacationing tourists have been the bulk of revenue for Las Vegas casino-resorts. In the past couple of years convention guests have become a focus for resort executives. These guests tend to spend more money than guests on vacation.
While Wynn didn’t discuss convention guests on the recent earnings call, Caesars Entertainment reports higher room rates and more spending on food and beverage.
Wynn Resorts Las Vegas operations had their best third quarter since 2005. On the earnings call, Steve Wynn notes that non-casino revenue continues to be strong. In fact, this revenue is the reason for this mostly non-gaming expansion.
What’s Next For Wynn Paradise Park?
The budget for Wynn Paradise Park will go to the board of directors for approval next week. Approval is expected according to Wynn. Construction will go until at least 2021 depending on the extra land.
Wynn says that we should see new renderings and photos early next year. I guess I’ll be keeping an eye out for that 1st quarter earnings call and presentation from Wynn.
