Norm! column

Jan. 20, 2008

Adelson comments on building walls

[Hear Adelson for yourself by clicking here]

In the city famous for its perpetual game of one-upmanship, Sheldon Adelson's new 50-story Palazzo is a monument to the rivalry between Adelson and Steve Wynn.

The wall grew higher last week when Adelson, on the eve of unveiling the Palazzo, suggested Wynn's time "has come and gone."

Wynn declined to comment on Adelson's latest tweaking of his competitors in an interview for a USA Today article by Las Vegas freelance writer/podcaster Steve Friess.

But now there's another aggravation for Wynn: The best VIP suites atop Wynn Las Vegas once offered a stunning Strip view. Now, I've learned, the view is blocked by Palazzo, which is located across Spring Mountain Road from the Wynn.

The height of the Palazzo came up in Friess' interview.

Asked whether the Palazzo was taller than the Wynn, Adelson said, "I think so. I know Steve Wynn says we were trying to outbuild him." The subject came up a few years ago, when they were still talking.

"He said, 'You know your building is taller than mine. What are you trying to do?'

"It was a big part of the argument why he didn't like us," said Adelson, chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp., which includes The Venetian.

While Wynn isn't responding to Adelson's latest jabs, Wynn made it clear in a recent interview with me that he misses the kinder, gentler days of Las Vegas.

"We never had jealousy and sniping until relatively late in the history of the town. And it came from newcomers, not guys who have grown up in the business," Wynn said.

"That's a Sheldon Adelson thing," he said. "We didn't have it before. It was just the opposite; we all went and gambled at each others' openings. ... There's no animosity there, there's no jealousy. There may be a 'Wow, look at that, there's something to shoot at, let's do better than that.'

"But it's sort of healthy. We've all done well because we've been with each other here, not in spite of each other. The secret of Las Vegas is the fact that we've all been here," Wynn said.

He compared the animosity of today with the day he sold his Mirage Resorts to Kirk Kerkorian's MGM for $6.4 billion.

He and Kerkorian "went out and celebrated when we made our deal," Wynn said.

"He was a customer at the Nugget, played blackjack with me. Came down for bread pudding in the buffet. There's not a speck of jealousy in that man."

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