GGRAsia – Wynn Resorts unveils US$2bln Wynn Palace extension

Wynn Resorts unveils US$2bln Wynn Palace extension

Jul 11, 2019 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

Casino operator Wynn Resorts Ltd announced on Wednesday in the United States plans for its long-anticipated expansion of its Macau casino resort Wynn Palace.

The glass and steel Crystal Pavilion (pictured in an artist’s rendering) – as the group has dubbed it – and an associated 650-room hotel tower, has an initial estimated cost of US$2 billion. It will be on land in the grounds of Wynn Palace known as the “south parcel”.

Construction is likely to start in “late 2021” and is expected to take “36-plus months,” said the parent of Macau operator Wynn Macau Ltd.

The targeted return on invested capital as expressed in terms of adjusted property earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was “15 percent to 20 percent,” said the parent.

The firm anticipated 7 million to 10 million visitors annually for the new facility.

A later phase of extension, on a “north parcel”, is yet to be announced in terms of cost and timetable. It will also have a hotel tower with an extra 650 rooms.

The presentation by Wynn Resorts management to the investment community mentioned that the first extension phase would have “one-of-a-kind public entertainment attractions,” including a “270-degree fully-immersive entertainment theatre,” and what it termed a “destination food hall that offers a wide variety of regional Asian cuisines”.

There will also be an art museum in “partnership with a world-class art museum”; a work by young Italian sculptor Edoardo Tresoldi; “art sculpture gardens”; and “interactive installations”, according to the presentation.

The Crystal Pavilion concept has been developed jointly by New York City-based Robert A.M Stern Architects LLP and Wynn Design and Development.

Wynn Palace opened in August 2016 at an initial cost of US$4.2 billion. The group said in Wednesday’s presentation that it had invested about US$7 billion in Macau since 2002.

The Wynn Resorts group mentioned in its Wednesday presentation that – as part of its US$125-million phased revamp of its original Macau property, Wynn Macau, in the city’s traditional casino district downtown – it would be “repositioning the west casino” at the property.

The revamp plan includes renovating circa 400 hotel rooms at the Encore towers adding two new “specialty restaurantes” adjacent to the casino at the Wynn Macau property, and expanding the retail area of the casino hotel.

In Wednesday’s presentation deck, Wynn Resorts published a 2021 EBITDA guidance of nearly US$2.30 billion, including a Macau EBITDA target of approximately US$1.65 billion.