International casino developer Wynn Resorts Ltd has announced a partnership with renowned French chef Alain Ducasse (pictured in a file photo) for a restaurant at the Wynn Al Marjan Island casino resort, a property under construction in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Once completed – forecast for 2027, according to the promoters – Wynn Al Marjan Island will have 22 restaurants, lounges and bars, as well as a nightclub and a beach club. It will include a shopping promenade, spa and salon facilities. The resort will additionally offer space for meetings and events, as well as for gaming.
United States-based Wynn Resorts – parent of Macau casino operator Wynn Macau Ltd – is a 40-percent equity investor in the project.
In a post on the official LinkedIn account of Wynn Al Marjan Island, the casino operator announced “the first two restaurants set to debut when the Middle East’s first integrated gaming resort opens in spring 2027”.
That included an “elegant French-American steakhouse with Alain Ducasse, and the global expansion of The h.wood Group’s phenomenally popular Delilah, that will blend imaginative dining with the feel of 1950s supper clubs from New York to Beirut”, the post said.
There is already a Delilah supper club at Wynn Resorts’ Wynn Las Vegas property in Nevada, United States. The brand also has outlets in Los Angeles and Miami, both within the United States.
“Each [of the restaurants for Wynn Al-Marjan Island] reflects the sophistication and unexpected detail created by Wynn Design & Development LLC, and reinforces our commitment to create 22 unforgettable culinary experiences within our ground-breaking destination,” the firm added.
This will not be Chef Ducasse’s first restaurant in a casino resort. In the Macau market, he is a partner of Wynn Resorts’ rival Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd, via the two-Michelin-star Alain Ducasse at Morpheus restaurant.
Todd-Avery Lenahan, president and chief creative officer of Wynn Design and Development, has said Wynn Al Marjan Island will feature Indo-Persian, Italian, Lebanese, Indian, Greek and Japanese restaurants, as well as a food hall, pool bars and a lobby bar, according to UAE media outlet The National.
Wynn Al Marjan Island has been described as a US$3.9-billion venture. In November last year, Wynn Resorts said the inflation-adjusted cost of the project, including land, capitalised interest and fees, was US$5.1 billion.
In February, Wynn Resorts announced it and its local partners – Marjan LLC and RAK Hospitality Holding LLC – had collectively secured a US$2.4-billion construction loan facility, completing funding for the scheme.
In an October 2024 update, Wynn Resorts said it would have an exclusive, renewable 15-year casino licence for Ras Al Khaimah, and that Wynn Al Marjan Island could generate a minimum of US$1.33 billion annually in gross gaming revenue.
