GGRAsia – Wynn UAE scheme tower to be topped off in 4Q 2025: firm

Wynn UAE scheme tower to be topped off in 4Q 2025: firm

May 07, 2024 Newsdesk Latest News, Top of the deck, World

Wynn Al Marjan Island, a casino resort project in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) involving Wynn Resorts Ltd, is on track to “open to the public in early 2027,” said the gaming firm in a Monday press release.

“The full tower height, more than 300-metres [984-feet]… is expected to be topped off in the fourth quarter of 2025,” the company stated. “Currently, the structure [pictured] is about 40 metres tall,” it added.

Wynn Resorts released on Monday new images of Wynn Al Marjan Island, being built in Ras Al Khaimah, part of the UAE in the Middle East.

Facilities at Wynn Al Marjan Island are due to include a hotel with 1,542 rooms, including 22 private villas on a marina adjacent to the resort. The property will also feature a 7,500-square-metre [80,729-sq-feet] events centre, a 15,000-sq-metre retail venue, 22 restaurants and bars, and a theatre, according to Wynn Resorts.

Wynn Design and Development is overseeing the project’s design and development.

The announcement quoted Todd Lenahan, president and chief creative officer of Wynn Design and Development, as saying: “Historically, the area around Ras Al Khaimah was a beacon for navigation and important trade on the Arabian Gulf.”

He added: “We designed the 300-metre-tall resort tower with Ras Al Khaimah’s historic role as a great navigational sentinel in mind. We hope this becomes a new landmark, a new beacon, for travellers to Ras A Khaimah from across the globe.”

The project has been described as a US$3.9-billion venture involving local partners, in which Wynn Resorts is a 40-percent equity investor. Wynn Resorts is the parent of Macau casino operator Wynn Macau Ltd.

Wynn Resorts’ local partners for Wynn Al Marjan Island are Marjan LLC, and RAK Hospitality Holding LLC.

In February, Craig Billings, chief executive of Wynn Resorts, described the Ras Al Khaimah scheme as “a substantial growth opportunity in the UAE that will further diversify our portfolio and expand our brand into new markets”.

Although legislation to allow gambling has yet to be passed by the local authorities, Wynn Resorts has previously stated the scheme is to include gaming facilities.

Jim Murren, a former chairman and chief executive of MGM Resorts, had in September been appointed chairman of a UAE body called the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA). It will be responsible for regulating commercial gaming, and a national lottery.