Is Derek Stevens the New Steve Wynn?

(Why It’s Not as Simple. and Why Vegas Might Actually Need It)

Most people hear “Steve Wynn” and think Wynn Las Vegas, Bellagio, Mirage, luxury, fountains, glamour. They hear “Derek Stevens” and think downtown, gritty, energetic, weird promos, bar culture. At first glance, two entirely different flavors of Vegas.

But both are visionaries with big impacts on our city, just in very different decades, circumstances, and with very different outcomes.

Let’s unpack it with facts, history, and a splash of what if….. because I love to play in the crazy scenario sandbox…

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Wynn’s Legacy: Big Bets, Big Resorts, Big Problems

Steve Wynn didn’t just build casinos; he helped reprogram what Las Vegas thought a casino could be.

Before Wynn, the Strip was still riding old glamour: neon, showrooms, and aging icons slowly being patched instead of reimagined. Wynn didn’t patch. He bulldozed and rebuilt with intent.

The turning point wasn’t Wynn Las Vegas.

It was The Mirage.

When The Mirage opened in 1989, it was the most expensive hotel ever built at the time, roughly $630 million, largely financed through junk bonds. Wall Street thought he was insane. Locals thought the location was too far north. And yet, within months, everyone realized Vegas had just shifted on its axis.

The Mirage wasn’t just a hotel with a casino attached. It was the first true modern megaresort:

• A lush, tropical environment in the middle of the desert

• A live volcano erupting every night on the Strip ( don’t let this strike a nerve)

• Attractions so strong people visited without ever intending to gamble

Wynn proved something revolutionary:

The resort itself could be the attraction.

That single idea triggered the 1990s building boom. Without The Mirage, there is no Bellagio, no Venetian, no modern Strip arms race. No real themed hotels, one might dare say, “There are two Las Vegas Strip eras, the one created by the mob and the one created by Wynn”