Casino magnate Steve Wynn is about to open his newest hotel, Encore at Wynn Las Vegas. Wynn is universally credited with remaking the casino resort in Las Vegas (starting with the 1989 opening of the Mirage), but many forget that he made a huge impact in Atlantic City in the early 1980s, with his short-lived Golden Nugget. If Wynn had stayed in Atlantic City, the last 20 years of casino history might have played out quite differently.

Stephen A. Wynn’s father ran a bingo hall in Maryland. From a young age, Wynn was fascinated by the business of gambling. In 1967, he moved to Las Vegas and bought a share in the Frontier, a small Strip casino, where he learned the business as a slot manager and assistant credit manager.

After billionaire Howard Hughes bought the Frontier, Wynn dabbled in a few businesses before returning to casinos at the Golden Nugget. The casino was then a rather bland gambling hall without a  hotel. In 1973, after a large stock purchase, Wynn became president and chairman of the board. Once in power, he cleaned house by firing thieving or dishonest employees, then dramatically remodeled  the casino. Within a year, Wynn had quadrupled the Golden Nugget’s profits. He soon built several hotel towers and made the casino Downtown’s finest.

With the legalization of gaming in Atlantic City, Wynn set his sights on the East Coast. He first came to town in June 1978. Incognito in a Willie Nelson T-shirt and drawstring pants, he scoped out local real estate. Walking into the lobby of the small Strand Motel at Boston Avenue and the Boardwalk, he offered owner Manny Solomon $8.5 million for the property. Solomon made a few calls to confirm Wynn’s identity, then they shook on it. Steve Wynn was in the Atlantic City casino business.

Wynn planned another Golden Nugget, and built it from the ground up as a Victorian-style white-and-gold luxury hotel. Architect Joel Bergman executed Wynn’s designs.

The Nugget, Atlantic City’s sixth casino, opened December 9, 1980. At 40,000 square feet, it was relatively small, with just 506 rooms, barely over the 500 mandated by the Casino Control Act. Only the Sands had fewer table games. Yet the Golden Nugget was a hit. In 1981, it ranked fourth in total revenues, out-earning, per capita, bigger casinos like Resorts and Bally’s Park Place.  

By 1983, the Golden Nugget was the city’s top-earning property, with more than $262 million in revenues for the year. Considering that the hotel had cost $160 million to build, it was clear Wynn had scored an unqualified success.

The Golden Nugget was a popular stop for gamblers because of Wynn’s personality. He appeared in the Nugget’s television commercials (in one, he famously brought headliner Frank Sinatra extra towels). He was a constant presence on the casino floor, greeting employees and patrons alike. One year, Wynn gave a car to each of his managers. This exceptional bonus spread the message that the casino magnate rewarded good service. With his balance sheet firmly in the black, Wynn had good reason to be pleased.

The Nugget’s success convinced Wynn that Atlantic City was a profitable market. He began planning a larger, more elegant casino in the Marina District, but he soon became annoyed by what he regarded as cumbersome regulatory restrictions. Though he held onto his Marina tract, in 1986 Wynn reached an agreement to sell the Golden Nugget to the Bally’s corporation.

After the sale became official in 1987, Bally’s changed the casino’s name to Bally’s Grand. Today, it is the Atlantic City Hilton. It has never recaptured the profitability of the Wynn years. Wynn went on to open the Mirage on the Las Vegas Strip in 1989. It sparked a building boom that transformed Las Vegas from a polyester playground to a hip destination resort.  

It’s intriguing to wonder what would have happened if Steve Wynn had not become  disenchanted with New Jersey regulators. If he had been given a freer hand here, it’s a good guess that an “Atlantic City Mirage” would have triggered a similar building boom by the shore. If that had happened, perhaps Atlantic City, not Las Vegas, would be the nation’s leading casino destination today.

By David Schwartz

David G. Schwartz (www.dieiscast.com), an Atlantic City native, is the Director of the Center for Gaming Research at UNLV and the author of several books, including Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling.

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