Wynn: Resort will be Le Reve

David Strow

Friday, Oct. 19, 2001 | 10:50 a.m.

Steve Wynn today confirmed the name of his newest resort will be "Le Reve" -- a hotel marked by another spectacular show created by the designer of Bellagio's "O" production.

The show will be held in a 1,500-seat theater and will be one of two showcase productions at the resort that will be built at his Desert Inn site on the Las Vegas Strip, Wynn said.

Le Reve is French for "the dream" and is also the name of a Pablo Picasso painting owned by Wynn and his wife Elaine.

The show will follow the story of a young man from an isolated tribe in the Himalayas, who is on a quest to regain the power of flight.

"We're not talking (the Broadway show) Peter Pan," Wynn said. "He's going to fly and people around the world will come, marvel at it and wonder how he does it."

Wynn revealed few other details about the resort during a speech this morning at the World Gaming Congress and Expo in Las Vegas.

But he called the experience of designing the resort "exquisitely uncomfortable .. the most exciting experience of my life."

"Our resort will become famous and people will copy us," Wynn said. "We're not trying to copy Rome or Italy or New York. It's about the beauty of our desert. It's time for Las Vegas to have its own hotel, its own architecture."

Wynn, creator of Mirage Resorts Inc., agreed to the sale of the company and its flagship Bellagio and Mirage hotel-casinos to MGM Grand Inc. last year. He then purchased the historic Desert Inn, much of which will be imploded to make way for his new resort.