Imparting happiness

Saturday, May 27, 2006 | 7:38 a.m.

Only Renaissance man Steve Wynn can comfortably discuss how to create casinos by invoking the centuries-old teachings of the dalai lama.

And so it went the other day when Wynn addressed several thousand real estate developers at the annual convention of the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Go-getters in the audience were no doubt expecting a few easily digestible nuggets of business wisdom from the master builder. Instead, Wynn took a circuitous route.

Wynn said he recently participated in a meeting of international religious leaders in San Francisco where the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader, extolled the value of all religions in promoting happiness. Being a compassionate and giving person not only makes others happy, but it is a requirement to becoming a truly happy person, the Dalai Lama told Wynn.

The Dalai Lama also noted that Wynn is helping the process along by giving people a "happy life."

In Las Vegas, Wynn said, visitors equate happiness to an experience that's "bigger and better than what they can get at home."

The resort experience includes interesting architecture and attractions but boils down, Wynn said, to "the exchange between one single employee acting on one single person walking through my property."

In other words, customer service.

First it was lounges, then nightclubs. The next battleground for the hip, upscale crowd in Las Vegas is bigger, wetter and more refreshing.

Pools are getting a makeover at several of the top properties in town, including the Venetian, Palms and Mandalay Bay.

Poolside blackjack tables, outdoor cafes and cabanas have already become big moneymakers.

But having one - or even two or three pools - is so passe, it seems.

Red Rock Resort, the valley's newest, features nine pools ranging from smaller plunge pools for spa guests to a $20-per-dip pool near the property's nightclub. The pool area, featuring fire pits and light shows, is a centerpiece of the resort.

Next to Wynn Las Vegas, a pool will also be the main attraction at Encore, Wynn says. It's sure to get attention because it will be topped by a retractable roof, a Las Vegas first.

And because pools are all about being hot and not just a place to cool off, consider what's being introduced this weekend at Caesars Palace.

The pool area is going to be managed by the folks who run the Pure nightclub and other late-night hangouts. They will use the pool deck to stage parties and will introduce poolside perks such as deluxe cabanas, air-conditioned bars, frozen towels, body massages and mobile bars where customers can order a mojito without leaving their lounge chairs - and potentially interrupting the quest for an even tan.

The man who dreams of a day when casinos are as ubiquitous as Starbucks offered views on branding at a recent conference of CPAs in Las Vegas.

Harrah's Entertainment Chief Executive Gary Loveman spoke wistfully of bottled water and pain pills - products where slick campaigns persuade customers to fork over seriously more money for what amounts to little more than generic merchandise.

"Even in the most trivial categories, brands make a big difference," Loveman said.

It's too bad, Loveman said, that states don't welcome casinos the way they do Starbucks. As quick as java junkies are to drop $4 in the morning and $4 in the afternoon, imagine if they were to slip that money - $2,000 a year - into a slot machine.

Rather than showing buildings or distinctive attractions, most of Harrah's ads show people gambling. The ads, he said, attempt to brand the "central emotion of gambling - the realization of uncertainty and sense of anticipation."

That's hard to translate onto television. But when your competition is already in 48 states and your properties range from small riverboats to major resorts, Harrah's is giving it a whirl.

In the moment before the slot symbols line up on the machine, "the women are better looking, the men are more handsome and life is good," Loveman said.