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twitterObama’s way means ‘lights out’ for Vegas, Wynn says
Monday, Oct. 26, 2009 | 2 a.m.
Steve Wynn on Fox News
In Today's Sun
Sun Archives
- Gaming execs credit stimulus with saving Nevada jobs (10-22-2009)
- Wynn still critical of Obama administration (7-30-2009)
- Wynn: Stimulus plan won’t solve city’s woes (4-10-2009)
- Wynn: Obama’s remarks bad for convention business (2-26-2009)
Sun Coverage
Steve Wynn continued his tough attacks on President Barack Obama in a wide-ranging Sun interview last week.
The casino mogul began those attacks in the spring and continued them during an appearance on Fox News this month. His remarks, which have been disputed by other casino executives, turned him into something of a folk hero among denizens of the Republican right.
Obama isn’t just wrong, he’s dangerous, Wynn said.
“I’m seeing things I’ve never seen before in my life,” he said. “It’s a punitive, secretive and misinformed government.”
Obama and Democrats in Congress — he said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is an exception — are anti-business and deviating from policies that create jobs and prosperity.
He specifically cited climate change legislation, the drive to reform health care, and proposed changes to labor law as punitive attacks on business that would lead to worsening economic conditions.
“They are trying to change the basic fabric of American life without preparation, homework or experience. And they’re trying to intimidate everybody.”
He called Obama’s policies “socialism light.” When it was suggested the policies Obama has pursued resemble those of European social democracies, he replied: “I wouldn’t want to see America become a European social democracy. It would stunt growth, inhibit our standard of living. And it would be lights out for Las Vegas.”
Wynn then offered an unsolicited endorsement of the Chinese government: “The environment in China is much more free than here.
“Do they feel they are being deprived of their human rights? No. My employees (at Wynn properties in Macau) are very happy with their government,” he said.
As Human Rights Watch and other groups have documented, China has stifled freedom of religion and expression, jailed dissidents and blocked the formation of labor unions, among other abuses.
Wynn then said he was outraged by current efforts to reform America’s health care system.
“I’m not overwhelmed with confidence in our legislators’ ability to deal with a complex problem, when most don’t have experience in this area.”
He continued: “To take up health care, behind closed doors, it’s the low point in government responsibility.”
Finally, Wynn said the government’s $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, which injected capital into the financial system, and the roughly $800 billion fiscal stimulus program, have been failures.
Although there’s no unanimity on the subject, many economists believe both have been important in stabilizing the economy.
David Shulman, an economist at the UCLA Anderson Forecast and a former Wall Street investment manager, said, “It was part of the process that averted the Great Depression 2.0. (TARP) put capital into the banking system when it was desperately needed and that helped restore a modicum of confidence in the economy.”
Jan Hatzius, chief U.S. economist for Goldman Sachs, told The Wall Street Journal last month that the U.S. economy will grow by 3.3 percent this quarter; without the stimulus, which has been a mix of tax cuts and spending programs, growth would be “around zero.”
Wynn said this is all conjecture.
He’ll be active in next year’s elections, hoping to reverse the course set by Obama: “Why am I active politically? Because I’m very concerned.”
Discussion: 95 comments so far…
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Finally someone is standing up to the TOTAL RETARDS IN GOVERNMENT,
INCLUDING THE PRESIDENT
"WE NEED CHANGE" SAYS THE PRESIDENT, YA, TAKE IT FROM HARD WORKING SELF EMPLOYED AND GIVE IT AWAY TO "THOSE FOLKS" TO
WHO DEMAND SELF ENTITLEMENT. I'M LAZY, SMOKE CIGS, DRINK, GET
FAT, AND I DEMAND FREE HEALTH CARE..
STUPID
An outrageously wealthy, pompous casino mogel famous for his extra marital affairs certainly doesn't represent the values and economic situation of the masses (including his employees).
TARP was started under the Bush Administration - but he fails to mention this. The recession was present before Obama was elected - but he also fails to mention this. He's just another complainer.
Was not a Steve Wynn fan until now. He's telling it as it is! By the way Boomer, I smoke, drink but I work and expect to carry my own weight.I work so that I can afford healthcare, feed my family, pay my bills and go to Vegas and have fun once a year. "The pursuit of happiness" as guaranteed in our Constitution. Too bad so many elected officials forget that point. Our nation was not founded on a free ride but the chance to be your best and get rewarded for it. I wish I had Steve Wynns' money but I wouldn't want the government to take his from him to "share" it with me. He worked for it and I have the same opportunity.
Wynn is your typical American WASP multi-millionaire and global pimp of oppression. Was he trained by Exxon, Mobile, Halliburton, GE-NBC, Texaco, etc.? Old plantation movie. He is typical in that rich white folks play global ecomomic games with dictators. It's always about the money and human rights-democracy aren't on the radar.
This is one of the most anti-business presidents ever.
There is nobody that comes close.
Human "rights" or handouts? Democracy= you can work to and achive to the best of your abilitys!
I'm not ever going to be a millionaire just a hard working American doing his best as guranteed by our Constitution! I work, support my family, pay my bills & if I save enough come down to Vegas to have fun. Guess I'm a WASP.
Louise-
Yep, and I don't remember Mr. Wynn complaining when Bush passed TARP last year. No, he wasn't complaining until Obama started asking executives to stop spending OUR TAX DOLLARS on their pleasure vacations! Oh, and I love how he talks about the "free market" when he constantly endorses the Chinese government... And looks the other way when his buddies in Beijing oppress their own people.
Who knew Steve Wynn considers "Communist China" a more "free market"?
Hate to tell you, lcdrmandingonamvet, that Steve Wynn is not a Wasp, a White Anglo Saxon protestant. A privileged, wealthy whiner, yes, but not a Wasp.
In addition to the other posts, one needs to consider that Wynn is also a tyrant as an employer. He would just as soon cut your throat as he would readily cut you out of a job for the slightest whim of a reason. That's hardly a person I need telling me how to run business.
Good to see the entitlement crowd gather to beat an employer down.
This is exactly what America needs; our Country will never succeed when people who couldn't run a lemonade stand run our government.
For all of you "I hate capitalism" wonks, how many employ anybody? The silence is deafening.
Here is a memo to the bottom feeding rubes on the left. Don't like working for Wynn, move on. Get a different job or better yet, start your own business and become your own tyrant.
Steve Wynn took a portion of the employee's tips and gave them to middle management because he did not want to pay these managers more money. He is not a poster boy for the working man. He is a lucky guy, with ability to speak well, and he tries to charm anyone when it is for his personal benefit. How could he support Reid, when Reid has had the most powerful job in Washington and does nothing for Nevada; he even let Obama tell everyone to avoid Las Vegas, and never cried foul. Steve Wynn is for Steve Wynn...he will praise China until he gets what he wants in Macau. He is the ultimate opportunist.
I'll bet you'll get a job from Steve Wynn a helluva lot sooner than you'd get a "green job".
Isn't "tip pooling" a form of socialism, Mr. Wynn? The hardest working dealers in your own buildings have to share with others that customer's don't find appealing don't they?
What upsets me is people like Wynn who is complaining about their failures that are completely independent from the rest of our struggles. Another comment about the "beloved" Wynn - he is solely interested in himself. Over everything else, he is a businessman, and a greedy one at that. Period. End of story. Greedy businessmen will get in bed with their worse enemy if they can make a buck. Wynn does have one thing in common with the government - neither are your friend. Case in point - remember earlier when he stated he wouldn't lay off any of his employees at the Wynn. Technically he didn't. What he has done is far worse. He has furloughed his employees. Therefore, they can't collect unemployment since they are technically "employees". People, he and people of his ilk do not matter. We as people can't concern ourselves with talking heads who complain and offer no solutions.
Typical neo-con, right down the line.
"I'm really rich, and I aim to get richer. You are impeding my progress." Do you think for one minute Steve Wynn cares about anyone BUT Steve Wynn?
By the way, I am a businessman who can't stand what the government (local, state, and federal) is proposing. It will have a devastating effect on my business, how I operate, and retaining personnel. Yet, I will adjust to the game and win (like I always do). I'm not going to wait on the sidelines for help, because it isn't coming.
Let me see if I can figure this one out...
Las Vegas and the Country is in a deep financial crisis.
Loss of jobs everywhere but our friends who put politics before principles are demonizing those "wealthy" businessmen who CAN make a difference by creating jobs.
This guy is a joke
Steve, join the Oaf Keepers.
Inhibit our standard of living? It already happened long before Obama came into office. To maintain the standard of living we were used to, people used credit cards and borrowed on the equity on their homes. The American way of life began to crumble earlier in the decade. The results of that overspending and overborrowing on the part oc consumers is now plain to see. A net importer of oil, having to compete with other countries for commodities, and having compete with the cheaper labor of other countries will mean that our wages will have to go down, and our dollar will have to devaluate.
Wynn is not a WASP. He is Jewish but changed his name. Can't imagine why he would do that. Why is it that everyone fears governments' intervention but cannot understand how big business (like Wynn) has been draining the lifeblood of this country for the past eight years. The divide between the rich and everyone else has become bigger than ever. Workers are treated like garbage. Corporate profits are at an all time high as are CEO paychecks. You get more compassion from the IRS than you do from your bank or credit card company. Wake up people. Those you "admire" made their dollars on your back before they broke it. They couldn't care less (like Wynn) if you survive or not. Your only friend right now is the government. What has Wynn done for the average worker lately but screw them out of pay and benefits?????????
"I'm not overwhelmed with confidence in our legislators' ability to deal with a complex problem, when most don't have experience in this area."
___
In contrast to the utterly WONDERFUL job Big Insurance and Big Rx have done to date (begging the question of why there's any perception of a problem at all).
Look people. The entire economic model is broken. Totally broken. When you base your economy squarely on consumption, eventually the bill is going to have to be paid. It's no secret why Wynn and other casino execs are pandering to China - they have the money. The Chinese is financing the bailout by purchasing American debt. Eventually they will stop, and when they do, look out! You think things are bad now, you have no idea. I would advise people to get ready for a complete shift in social and economic policy. The good times are over. The unemployment rate will stay around 10% or greater for the foreseeable future.
"I'm seeing things I've never seen before in my life... It's a punitive, secretive and misinformed government."
Steve Wynn has truly flipped out. Where was all this outrage when Bush and his cabal actually WERE trashing the constitution, sending the world into a phony war, and allowing this economic catastrophe that has cost so many their way to surive??
Along with prostituting himself to the Chinese government, I don't know what else Steve Wynn is running for, but smack him down fast and hard just as soon as he lets us know.
Steven Alan Weinberg (his father, Michael, changed the family surname when Wynn was six months old) was raised in Utica, New York, and graduated from The Manlius School, a private boys' school east of Syracuse, New York, in 1959. Steve Wynn studied cultural anthropology and English literature at the University of Pennsylvania where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity.
Wynn's father, Michael Weinberg (later Michael Wynn), ran a string of bingo parlors in eastern United States. In 1946, he had changed his name to "Wynn" presumably as a marketing strategy and a move to trump anti-semitism. In 1963, his father died of complications from open heart surgery in Minneapolis, leaving $350,000 of gaming debts, shortly before Wynn graduated from Penn with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature.
Steve Wynn took over running the family's bingo operation in Maryland. He did well enough at it to accumulate the money to buy a small stake in the Frontier Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, where he and Elaine moved in 1967. Between 1968 and 1972 Wynn also owned a wine and liquor importing company. He managed to parlay his profits from a land deal in 1971 (the deal involved Howard Hughes and Caesars Palace) into a controlling interest in the landmark downtown casino, the Golden Nugget Las Vegas[2] (he also owned The Golden Nugget in Atlantic City, New Jersey). Wynn renovated, revamped and expanded the Golden Nugget from a gambling hall to a resort hotel and casino with enormous success, in the process attracting a new upscale clientele to downtown Las Vegas.
Hey Stevie, think you could pull that off in this economy???????
"I wouldn't want to see America become a European social democracy"
As Europe and the Euro are outperforming the US at the moment then that is a very poorly informed comment.
"Do they feel they are being deprived of their human rights? No. My employees (at Wynn properties in Macau) are very happy with their government"
Just take a while for that comment to sink in. Wow! The Chinese government is one of the most repressive on earth. And Steve Wynn supports it.
He loses all credibility right here.
Wynn may be good at running casinos. But he knows very little about running countries. Particularly the United States.
Wynn is right wing scum.
His casinos are off my visitor's list
Obama may not be good at running a business. But he knows less about running countries.
Particularly the United States.
DTJ you said it so well I am re-posting your thoughts! I'm seeing things I've never seen before in my life... It's a punitive, secretive and misinformed government."
Steve Wynn has truly flipped out. Where was all this outrage when Bush and his cabal actually WERE trashing the constitution, sending the world into a phony war, and allowing this economic catastrophe that has cost so many their way to surive??
Along with prostituting himself to the Chinese government, I don't know what else Steve Wynn is running for, but smack him down fast and hard just as soon as he lets us know.
so, only the rich deserve health care. only the rich deserve education. only the rich deserve to eat. and nly the rich deserve to go to one of his casinos. Well, the "rich" now pay less than $100 a night because of Bush's policies. Without the TARP, they would be paying $50. And the great capitalistic China is restricting travel to Macau, so the room rates there are falling too. I'd say, Steve is in bed with the wrong crowd.
wynn ruined vegas- whales, foreign gamblers, crappy food and overpriced and a volcano for the suckers. can easily see how some folks will follow these masters all the way. how's that legacy bush and slimeball left you idiots working out.
Wow Wynn has still lost it. I mean after shooting off a finger, singing show tunes to investors as Kerkorian 'stole' the Mirage chain, and poking holes in pricelss artwork then trying to collect the insurance for his own ineptness; really what do you do for an encore?
Apparently you talk idiocy about things you know nothing about. Chinese feel free? What an idiotic saying. Steve Wynn wants Chinese style democracy for the US because he is into slave labor. Just ask his dealers who have to share income with management.
I used to think he was a quirky lunatic, but now I see he is a greedy dirt bag like the rest of the rich jerks who control this town.
Ironically Wynn is actually right about China. China has several very large free trade zones which are, economically speaking, some of the freest places on the planet.
The free trade zones in China are the size of their mega cities incorporating and benefiting millions of people. While China's free trade zones are home to a fraction of the countries population it is responsible for the BULK of the countries wealth.
America's free trade zones benefit only certain workers and hardly any consumers. Our free trade zones are in Airports or maybe as a large as a few city blocks benefiting workers in factories making vacuum cleaners for export to foreign countries.
If our politicians were smart we'd have Nevada as an entire free-trade zone too.
BTW, more than 200 economists including Nobel prize winners opposed the bailouts: http://www.openmarket.org/wp-content/upl...
Many more probably would agree.
I use to work at the Wynn and I have seen his greed first hand ! His casino's are going downhill, despite what you hear in the media, he's losing money and getting desperate. He is lying in bed with the wrong crowd, he should have stayed faithful to his wife and the business values he once knew .. Sorry Steve !! every top has a bottom !
"CHANGE" I want mine back!
Here's Nick with all his hate... The following are examples from of his past posts:
Lowden is awful
Wynn is right wing scum
John Ensign is a liar and a sexual predator.
Smokers are trash.
Larry is a low IQ red state retard.
Ensign is a sexual predator.
Republicans don't care about honesty or values.
These religious righter's are all liars.
Highways are a waste of money
Education is a black hole
The republican party is too extreme. Birthers, tea baggers, and ignorant Texans.
Ensign is corrupt.
Southpoint needs to lose the red state stench.
Terry Fader is bad enough.
I am tired of these low class small minded red necks.
This guy is a PIG.
He should be arrested. What a piece of trash he is.
White trash are breeding and killing us...
Red State stupidity is everywhere.
People here hate education.
Ignorant rednecks from the south and midwest...
He is a sexual predator and is hurting Nevada.
Republicans dont seem to mind corruption.
Ensign is a sexual predator with no morals.
Why are Christians always so stupid?
Amazing Christians ever learned to walk upright.
AND THERE'S MORE...
AND THERE'S MORE
Sergio, you are a wacho.
The Tea bagger crowd is embarassing.
You cousin marrying white trash tea bagging republicans better wake up.
Man a lot of white trash tea baggers here.
Republicans are the deadbeats.
Odeman is a comfirmed wacko
You bible thumping haters need to go to jail.
Most libertarians are far right religous wacks,
Pay your own way deadbeat
Get an education loser
Ensign is a SEXUAL PREDATOR.
This guy is worthless
Sergio you are really stupid
You are a deadbeat loser.
Palin is the far religous right.
She is the most hated woman in politics.
The woman is an idiot and the whole family is hypocrites.
You snake handelers are really pathetic.
Powerplay is Texas White Trash
The garbage comes from Texas and the south.
Mormons are much more offensive.
Ignorant uneducated bigots
Only tea bagging white trash...
Leave it to some red state retard in North Las Vegas to post that.
Danny sucks
sexual predators like John ENsign...
The sick white trash Palins have a DNA nightmare going on.
AND MORE...
Well thank you, 9ballguy.
Jstoal,
That was a good cursory review of Wynn's bio. Back in the day though, not even Wynn himself could actually have done all that by himself. He was "juiced in" from the get-go. His family's operations back on in East were undoubtedly under mob purview. Then, as an educated, good-looking young face, the "boys" brought him into Vegas as a front man. Wynn's silent partners in the Frontier were the Mob, until the State of Nevada forced them all to sell to Howard Hughes. Banker to the Mob, E. Parry Thomas, guided Wynn along his charmed path to the top, including getting that exclusive liquor concession to the casinos (NO WAY anyone gets that without being mobbed up). And there were other highly dubious land deals and properties being flipped, along the way.
Steve Wynn has NOT experienced life, like you and I have. Not even close. That said, we do have to give credit where credit is due: it was his grand vision that put bread on the table for many of us, over the last 20 years. But here in 2009, he's way off base and talking out of his backside.
AND MORE...
Titus is no good.
She is a FRAUD
Ron Paul is religous right racist hompphobic scum.
Ron Paul is a fraud. John Ensign is a sexual predator.
too much loud white trash at town halls
Red Rock Casino is the worst.
John Ensign does nothing but sexual deviance.
Katie Bigotry is ugly.
the M resort is another resort fee rip off.
A bunch of angry white trash.
Katie an unemployed loser finds someone to bash.
Republicans hate hispanics.
Mormons are bad neighbors.
John Ensign is a sexual predator.
Darlene Ensign is a whore
and the Ensign parents are corrupt.
TITUS IS TRASH!
AND MORE...
LarryVegas,
We get it. You you're compiling a dossier on Nick. But you just sandwiched and buried my perfectly good post, with all that stuff that nobody else is going to read.
I WANT MY POST BACK! WAHHHH!
Larry, More, More, More of Nick. I just about threw up my burrito reading this just to let you know you low IQ red state retard!!!!!!!!!
Gotta love the opinions of a billionaire who is in the business of vice and corruption. What a more upstanding citizen to voice Republican dogma than a casino operator and, iirc, former mob associate who makes his living waiting for seniors and gambling addicts to dump their money at his establishments for nothing in return.
I never got a job from a poor person.
Hey DTJ... No, your post got in the middle of my multiple page post on Nick's name calling. Anyway, I gave up on posting Nick's comments. I probably had at least two more pages full of his famous name calling.
Maybe Nick and some of the others will tone down their name calling...
Quit whining about the poor not giving you jobs - how many of those "poor" are really people that USED to own their own businesses before giants like Wal-Mart stepped on their success?
And take a little responsibility for our mutual crisis! Let's face it, EVERYONE got greedy - not just the big dogs. That's why our economy sucks. We ALL did this to ourselves.
Keep spewing your ultra right wing BS Steve. You seem to forget that it was your republican idiot that got us into this mess.
BTW, it's been "lights out" for Vegas for a few years now. It started LONG before anyone even knew who Obama was.
Go get another mistress & steal some more of your dealers' tips since YOU don't want to PAY your middle managers what they should be paid.
What a hypocritical moron.
The Golden Nugget was the show place of d/t Las Vegas. The Golden Nugget was built to showcase the cattle barons of a by-gone era such as the Wyoming Hereford Ranch. Spurs and bingo parlors never did do a very good mix at any time.
When The Mint referred me to the MGM when asked about the Barbara doing a show for the vitims of New Orleans along with other known stars of the Strip the suggestion of nursing through the thought process of why had this not occurred at the drop of MGM's CEO's ideology forestalled any further progress.
Although Brad Pitts has gotten houses to be built that sit on stilts the fact remains that those who cannot pay for these stilt houses have the chinese laundry quandry to comfort them now.
The long and short of it all is Wynn is a hypocrite.
He supports Reid and attacks Obama all the while Reid supports Obama's goals.
This is the same guy who seized tipped employees' money to pay employees who are HIS responsibility. The federal government couldn't have done it better.
His elitist views are belied by the statement that his Macau employees are just fine with the freedoms their government has granted them. Evidently he's no believer in the Constitution which expresses the rights every person is born to, not those "granted" by some government.
This man is a weapon of distraction, a spy, a saboteur, doing Reid's bidding while saying little of consequence or evincing any call to action. Responsible capitalists and freedom-loving people would do well to avoid getting on this decoy's boat.
I know a very simple way Wynn as well as all these gambling parlors could save BILLIONS but refuse to reveal it to them.
: )
Wynn has to praise his overlords in China. They own the land he spent billions building on. His 100 year lease can be revoked at a whim. He doesn't want them to increase the 35% tax he pays on his gaming win. Wynn doesn't want the Chinese government to FURTHER restrict travel to Macau. Yep, that's 'more free' than the USA? <rolls eyes>
Where is the outcry for this "treasonous" comment? You can bet that had Bill Maher or Al Franken been stupid enough to say that the government in China is better than the government in the U.S., Fox would be spending 16 hours today talking about not just how much Maher and/or Franken hate America, but how they are representative of the liberals in this country who have clearly tipped their pro-communist hand in touting the PRC as having more freedoms than the greatest country on Earth.
Such a comment from a liberal would be proof-positive that the liberals want to bring in a Marxist regime and stamp out the great American way of Christ and Capitalism.
But the comment came from a capitalist and a conservative, so he gets not only a free pass, but praise for "telling it like it is."
It exceeds hyperbole to say the Chinese have more freedoms; and it is a little misleading to suggest that the Chinese business environment is less restrictive than the U.S. business environment. In a way, it's correct. The Chinese don't force companies to pay overtime, to provide safe working conditions, to give people time to eat during their shift, to mandate a wage on which people can actually survive, to employ only those of a certain age, etc. But is that a better way for business?
Is Wynn really saying that he would prefer the Chinese business climate because he could force 14-year-olds to work for 16-hour shifts cleaning linens and making beds without a break for $2.25 a day?
And does the man really believe the Chinese have more freedoms? Did you hear the one about the Chinese businessman who said the Americans have a better business environment? Yeah, he was shot in the effing head and his family was billed for the cost of the bullet.
If Wynn really believes that's a better way of doing things, then he can feel free to move to China. Of course, before he does, he should remember that as a Chinese citizen he will be required to pay his full share of taxes, and that in China, those convicted of tax evasion are not fined and sent to prison, they are shot in the effing head.
getalife: We don't hate capitalism. We hate capitalists who benefit via exploitation and a failure to contribute back significantly to the society at large. There's a difference. There are many good capitalists out there, but the ones at the top are no better than the robber barons of years gone by. And when a lot of these conglomerate go screaming to the govt. for a bailout when they can no longer subsist on their tactics, then yes, govt. needs to get involved. People speak as if govt. went out of its way to regulate the corporate sector. The corporate sector asked for it.
and what's wrong with steve wynn trying to get richer?
how many people put food on the table this week from working at his resorts?
they got those jobs from him trying to get richer.
you liberals are so freaking stupid.
Steve Wynn says he is seeing things?
Oh really?
Got your sight back?
Wynn has no idea what he is talking about.
And what Wynn needs to know is that NO ONE is listening.
Once again many including Wynn forget which party got this country in this mess and it wasn't the Democrats. Look back to the two idiots from the past 8 years. I'm an independent but today's problems weren't created by our current administration.
I'd prefer this President take some time and look back at who & what got us here and then perhaps those like Wynn and his supporting staff might just see who the bad people really are. The Republicans have been screwing America for at least the last 30 years.
I say Kudos to Steve, he made a very good point in the broadcast. Of course he needs Americans to be employed not to buy that house or car, but to lose their money in his tight machines and tables at the casinos..
I'm sure many wealthy conservatives will now choose Wynn resorts as their destination of choice in Las Vegas after hearing him on Fox. Smart move.
I'm also sure the unemployed and the minorities will now boycott his fine establishment. Err, um, wait a minute, minorities and out of work people aren't welcome there anyway and can't afford the rooms anyway, so WTF? Sounds like blasting Obama is a "wynn-wynn" situation.
As citizens we are a bit naive as to how this whole thing works. Firt of all, the president is a figurehead selected to woo the masses and collect the votes for the people who finance his campaign. Once in place, his job is to promote the policies of those 'behind the scenes' groups by saying whatever needs to be said to keep the masses quiet for 3 years until the process starts over again.
Most of the time, we dont even know who these 'behind the scenes' groups even are, let alone what their real agendas are. We only find out later.
Take health care. Its NOT to get you or I cheap health care, count on that !!! You can bet that whatever is passed will increase the costs to us all in one way or another, and the providers, insurance companies, and government workers will wind up getting MORE money. Its just the way the system works.
As to TARP, all it did is make the government the lender of bad debts instead of the banks. It bailed out the banks, but left them hounding people for money and tossing people out of their homes. Now we are going to have massive inflation to pay for all this. You are seeing it already. Just take note of restaurant prices over the last year (ignore the effect of the temporary coupons which will be gone soon).
I'm just going to sit back and wait a bit until China decides to nationalize Macau. Not if, but when they do I have a feeling that Steve will be the first in line to ask OUR government to help by any means, to include force to recover his investment over there.
And btw, I see Steve has figured out a new way to generate more revenue. He has decided that if he suspects any of his Garth Brooks tickets have gone the way of the scalpers...... he is simply going to void them, thereby creating another revenue stream to put in his pocket.
Way to go Steve!
" And the meek shall inherit the earth !
I have worked in China, and I know first hand how the employer controls every aspect of their workers lives. They hold all official documents such as birth certificates, marriage cert., etc. You do not leave a job, get divorced, obtain a passport, etc., without the employer signing a letter allowing you to do so. You do not advance and in some cases, keep your job without giving the HR person a yearly bribe on Chinese New Year. But, yes they are happy because they do not know any better. Steve Wynn just wants that kind of control over all his employees, what's wrong with that? After all he is one who employs people. What is good for him, has got to be good for everyone. Right?
Go Wynn Go!!!! You need to speak the truth about the impact that the present administration.Not sure of his views on China though.Of course the people of China are happier but look at where they have come from over the las 50 years.They do not know any better then what they have and had.
We need to work on creating jobs and putting citizens back to work.Wynn I wish you would focus on Vegas and Vegas only your casin's aboard have drastically cut into Vegas.So your investments in China have had an inpact in this town.
I ask you Steve Wynn what is your motivation to be getting into the political arena of vocal opinion.Mr.Wynn if you are cocerned about this country and this city look at ways to stimulate the local economy and do it quickly.Start by bringing back families to this town.
edandersonvt hit the nail on the head - work hard - get rewarded for it. Plain and simple... Play with the cards your dealt, Im not saying sit down and take whatever the govt. gives 24/7 but stop whining and bitching all the time. I am right there with edandersonvt - I wouldn't want any of Mr Wynns money JUST BECAUSE the govt. thinks its due to me (the middle class)... I work hard for my money day in and day out and I dont think its right for someone NOT WORKING to have a piece of my pie ($$)... Get a job!!
AND I love how every millionaire is considered "your typical American millionaire" - suggesting they are a jerk, (insert negative comment here), etc... If YOU hit the lottery tomorrow how would you feel if you didn't do or say what the public eye wants you to say and/ or do...
The shape this economy is in, it's going to be "lights out" for Vegas. The lights have been getting dim for some time now. I have thought for years that Vegas was overbuilding itself, too many new houses being built, too many hotels being torn down that should be still standing such as the Stardust, too many people flocking to Las Vegas like it was the land of milk and honey. It seemed like Vegas was trying to chase out the average man/woman with these pricey new hotels. At least with this economy Imperial Palace and Bills Gamblin' Hall seem to be safe .... for now. Vegas had begun to hit the skids long before Obama and it will continue with this economy.
We'd take you more seriously Mr. Wynn if you actually saw and knew what was happening around you anymore (starting with the hack job somebody did on your face).
"I'm sure many wealthy conservatives will now choose Wynn resorts as their destination of choice in Las Vegas after hearing him on Fox. Smart move."
The place is already a giant electro-magnet for a-holes. Wynn joints always are.
VegasGM85 writes: "I work hard for my money day in and day out and I dont think its right for someone NOT WORKING to have a piece of my pie ($$)... Get a job!!"
Some 10% of the population would love to do just that--get a job. But in this economy (which started under W Bush), jobs are drying up.
Wynn's Macau staff are happy with their government becasue their government ordered them to be happy with them.
How much of the chinese government trouser snake is he going to shove down his throat, i think we can see which property is doing better at the moment
I doubt that I will ever visit a Wynn business again.
Limpbowel was in Vegas this weekend. Maybe they got together for a new show. Limpbow would make a fitting replacement for Danny Gans.
Wynn is right - very very very far right!
Hopefully Elaine Wynn, the real brains behind the Wynn casino empire, makes her first order of business after taking over after the divorce to fire him. I think the interview speaks for itself. Whether you agree with him or not he just alienated at least 50% of his American customer base. I think it just became clear who really runs the show over there, and its not Steve.
Wynn was wrong. Obama's way isn't lights out for just Vegas it is lights out for the entire USA.
wynn=blind leading his blind sheep
Obama is not running the show.
Obama is not liberal enough.
Obama is not responsible for the national economy's problems.
Obama is not responsible for Las Vegas' problems.
Here's what needs to happen:
Steve Wynn can say whatever he wants. Opinions are worth what you want to make them worth.
Here's the facts:
The middle class feels Las Vegas has spent too much time going after the luxury market and is too expensive and not a value destination any more. This at a time when discretionary incomes are smaller and smaller, and also when other states have more gaming and entertainment options that are in closer proximity to their hometowns.
Here's how to fix Las Vegas: and I am speaking as a Phoenix resident who lived in LV for four months in 2004 but left because Phoenix had more opportunities for employment in my industry:
1. Lower prices across the board. Be the low-price leader in vacation destinations.
2. Lower prices for the upscale stuff.
3. Stop the unnecessary extra fees.
4. Better return/odds on gaming.
5. Encourage the serious and comprehensive development of non-gaming industry and non-gaming business. Become a high-tech, biotech mecca. Light manufacturing. Logistics.
6. Beef up the educational system. Make UNLV a world-class academic school. Establish a "Research Triangle" in Southern Nevada.
7. Build a comprehensive light rail system. Phoenix waited 20 years but they have light rail now and it's great.
8. Build an Interstate between Phoenix and Las Vegas. Two lane roads ain't gonna cut it.
9. Seriously improve Amtrak service to Las Vegas from SoCal and Phoenix.
10. Figure out the water usage/Colorado River situation.
Hey I'm sure with Wynns "background" the boys still want their fair share regardless of the economy..........
You can never get out.....he still has his mob connections and I am sure he still has to pay the percentage.
and yes he RUINED.....LAS VEGAS.......he is the one who started and is responsible for the overbuilding of Vegas...
and he whines.
... LMAO Steve Wynn!?! ALL-thee-WAY from Bflo./Niagara, which ALSO had to learn to DIVERSIFY!!! As SOMEONE, who STARTED his international, award-winning print-journalism 35+ yr. career in the mainstream-&-gay media in VEGAS on BOTH coasts (including 17 with "Billboard Magazine" in L.A., Vegas-&-here!), I say go WORK for-thee-Right Wing "LV Review-Journal," where I began!!! They'll-LOVE-you!!!
Mitt Romney had the balls to step up to the plate and ran for President. Steve Wynn should put his money where his mouth is. If he is so smart and knows what works he should run for President. Implement his ideas to stimulate our economy.Typical to criticize but no real alternatives to offer other than to lower his taxes.
REMEMBER THE MESS HE INHERITED. IT RAINED MONEY IN VEGAS THROUGH 03 TO 07 IT WAS CRAZY. WYNN IS WORRIED ABOUT THE NEW CITY CENTER, WHICH IS OPENING.
to kalihi, Wynn does not need to run for President. he is multi millionaire without the bull. Not all people with good ideas should run for President. They are busy creating jobs. As, a business owner, I agree. Businesses cant grow with heavy taxes to support the lazy.
LIGHTS OUT, literally.
Did you know that Las vegas uses so much energy that it is at nr 92nd place over the countries of the world, using approx 7 million Mwhs of energy for its 603000 citizens
I think Wynn is just going to do what all smart executives/owners business people are taught to do. Get the stock as attractive as possible and sell out. Steve dumped his beautiful wife, and is losing his vision. Next stop for him is retirement. So long suckers!
Obama is killing Vegas and Vegas will continue it's economic malaise UNTIL true conservatives run the show, period. BTW, Bush wasn't a conservative; Clinton was more conservative than Bush.
In other words, Rep's are controlled by Neocons (liberals in disguise). Who can save us? Ron Paul maybe, but the media has us believing he's crazy, so no chance there. Romney, Palin? They're Neocon's as well, would continue to fight manufactured wars that bankrupt the US and harm, not strengthen our national security. (broke nation not strong).
Here is a good article showing how Bush was more liberal than Clinton: http://www.cato.org/research/articles/de...
So tell me you repulsive Rep's, who is going to turn things around? My guess is the only thing that might prevent Obama pushing the US beyond the point of no return is the mid term elections. If we toss out enough people and give the Rep's an advantage in the house to prevent any new legislation from moving forward, then we have a chance. Small but a chance.
If you don't think that the Rep's are liberal and criminals at large, watch this video: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1ipem_...
It shows how Halliburun trades with Iran by setting up off shore accounts in the Caymans to skirt the law. Halliburton made a fortune from the war, still makes a fortune. Did Bush and the Rep's care about Americans, freedom for the Iraqi's, or were they simply making themselves more wealthy and gaining more power? If you don't know about the Bush clan and their connection to the Nazi's, communism, Mao, drugs, etc, read this unauthorized biography. http://www.tarpley.net/bushb.htm
Then just kinds STFU about the Republicans being the answer to our current problems!
I think steve wynn can learn to live with a little less money, after all he made all of it on the backs of his casino workers and all the people that work for him. His concern for his giant wad of cash means less to me than the unemployed, the sick and the destitute, all of which are growing in numbers. The message is clear and has been for centuries, the wealthy will always protect their self interests over everything else, what is sad is that the average wage american continues to ignore their poor living conditions and stands rank and file behind the very same group of people that take away freedom, rights, and worsen living conditions. Reminscent of the Feudal System and not a democracy. Maybe Steve Wynn's vision is a little blurred, can one person truly take credit for a corporation, what about the builders, architects, casino workers, hotel workers, don't these people build something as well, the perpetual problem in the US today is that the workers don't take the deserved ownership of what makes this country work, themselves.
The problem here is WYNN (and Vegas) needs to book bets on this stuff. 6/5 Obama in 2012, Palin 15-1, Limbaugh 200-1.
Vegas needs some new action is all. Gamblers are bored with the current old offerings.
lp, I too am a business owner. I pay my fair share of taxes. I get write off my visits to Las Vegas as a business expense though.I meet with my Realtor, my rental agent, and my corporate lawyer, walah,tax write off.
My point was, what were Wynn's ideas other than to lower his taxes to stimulate this economy.Mitt Romney is also a multimillionaire.He wanted to implement his expertise of running a business to apply to government.He wanted to do rather than just criticize. He did it when he was Governor.If Mitt was the GOP choice for Prez I would have voted for him.
Obama's way means lights out for anyone not standing in public welfare system. Obama is desecrating America and has only one goal, overtax everyone who does work or own a business so he can pay for his people for being codependent on his government.
The working class in America is going to revolt against the system; it's only a matter of time. They've taxed American's to death and America can't afford to pay for programs that enable people not to work.
Steve Weinberg (Wynn) must have lost his brain along with his eyesight. He apparently must not have been aware of who was running the country for the last 8 years. He also must be ignorant of the fact (as most people are) that jobs are created at a MUCH lower rate under Republicans!!!http://www.answers.com/topic/jobs-created-during-u-s-presidential-terms
By the way Steve, taking money from one class (dealers), and giving it to others (supervisors) is the traditional Republican way of robbing the poor i.e. raiding the social security trust fund to cut taxes for the rich, and giving to the rich, but isn't that a form of socialism also?
One last thing, the idea of cutting taxes on businesses to create jobs is total BS. Businesses don't hire people because they have extra money in the their pockets, that's how they enhance shareholder value. Businesses only hire employees to meet the demand for their services/product. PERIOD!!!!!!! Steve Wynn wouldn't hire ONE new employee if his taxes were cut, but he'd sure have more money for the new gf/gold digger!!!