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Wynn severs ties with 2 more nightlife executives
Published Thursday, Sept. 16, 2010 | 7:24 p.m.
Updated Thursday, Sept. 16, 2010 | 9:26 p.m.
Encore Beach Club and Surrender on May 28, 2010.
Sun archives
Wynn Resorts has cut ties with two more nightlife executives, the company said Thursday. Wynn spokeswoman Jennifer Dunne confirmed Thursday that Larry Murphy and Dave Pappas are no longer with the company.
Dunne would not comment further on the departures.
Pappas and Murphy were part of Sean Christie’s Las Vegas Nightlife Group, which operates Blush nightclub at Wynn Las Vegas and Encore Beach Club and Surrender nightclub at Encore Las Vegas. The $67 million pool-nightclub complex opened in May 2010.
Pappas served as director of marketing and customer development, and Murphy was vice president of marketing.
According to Pappas' website, his relationship with Wynn Resorts Chairman and Chief Executive Steve Wynn dates back to 1998 when he worked for Wynn as director of slot operations at Bellagio.
He then moved on to become vice president of West Coast operations and marketing for MGM Resorts. His website lists that he also worked as a marketing manger for ROK Vegas at New York New York, general manager for Revolution Lounge at the Mirage and vice president of marketing at Olympic Gardens gentlemen’s club.
He joined Las Vegas Nightlife Group in January.
Murphy previously served as vice president of marketing for Light Group before moving to Wynn to work as director of VIP marketing for Blush nightclub in 2007. He also was general manger at the Foundation Room at Mandalay Bay and Light nightclub at Bellagio, which is now The Bank.
Murphy and Pappas are among five nightlife executives to leave Wynn in less than three weeks.
Last week, Dunne confirmed that Encore Beach Club and Surrender nightclub managing partner Bob Mancari was no longer with the company.
A week prior to Mancari’s departure, the company said it had “separated” from nightclub manager Cy Waits as managing partner of the Tryst Nightclub at Wynn and XS The Nightclub at Encore.
Waits was arrested Aug. 27 on suspicion of misdemeanor driving under the influence after police reported smelling marijuana coming from his vehicle. He was arrested with girlfriend Paris Hilton, who was accused of felony cocaine possession.
On the morning of Aug. 27, prior to the arrests, Wynn Resorts announced it had ended its partnership with nightlife entrepreneur Victor Drai.
Drai owned a third of the XS and Tryst nightclubs in Wynn and Encore, both of which he helped to design and develop.
Discussion: 3 comments so far…
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I wonder what the big picture plan is?
Who's going to run all these places, handle marketing, etc?
Very interesting. That's a lot of housecleaning going on.
Victor Drai, Bob Dunne, Larry Murphy, Dave Pappas. The Sun should get their side of the story as to what is really going on. Cleaning house usually means operating profit is not happening. In other words, are these clubs losing money? Just a thought.....
Thank you Harry Reid, Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi!!! (Somebody had to say it, LOL!)
Sooner or later the story was going to get to the Olympic Garden connection!
Perhaps Steve Wynn is sensing that the nightclub indstry in Vegas is nothing but problems for his casinos and wants out?
From past stories I got the impression these clubs were doing doing tremendous grosses and profits, especially Tryst, XS and now surely the Beach club.
Maybe these severances are to cut the overhead and keep the profits in Wynn's coffers solely.
Yet, someone has to do the work, so it makes me think there is a bigger plan in the works.
Leave it to Steve Wynn, the man does not rest on his laurels.
Wynn also severed ties with Las Vegas when he announced he is an Asian company. Given that and the fact Elaine Wynn was a complete disaster and public embarrassment on the so called education board (didn't get one thing from the feds) and I say we now tax the crap out of the casinos and bring on the lottery. The Wynns can pack up and leave Las Vegas - we are done with them.
What in the world was wrong with my above comment that it got deleted???
Yea sure the lottery... Who is gonna play if no one has a job to buy lotto tickets....
I think this is great and that other casino owners should go the same direction. Run their own clubs and cut out the middle man. Now, maybe people don't have to pony up 400 to 500 dollars for a bottle of Sky Vodka.
Why are all the young execs being axed... snort, snort, snort... where are all the profits going... snort...snort...snort.
I worked in all cash clubs and have been with management level. When you are successfull, the profits don't go to a bank or in this case to Mr. Wynn... snort, snort, snort.
js
STILL WAITING TO FIND OUT WHY MY ABOVE COMMENT WAS DELETED. It addressed the subject of the article. I posted nothing vulgar, nothing abusive of another party, nor anything otherwise out of line. I merely pondered unanswered questions about topic. You've got to be kidding if somebody from Wynn Resorts objected to my post, let alone, that the Sun then reacted to that... NO WAY.
Hello? LV Sun, over to you...
These are no-show jobs. The business can run without them.
DTJ: Comment was removed because you were speculating about something that there is no evidence of and that has not even been alleged.
Nightlife Exectives fired,wow that's a couple of people I forgot to hire.What the hell was I thinking!Thanks for the heads up,I was profitable before reading this,now I know something was missing.Bartenders,step up to the plate,where can I improve,I would of compensated you but I just hired these jackasses that were laid off,front line people place your suggestions in the box,how can I improve the new hires lifestyle,without being to destrustive to you?
Never underestimate Mr. Wynn. He knows what he is doing.
I think I know....Steve Wynn might be getting ready to make his move to China.....maybe he is bringing in people {excuse me} "executives" from China to run his American properties...I still say Steve Wynn has been brain washed by the Chinese and they have taken control of his empire....doesn't this make for a great movie...anyway something is up....
To John Fritz,
It would be one thing if I had been making false or baseless declarations of fact. But I was NOT. I was only wondering out loud, using question marks and even the disclaimer "speculation on my part." The questions I (and others) brought up, merit being pursued. After all, as this mysterious saga continue to develop, don't readers of the community deserve to know what is really going on?
Furthermore, there are insinuations within other comments on this thread (probably silly ones; I wouldn't argue for their deletion, either). In any event, the explanation given for the deletion of my post doesn't wash. It only creates another question: did the Sun pusillanimously practice self-censorship on this forum, tonight? That would be a shame. And a betrayal of the public trust.
DTJ: For further clarification, please refer to Terms of Service: Agree not to upload, post, distribute, e-mail or otherwise publish or make available through this site any libelous, defamatory, obscene, harmful, vulgar, threatening, tortuous, harassing, abusive, invasive of another's privacy, hateful, racially or ethnically objectionable, or otherwise illegal material.
If you would like further clarification, please feel free to call me at 990-2657. Thanks.
Again I say to blazes with these so called night/day clubs and put the focus back on gambling. Gambling (and fair and good gambling) was the main reason people came here to Las Vegas, and it was big time profitable, so it makes no sense why the corporate know nothings who have destroyed the games in this city stubbornly hold back on the slots and BJ tables, and allow the inflated dining and lodging to continue until eventually the resorts are shuttered. Wake up execs!!
Nice draw, Mr. Wynn, new jobs for fresh, loyal, energetic people working with dedication.
Mr. Steve Wynn again operated like the clever business man he is and did the right thing.
Congrats!
Yes, it could simply be a matter of cutting out bloated, management overhead, and wise cost decisions.
all that overhead for a baby sitting service for the wannabes and high end drug addicts. " lets bring some cachet into the mix, steve." now you're stuck w/ bad PR about some zonked out hollywood celebrity who turns out to be trailer trash. good call, steve, fire them all!
Most club managers, GM's, hosts, and ESPECIALLY the bouncers, doorman, think thier 's' doesn't stink, and they can do whatever they want to do.
After what happened to 'Prive', the heat is still on. Steve did the right thing. Nobody 'f's' with Steve Wynn!
firedawg2000, nobody "has to" pony up $400 to $500 for a bottle of Skye vodka. Most would question the intelligence of anyone who does so. If that is one of the types of purchases in your lifestyle, you might want to seek counseling.
Pappas claims he was "Vice President of marketing for Olympic Garden" which is essentially a euphemism for "Pimp"
There is a major shakeup going on with the club industry in Vegas. Here is what is happening:
When the incidents with Prive came to light, the gaming commission fined and put tremendous pressure on Planet Hollywood since they are the property owners who leased the space to the nightclub companies. Add the numerous incidents of lewd behavior, prostitution, drug use, shakedowns by clubs on customers at the nightclubs and pool parties, the results are a very bad image for the casinos.
What Steve Wynn is doing is reigning in control of his nightclubs. Like many of the casino properties, Wynn allowed an independent company with no affiliation with his casino to run the nightclubs separately from the hotel by leasing its space. This is what Las Vegas Nightlife Group, Light Group and Pure Management Group all do as does 9 Group. However, Maloof is part owner of 9 Group.
Now Steve Wynn and The Hard Rock are cleaning house of these nightclub companies and bringing in their own people to run it. It appears this time, Steve Wynn is leaning towards not leasing the space to a company. Instead he will bring in a totally different management company to run the clubs only under his control. I think Las Vegas Nightlife Group will eventually be out at Blush and Surrender/Encore Beach Club.
This has already happened at The Hard Rock. Angel Management Group was brought in to run Rehab after numerous problems many of which were not publicized and affected the hotel itself. As of September 9th, Angel Management Group took over Vanity and fired the entire team that was there for years going back to Baby's. Vanity is not leased to Angel Management Group, the Hard Rock owns it but has brought in a team to run its daylife/nightlife operations the way it wants.
This is the new trend. Don't be surprised if MGM International and Harrah's terminate the leases with Pure Management Group with its nightclubs to bring in their own management company to run things. LAX and Pure are on the downfall. But the most likely scenario is Light Group buying out Pure Management Group.
Bottom Line: The nightclubs and pool parties are making the casinos look bad at times when they need to make profits. So its all about the casinos taking control of their properties across the board.
Bajos Are you impaired or just stupid? The thanks goes to George Bush and his eight years of spending America into the biggest recession if not depression in history. How convenient of nit wits like you who want to sweep eight years of Bushonomics under the rug that left America with 1.4 trillion dollars of debt,loss of jobs,failure of the housing market not to mention over 4000 dead American troops,tens of thousands of injured American troops,hundreds of thousands of Killed and maimed Iraqi's for Bush's lies which was a weak attempt to claen up his version of his daddies failures in the Gulf War.
And idiots like you have the audacity to blame Obama,Reid and Pelosi for eightteen months of living with Bush's mistakes? You should be thanking McConnell and Boehner as well as W. Now get your facts straight.
The timing couldn't be better for getting rid of club managers and management teams that are no more than glorified strip club doormen and independent party promoters.
Wynn and other properties got what they wanted out of these business relationships: reputation. Now that they have it.. they know they're on the cusp of losing it. Perfect time (cheaper too) to plug in their own and promote from within.
I'm glad to see it happening because a casino/hotel needs to be responsible and accountable for all the activities going on in its property. Too many of these promoters methods were not in line with the whole operation and are actually driving away as much business as they were bringing in. With their reputations at risk.. many have already seen the light.
The property can't "scale back" the nightclubs. They just built Encore Beach Club, and they can't just transform it again so quickly.
Management either got so freaked out over the Paris episode that they're cutting ties to anyone who ever sat at a table with her, brought in a management team they expected to let go after the pool season ended or just decided some of these folks weren't people who fit the current requirements for being on part of the Wynn team.
My guess is they were all given drug screens and background checks.
After the previous BS that occured, that's what I would do!!
Sad thing is that these outlets are money making cash machines for the hotels. They dont however really help in the drop with the casino and much of those who go to these events dont even stay at the hotel of the actual pool party. Unless you want to have 6 24 year olds piling into a room, who will party and not gamble - the hotels are grasping at revenue straws at this moment. The LVCVA meanwhile is quiet as a mouse about where these great convention customers are and how many successes that they have had - that they have not had to pay to get.
With so few flights for so many rooms, college kids driving in from Cali will be the norm and their spending habits dont help the core of the casino - only the party nightclub outlets.
@kirkland:
Damn, kirkland, you are so damn right.
Why didn't I go to college in California? Why didn't I drive through the desert towards Las Vegas on weekends together with the guys from college?
Come on, folks, let's all get back to college in California, instead of any forgotten small town.
Guess what: you could stop the kids coming to Vegas from Cali by building a "Youth-Vegas-Suburb" at half the way from California, just similar to the "Boy's Town" in Mexico, cheap booze, cheap young hookers, easy games, and so on... :):)
http://www.boystownmexico.com/book.php
(...then you could rise the entry level age to Vegas casinos to twenty-five, or even thirty..:)
But never forget: all of US commenting here have once in our life been young and been kids/young adults and we all wanted to go to Vegas:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPgxay8p8...
Boy the knife cuts both ways in this depression; the guys at the top along with the hourly worker. Times are tough regardless who you are.
(Two prefatory notes: 1) My thanks to Tim Richardson of the LV Sun for taking the time to hear my explanation of what I was trying to say, and what I what I WASN'T saying, in an above comment of mine. 2) I am NOT making any assertions of knowledge or fact concerning any individuals or entities named, or unnamed, in the above story. I am merely posing *questions* about the on-going circumstances. I am sure that other readers too, have been considering similar questions.)
I do, in fact, know a lady who works at the Wynn. She has told me that the one kind of employee conduct which is guaranteed to get you fired from there in a heartbeat (and at any place on the Strip, I'd imagine) is stealing from the house. So without jumping to any conclusions, I am just wondering out loud if something along those lines is behind these series of stories about personnel being let go (?) For example, might a profit-skimming scheme at these clubs have been revealed? A lot of cash in these businesses. And as previously *reported*, regarding OTHER clubs at OTHER properties, a lot of cash often changes hands off the record. Again, regarding these specific developments at the Wynn properties, I am making NO DECLARATION of facts -- only raising a question.
This ongoing matter sure seems to be going beyond anything related to the Paris Hilton bust. But then again, maybe that's all there is. And that's the point: as the worm keeps turning, I and others do find it increasingly curious as to what is really going on, over there. Plenty of heads are rolling.
A poster above mentioned getting the others' side of the story. I'd like to know what the individuals who have been released from their duties have to say, as well. But I doubt such will be forthcoming. It is my guess -- and ONLY A GUESS -- that non-disclosure agreements are probably on file. That's not at all unusual in any corporate setting when there are dismissals of employees. Furthermore, Steve Wynn remains an influential leader in Las Vegas. Again, just my personal thinking on the matter, but if any of the released parties wish to resurface elsewhere on the Strip, it's probably best not to burn any bridges.
TO HOMER>>>> You have selective memory. stop with the blaming of Bush . Your man OBAMA has tripled the debt in 18 mo ,eliminated NASA, Health Plan (few wanted)Cap and trade ,apologized for being a great country. He also wants to sit down with the HITLER of Iran without preconditions! Enough said. Can't wait for 2010 and 2012 elections.
You folks are a riot!! Do you Wynn would have invested in another beach club if he was packing up to move to Macau?
@Carrol..the previous article said nothing that he had confirmed he was moving the operation there..The article said he was investigating it, because it made sense as his profits come mostly from the area, where as the ol' US of A is in the tank...he is a business man..he has to please investors...wait to see what happens..But again, even if he moves corporate there, it is a move "on paper only"..its not like he will knock down the Wynn and leave the plot empty..
Wynn, like all corporations is #1 interested in making MONEY. #2 Being the center of attention. And #3 MAKING MONEY. He has no other interest in the Las Vegas area,and will completely leave when the opportunity to make money ends.
I have to say that the Sun's censorship of the comments would make Adolph Hitler proud. It's interesting the RJ allows for a free speech forum yet the liberal Sun only allows speech they deem appropriate and non-offensive.
Maybe Wynn needs to check his managers pockets and see how much money is being stuffed in them in stead of going to the employees who earned it. Maybe he should start with the employees tip money that does not end up going to the employees. I thought a salary job was just that, salary. I guess some poeple think salary means that plus take tip money as well. Or maybe its time to notify the IRS. I sure the first part won't happen so lets just skip it and go straight to the IRS. Yep. Sounds good to me.
BeSafe,
Hah! Saturday Night Fever from 1977 -- that was a lifetime ago. Man, where did all those years go...
or maybe he is getting ready to move his operation to China.....