Elaine Wynn, who died after a brief illness at the age of 82 on Tuesday, was the rare casino executive to make as much of an impact in the Las Vegas community as she did on the Strip.
With her ex-husband Steve Wynn, Elaine Wynn co-founded Mirage Resorts and Wynn Resorts, responsible for industry-shifting properties such as the Mirage, Bellagio, and the Wynn/Encore resort.
Though there were a handful of women casino executives in the 1980s and 1990s, their male counterparts often got all the credit for shaping the Las Vegas tourism, hospitality, and gaming industries — especially Steve Wynn.
But Elaine was equal part the visionary in conceptualizing the pair's resorts — and was often the steady steward of their company.
"There's a lot of things that she's getting credit for now that she's deserved for a long time," says longtime Nevada journalist John L. Smith, who wrote a book on Steve Wynn in 1995 and currently writes columns for the Nevada Independent. "But what I see Elaine in that casino partnership was really the glue that held it together. [Steve] had his own tremendous talents, his own obsessions and all of that ... but for her, she not only held the family together, but she brought something to that partnership that clearly raised the level of quality in the casino experience ... that kind of taste that people noticed later when she was outside the Wynn shadow.
"She emerged as a proud and public feminist," added Smith, "which you don't see a lot in Las Vegas with what you would have called a 'casino wife'."
As she found success with Mirage Resorts, Elaine Wynn began her decades-long advocacy of education and in-need students. She served as chair of the UNLV Foundation and was on the board of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education, as well as Communities in Schools.
She extended her reach in and service for the Las Vegas community culturally as well. She supported The Smith Center and Nevada Ballet Theatre. And she turned her passion for art collecting into an effort to bring a metropolitan art museum to Southern Nevada. The Las Vegas Museum of Art was announced last year, launched by Wynn, in partnership with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, whose exhibits will be shown in Las Vegas, and whose board Wynn co-chaired.
"This is only one among the great gifts that she gave and will continue to give to Las Vegas," says Las Vegas Museum of Art executive director, Heather Harmon, who also spoke of Wynn's credibility in the art community. "She loved art and the passion was palpable. The art world completely embraced Elaine and she found great camaraderie on the LACMA board."
Harmon worked very closely with Elaine Wynn, calling her a mentor. "Working with Elaine was a transformational experience," she said. "It was a gift to be in her presence and to benefit from her life.
The Las Vegas Museum of Art is projected to open in 2028 in Symphony Park.
Nevada Public Radio has received funding from the Elaine P. Wynn Family Foundation.
Guests: John L. Smith, columnist, The Nevada Independent; Heather Harmon, executive director, Las Vegas Museum of Art
Nevada Public Radio has received funding from the Elaine P. Wynn Family Foundation.
