Steve Wynn Called
By Josh Resnek
Think about that.
Steve Wynn called me out of the blue on Monday.
“What did you think of the opening of the casino?” he asked me. “Spectacular in every way,” I answered.
“Yes,” he said, “Matt and all the others really pulled it together, didn’t they?
“Quite frankly, Steve, everyone is blown away by Wynn Resort’s talents, for the company’s ability to get the job done.”
“Quite a company I built, isn’t it, Josh?
“You got that right, Steve!”
“Back to the opening…were you there, Josh?”
“Couldn’t make it, Steve. I was in Pam Beach visiting my sister.” “I watched clips of it on television. Your boy Carlos the mayor paid homage to you, Steve.”
Yes. Carlos said wonderful words. He said he remained loyal to me in front of that huge crowd. He even cried! I thought that was a bit much. I didn’t realize how theatrical he can get.”
Steve laughed.
“I figured the tears were him recalling you giving him a $1 million bag of chips when you guys struck the deal.” I laughed aloud when I said that to Steve. It was a bit risqué to be talking to one of the world’s great billionaires like that.
“Come on, Josh. I wouldn’t have insulted him with so small a thank you for so large a favor done. Off the record, the chips were gone in about two weeks! Boy, does he like to gamble!” Steve said of the mayor.
“Carlos can’t control himself with the gambling when he gets going. I found that out pretty quickly,” Steve said.
“He came to Las Vegas several times and it was just impossible to keep that guy with chips.,” he recalled. “Steaks, too. Boy can he woof down a 16 ounce sirloin just like that. Carlos is a plate cleaner,” Steve recalled.
“Hold on a second, Josh…” Steve said to me.
In the background, I heard Steve directing a woman to “prepare the massage table properly.”
“Just readying myself for my afternoon massage,” Steve said to me. “When I get massages now its without any Wall Street Journal reporters buzzing around. Boy was that stuff a hassle. Those terrible stories about me don’t want to go away,” he pointed out.
“I’ve told Carlos, given his background, how careful he has to be when it comes to that stuff. In fact, I often wonder to myself how he is left standing given some of the previous situations he’s been in. How does he do it?” Steve asked me.
“Carlos has a three part credo that goes like this, Steve: “Deny everything. Admit nothing. Blame it all on someone else!”
“That’s cool, really cool,” Steve said.
“There’s actually one more component to the credo,: I told Steve. “If you can’t give them a job or persuade them to stay away from the authorities then you pay them, and everything is forgotten.”
“Not in today’s world,” Steve said with some bitterness with his otherwise suave and refined voice.
“I paid millions out and they still came for me. I can tell you this, Josh. I will never understand how that works.”
“Well, my message table is ready and I am set to go. If you run into Carlos, let him know how much I enjoyed his words for me at the opening. And remind him, to be very careful…because the eyes of the world are upon him…and you know what, Josh? It’s a pretty cruel world out there, even for guys like Carlos and I.”
*Editor’s Note: No such conversation between the author of this piece and Steve Wynn ever took place. The piece is intended as satire.