Steve Wynn discusses online poker and Macau

• Steve Wynn remains sceptical about the business opportunities available online and the role the internet will play within the gaming industry.

Winn, who has opposed online games for years even at an estimated annual wage of $4 billion to $6 billion for online poker in the U.S., was a tough sell when PokerStars called.

“The internet looked as if Mt. Everest had obscured the sun.” Win said he still believed that regulating online poker would be difficult, but not impossible.

“What if the government intervenes and they take control of the government and interfere with our ability to run businesses? If they play Internet poker, they will be taxed,” he said. “They will be legalized only in the U.S. because they have an insatiable desire for money in Washington.”

Wynn, chairman and chief executive officer of Wynn Resorts, recently met with the Las Vegas Review-Journal to discuss online poker, company projects and politics. The 69-year-old remains firmly in control of the publicly traded casino company, which generated $1.26 billion in net profit in the first quarter of this year.

Despite being disrupted by the collapse of his “strategic relationship” with PokerStars, Win remains focused on the groundbreaking of his long-awaited $2.5 billion project in Cotai Streep in Macau and the opening of a new Encore Beach club’s Memorial Day weekend. He created the $69 million pool, club, and bar project after deciding to tear down the encore entrance.

Win believes his Macau project, built on 52 acres of landfills, will open in late 2014 or early 2015. Analysts are more cautious about his ability to turn garbage dumps into luxury resorts and believe Kotai will not open until 2016.

“We are waiting for permission to work on site,” he said. “Our project has been approved but we have to wait for the government to announce their permission.” 파워볼실시간

In recent years, Macau has been the driving force behind all the good things at Wynn Resorts.

The company added space to its China region through encore last year, which helped revenue increase 46.6% to $865.7 million and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 50.2% to $272.8 million in the first quarter.