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Vegas Retold
Stylized Wynn tower with Encore and Resorts World, based on Reed102’s 28 August 2025 photograph. Generated daytime view; landscaping simplified. Not a documentary image or map.

Image & source

Wynn Las Vegas

Opened April 28, 2005

Wynn Las Vegas opened on April 28, 2005, as a new resort on the former Desert Inn resort and country-club grounds. It is a replacement development, rather than the Desert Inn under a new sign. The earlier hotel opened on April 24, 1950, according to UNLV’s archive. The bronze Wynn tower and the lost Desert Inn therefore represent different generations of a larger site, with different buildings and opening dates.

Start with its history

Stylized Wynn tower with Encore and Resorts World, based on Reed102’s 28 August 2025 photograph. Generated daytime view; landscaping simplified. Not a documentary image or map.

The history of Wynn Las Vegas.

A brief history of Wynn Las Vegas

Nighttime Strip view with the Frontier sign at left and Desert Inn signs and a hotel tower at right.

Image & source

Desert Inn frontage and tower at right in September 1989, before the larger resort grounds were redeveloped for Wynn and Encore; the Frontier sign is at left.

One of Wynn's most revealing features is its Lake of Dreams: a landscaped performance setting framed by a manmade mountain and waterfall. The resort's account of designer Michael Curry's work dates the original lake presentation to 2005 and explains the idea as a succession of short scenes that could catch a couple's attention without taking over their evening. The 2020 reworking added new acts and technology to the same setting.

Read the full history
Sources and context

  1. Wynn Resorts: Encore groundbreaking announcement (2006)

    28 April 2006: Desert Inn opening/acquisition, Wynn opening, north-side Encore expansion and resort activities.

  2. Wynn Resorts: 2008 results

    Encore opening on 22 December 2008; historical results announcement.

  3. Wynn: Behind the Scenes of the Lake of Dreams

    Account originally published in 2020: 2005 launch, Michael Curry, short scenes and evolving production.

  4. Wynn and Encore: Directions

    Operator resort address and northeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard/Spring Mountain Road; read 17 October 2026.

  5. UNLV: Wynn Las Vegas Scrapbook

    Collection abstract: Desert Inn postcards, Wynn establishment and Encore vision; opening date in historical note.

  6. OpenStreetMap contributors: Wynn Las Vegas hotel tower

    Way 205501268 version 13, full node geometry read October 19, 2026. Selected point 36.12665,-115.1654 is inside the polygon. Earlier Mapcarta point was just outside the narrow curved tower. Area locator, not entrance or surveyed boundary.

  7. UNLV: Toni and Wilbur Clark Papers

    MS-00361 Biographical/Historical Note: Wilbur Clark’s Desert Inn opened April 24, 1950. Corrects the April 28 date repeated in Wynn’s 2006 retrospective; supports introduction paragraph 1 and explicit uncertainty.

  8. Wynn Resorts: 2002 registration filing

    Historical Development and financial Note 1: April 28, 2000 purchase agreement; June 22 completion; August 28 casino/hotel closure. These are different milestones, rather than one anniversary acquisition date.

The Desert Inn, Wynn and Encore are different stages of development on the wider resort property. A shared site does not establish that an earlier building survives.

Current entrances, show schedules and access arrangements should be checked with the operator.

Wynn’s 2006 retrospective gives April 28 for the Desert Inn’s opening and acquisition. UNLV dates the old hotel’s opening to April 24, 1950. Wynn’s contemporary filing distinguishes the April 28, 2000 purchase agreement from completion on June 22. This account preserves those distinctions.

This site through time

Replaced Desert Inn

2000 – 2005

Wynn Las Vegas opened in 2005 as a new resort developed on the former Desert Inn resort and country-club grounds after the old hotel and casino closed in 2000. The original Desert Inn hotel area lay farther north, where Encore was subsequently developed. This is redevelopment of a larger resort site, rather than a rename or a claim that the two hotel towers share an identical footprint.

Historical source — Wynn Resorts 2002 registration filing: Historical Development and financial Note 1, Desert Inn acquisition and August 28, 2000 closure; Wynn Las Vegas project on the acquired resort/golf-course land. Corroboration: April 28, 2006 Encore groundbreaking release places the original Desert Inn site north of Wynn and records Wynn opening April 28, 2005.

  • The former Desert Inn grounds included hotel buildings, golf course and associated land. This relationship does not project the current Wynn/Encore complex or its entrances back onto the old resort.

Shared or overlapping site with Encore Las Vegas

December 22, 2008

Encore opened in December 2008 as a separate hotel and casino immediately north of Wynn Las Vegas, connected through public spaces and resort facilities. The two hotel buildings form an integrated resort complex while retaining different opening dates and identities.

Historical source — December 22, 2008 opening-night release: Encore next door to Wynn, separate accommodations and arrival areas, connected meeting facilities. Wynn Resorts 2011 annual filing, Las Vegas Operations, describes the fully integrated resort.

  • Shared resort grounds and connections do not make the Wynn and Encore hotel towers one building or give them a single opening date.

Explore the area.

Take the stories for a walk.

Two ways to explore Wynn Las Vegas

Illustration of the historic Flamingo entrance, pink roadside pylon, low hotel frontage and tall palms.

Image & source

Strip Mob Walk

Themed tour 46 discoveries Audio narration

Compare all tours including Wynn Las Vegas

Free audio samples are available here. See each tour for current app and Pass options.

A few things worth noticing.

Individual stops at Wynn Las Vegas. Open a detail to see where it belongs.

The Mountain at the Entrance

Mountain and waterfall by Wynn shops entrance, the start of the walk Pass required
Terraced rock waterfall beneath mature pine trees outside Wynn Las Vegas, with the Wynn name on the lower basin.

Image & source

Wynn Las Vegas’s sculpted-rock waterfall and pine landscaping, photographed 30 July 2025. This property view does not establish the tour’s exact stopping point.

The full stop is part of the Vegas Retold Pass. See the tour for current access options.

Before you stop

Use signed public routes and follow staff directions.

Access alternative

Ask staff for an accessible public route and a suitable viewing area.

Find this stop in the tour

Sinatra at the Desert Inn

Shops entrance, former Desert Inn site Pass required
Frank Sinatra in a suit stands beside a studio microphone, holding a sheet of music.

Image & source

Frank Sinatra at Liederkrantz Hall, New York, circa 1947. This portrait predates his 1951 Las Vegas debut and does not depict the Desert Inn performance.

The full stop is part of the Vegas Retold Pass. See the tour for current access options.

Before you stop

Use signed public routes and follow staff directions.

Access alternative

Ask staff for an accessible public route and a suitable viewing area.

Find this stop in the tour

The Guest Who Bought the Hotel

Shops route, former Desert Inn site Pass required

Stop image unavailable.

The full stop is part of the Vegas Retold Pass. See the tour for current access options.

Before you stop

Use signed public routes and follow staff directions.

Access alternative

Ask staff for an accessible public route and a suitable viewing area.

Find this stop in the tour
Explore all 12 stops

Find the place.

Wynn Las Vegas

The map identifies the property area. It does not identify an entrance or a walking route.

View the site on a map

Find your stop

Follow current signs and venue restrictions. Individual stops carry their own location and access notes.

See stop access information

Follow the evidence.

Sources, image credits and the limits of what we know.

Historical sources8 documents and records

  1. Wynn Resorts: Encore groundbreaking announcement (2006)

    28 April 2006: Desert Inn opening/acquisition, Wynn opening, north-side Encore expansion and resort activities.

  2. Wynn Resorts: 2008 results

    Encore opening on 22 December 2008; historical results announcement.

  3. Wynn: Behind the Scenes of the Lake of Dreams

    Account originally published in 2020: 2005 launch, Michael Curry, short scenes and evolving production.

  4. Wynn and Encore: Directions

    Operator resort address and northeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard/Spring Mountain Road; read 17 October 2026.

  5. UNLV: Wynn Las Vegas Scrapbook

    Collection abstract: Desert Inn postcards, Wynn establishment and Encore vision; opening date in historical note.

  6. OpenStreetMap contributors: Wynn Las Vegas hotel tower

    Way 205501268 version 13, full node geometry read October 19, 2026. Selected point 36.12665,-115.1654 is inside the polygon. Earlier Mapcarta point was just outside the narrow curved tower. Area locator, not entrance or surveyed boundary.

  7. UNLV: Toni and Wilbur Clark Papers

    MS-00361 Biographical/Historical Note: Wilbur Clark’s Desert Inn opened April 24, 1950. Corrects the April 28 date repeated in Wynn’s 2006 retrospective; supports introduction paragraph 1 and explicit uncertainty.

  8. Wynn Resorts: 2002 registration filing

    Historical Development and financial Note 1: April 28, 2000 purchase agreement; June 22 completion; August 28 casino/hotel closure. These are different milestones, rather than one anniversary acquisition date.

What remains uncertain3 notes on context and interpretation
  • The Desert Inn, Wynn and Encore are different stages of development on the wider resort property. A shared site does not establish that an earlier building survives.
  • Current entrances, show schedules and access arrangements should be checked with the operator.
  • Wynn’s 2006 retrospective gives April 28 for the Desert Inn’s opening and acquisition. UNLV dates the old hotel’s opening to April 24, 1950. Wynn’s contemporary filing distinguishes the April 28, 2000 purchase agreement from completion on June 22. This account preserves those distinctions.
Image credits10 images with source information

Stylized Wynn tower with Encore and Resorts World, based on Reed102’s 28 August 2025 photograph. Generated daytime view; landscaping simplified. Not a documentary image or map.

AI-generated adaptation; photographic basis Reed102 / Wikimedia Commons; source CC BY-SA 4.0

Source reference: Existing Media Library illustration and retained source provenance. Named source photograph is the adaptation basis. Illustrative simplification is not current wayfinding or archival evidence.

License

Illustration adapted using AI; rendering, colours and fine detail simplified. Original source perspective and major architecture interpreted.

CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/. Retain source attribution and licence link, indicate AI adaptation and simplified detail. Distribute this adaptation under the same or compatible share-alike licence.

Image source ↗

Desert Inn frontage and tower at right in September 1989, before the larger resort grounds were redeveloped for Wynn and Encore; the Frontier sign is at left.

LBM1948 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Source reference: Own-work photograph by LBM1948, dated September 1989; exact 1027×643 original.

Depicted date: 1989-09

License

Original photograph reproduced without editorial alteration; responsive overview and index displays may crop the presentation.

CC BY-SA 4.0 International. Retain attribution/source/license, identify changes, and share adaptations under the same or a compatible license. No endorsement implied.

Image source ↗

AI illustration of the historic Flamingo entrance and palms, adapted from the user-supplied postcard.

AI-generated illustration / Vegas Retold; adapted from user-supplied reference, original photographer unknown

Image source ↗

AI-generated architectural illustration of Casino Royale's frontage, adapted from Supercarwaar's July 2015 photograph.

AI-generated illustration after Supercarwaar; adapted from CC BY-SA 4.0 photograph

Image source ↗

Illustration of a Venetian Las Vegas tower, based on Julian Lupyan’s 30 July 2025 photograph.

AI-generated illustration after Julian Lupyan / CC0

Image source ↗

Illustration of the Madame Tussauds tower and Casino Royale, based on a December 2007 photograph by Forest & Kim Starr.

Generated illustration; adapted from Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, December2007

Image source ↗

Illustration of Treasure Island’s tower, based on Alberto-g-rovi’s 31 August 2022 photograph, with simplified landscaping and advertising removed.

AI-generated adaptation; photographic basis Alberto-g-rovi / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 3.0

Image source ↗

Stylized Wynn tower with Encore and Resorts World, based on Reed102’s 28 August 2025 photograph. Generated daytime view; landscaping simplified. Not a documentary image or map.

AI-generated adaptation; photographic basis Reed102 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Image source ↗

Wynn Las Vegas’s sculpted-rock waterfall and pine landscaping, photographed 30 July 2025. This property view does not establish the tour’s exact stopping point.

Julian Lupyan / CC0 uploader template; structured data also lists CC BY 4.0

Image source ↗

Frank Sinatra at Liederkrantz Hall, New York, circa 1947. This portrait predates his 1951 Las Vegas debut and does not depict the Desert Inn performance.

William P. Gottlieb / Library of Congress

Image source ↗
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