Just plain giddy is a good way to describe most of us who make it our job to keep up on shopping in Las Vegas (there's a good four of us, now) as Steve Wynn gears up for a grand opening that will likely change Sin City—again. His projects are funny that way.
This time, he opens Wynn Las Vegas, a resort in a city where entertainment, dining, shopping and convention services no longer take a backseat to gambling.
All accounts of Wynn Las Vegas indicate that entertainment, dining and shopping were put front and center, with the casino floor less prominent, breaking all standards of past casino designs, including Wynn's own.
This, my friends, is where Wynn Las Vegas gets really exciting.
Steve Wynn has created the Wynn Esplanade, a concourse of some of the world's tip-top designer stores that will draw pedestrians into the property from the Strip. It's long, naturally lit and lined with some of the top designers in Fashion, with a capital F.
Those who are opening stores here include the reigning king of couture, Oscar de la Renta, who was personally wooed by Steve Wynn. He is followed by none other than Jean-Paul Gaultier, a fashion designer who is probably as truly wacky as Las Vegas itself. London's Graff Jewelers, shoe designer extraordinaire Manolo Blahnik, Joe Malone perfumer, Brioni mens clothing, Christian Dior, Chanel, Cartier and Louis Vuitton are also included in the mix.
Don't forget about the luxury car thing. Exotic Cars at Caesars Palace may have beat Penske Wynn Ferrari Maserati to the casino-based dealership punch by about 20 days when it opened April 21, but Penske Wynn Ferrari Maserati was the first to be conceived. Both stretch the term "impulse buy."
Shoppers also might find more boutique-ish treasures hidden in and around the property that we can only speculate on at the moment, such as Bags, Belts and Baubles; Gizmos; La Flirt; Shoe In and W.Ink, a store we really, really hope will be a luxury paper and writing accessory shop, because if there is anything Las Vegas truly needs, it is one of these.
Revolutionary, indeed.
Anne Kellogg is a native Las Vegan with a thing for purchasing stuff. E-mail her at
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