Wynn Resorts CEO Craig Billings told analysts during the company’s 4Q24 earnings call on Friday morning that any potential expansion of its Las Vegas assets would have to wait as the company focuses on its US$5.1 billion Wynn All Marjan Island development in the UAE and potential investment in Thailand.
The issue of future expansion opportunities was front and center during the call, with analysts also inquiring about Wynn’s efforts in New York City and the recent acquisition of Aspinalls in London from Australia’s Crown Resorts.
Noting that the company currently holds undeveloped land in both Las Vegas and the UAE, Billings said, “I often get asked why we aren’t moving on the land in Las Vegas right now and the reality is that from a capital perspective, from a bandwidth perspective within our amazing design and development team, there are only so many things that you can do at once.
“There are also opportunities that come along that are unique, so if Thailand does move ahead, for example, you want to make sure that you’re in a position to participate.
“What do we have before us at the moment? We have Al Marjan and we have a very substantial land bank in Al Marjan – we’ve seen the power of land banks in new markets in the mid 2000s in Macau. We are active in Thailand though it’s early days. We’re active in New York but … we’re being very disciplined in terms of how we think about New York, and then we obviously have a very substantial land bank here in Las Vegas, so we have years and years of growth ahead of us.
“But right now we’re very focused on Wynn Al Marjan. It’s a brand-new market – a US$3 billion to US$5 billion market – and it’s a tremendous opportunity for us, so that’s where we’re very focused at the moment.”
Billings also revealed that Aspinalls London will become part of the Wynn Al Marjan Island group with its results folded into the UAE resort once complete.
“This acquisition was really about establishing a presence in a key global gateway city and a part of the world where when taken together with Wynn Al Marjan Island, we’re building a meaningful business,” he explained.
“When you put the two properties together, they’re going to serve an area which is home to 3.5 million people and 40% of the world’s millionaires, so you really should think about [Aspinalls] as a part of Al Marjan and in fact the business will report to Al Marjan.”
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