"Hey Steve, how come you don't have my villa ready? What the hell is going on at this Roach Coach? I called my concierge last night and she assured me that my villa would be ready! You know what? The hell with this place! I'm going over to the Bellagio." At the time, I was standing at the high roller check-in at the Wynn Resort in Las Vegas. I was voicing my displeasure to the head honcho of the Wynn. The one and only Steve Wynn. "Mr. Astle I apologize immensely for your inconvenience. If you could just give us a few minutes? We're going to kick Brad and Angelina out of their villa and give it to you. Again Mr. Astle, it will only be a few minutes." Being the whale that I am? Expecting immediate and superior service at any resort in Las Vegas I choose to frequent is common place. "OK, since it's Brad and Angelina that you have to give the boot to, I'll wait, but hurry up, the clock is ticking." Steve Wynn is not a guy who is used to taking orders, but when someone is sporting the bank roll that I am? He makes the exception.."Yes sir Mr. Astle. 10 minutes it is. One last thing Mr. Astle, would you like me to arrange some company for you?" The Wynn is a full service resort. If you know what I mean? "Steve, why do you ask such a stupid question? This time make sure they're Brazilian!" And then the alarm clock went off and woke me from my dream:(
The Steve Wynn story is one of legends. A good number of people believe Mr. Wynn is the most significant player in not just Las Vegas, but the entire gaming industry. His list of accomplishments in the gaming world are beyond reproach..Now, Mr. Wynn and I are on different universes when it comes to our socio-economic scales. None the less, both of us made a mistake four years ago and are eager to see it get corrected! What was that mistake? We voted for President Obama..Now, know one really cares about what my opinion is, but Mr. Wynn? That's a different story. I read an article a couple of weeks ago in The Las Vegas Sun. The article quoted him as saying this.."I've talked with my friends who own the parcel of land across from my resort." A group of Israeli bankers bought the spot back in the boom. Now it's worth a fraction of what they paid for it. Mr. Wynn went on to say.."I've got the money, the knowledge and the ability to turn that spot into something special and my friends who own the parcel are willing to help. The problem is this administrations economic policies are not anywhere friendly enough for me to take that risk. If I could do with confidence? What I'm envisioning? Easily, 10,000 jobs would be created. I've decided against it because of the uncertainty the current administration projects on the overall economy." Point blank, Mr. Wynn was stating that he wanted to build an arena or a convention center across from his hotel but was far to skeptical to take such a chance.
I was chatting with a certain left-winger friend of mine the other day. As usual, the discussion turned to politics and what was best for the country. I told him about what Steve Wynn had said and how I agreed with him. He told me this.."Who cares what Steve Wynn thinks! He's nothing but a rich plutocrat who doesn't give a damn about the ordinary man. I'm getting sick and tired of hearing him whine about how bad he's got it. Jesus, the guy is a billionaire a couple times over. Why is he complaining?" My friend was right on one thing, Mr. Wynn is a billionaire a couple times over..Since I'm the unofficial president of the Steve Wynn fan club, I felt it my duty to defend him on his stance.."Look, when was the last time a poor guy gave you a job?" My friend just shrugged his shoulders.."The answer to that? Never! This is what I don't understand when people start bitching about Wynn or others like him, he's a job creator! The country needs jobs! I got news for you! If Obama gets re-elected, Wynn and others like him will just keep sitting on the sidelines or take their money abroad. The economy will only get worse!"
I like to end every post of mine with a thought I'm having..Call it the village idiot thought of the day.."Nowadays, you hear everyone talk about the widening gap between the rich and the poor, the haves and have nots. Now, I'm definitely a have not, but that doesn't bother me one bit! It's like this, the only problem I have with the 1%? I'm not one of them!"
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