Wynn Las Vegas - 2016 - Issue 2 - Fall

FALL 2016

WYNN PALACE OPENS A TOUR THROUGH THE NEW JEWEL OF COTAI

STEVE WYNN ON CREATING THE MOST JOYFUL OF DESTINATIONS

THE FABULOUS ART COLLECTION OF WYNN PALACE GLORIOUS JEWELRY AND GLAMOROUS FASHION COMMEMORATIVE EDITION

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FALL 2016

56 Isn’t It Romantic?

FEATURES

Corded lace laser-cut and organza flower cocktail dress by Marchesa ($3,995). Wynn Collection, Wynn Las Vegas, 702-770-3545

20 STEVE WYNN: WYNN PALACE— AND SO IT BEGINS Designing and building Steve Wynn’s palace in Cotai has been a years-long journey with a singular goal: Create a destination that is full of joy.

By Andrea Bennett

28 WYNN PALACE Steve Wynn’s palace in Cotai opens to grand acclaim. Here, Gamal Aziz, President of Wynn Macau Limited, serves as tour guide through the much-anticipated new destination resort.

40 TREASURES OF WYNN The public art collection of Wynn Palace represents a vital visual conversation between East and West that spans centuries.

By Andrea Bennett

46 DINNER THEATER

52 FLOWER POWER Theatrical floral sculptures create elegant—and astonishing—moments of unbridled joy in Wynn Palace.

By Andrea Bennett

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY BONNIE HOLLAND. STYLING BY LEILANI LACSON

Surprising vignettes, spectacular fountains, a kinetic sculpture—at the restaurants of Wynn Palace, the delights aren’t limited to the plate.

By Mark Ellwood

CALIBER RM 63-02 WORLD TIMER

fall 2016

style 56 Isn’t It RomantIc? The sumptuous spaces of Wynn Palace create a stunning backdrop for fall’s most flirtatious fashions.

Photography by Bonnie Holland Styling by Leilani Lacson

66 bRush stRoke

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PhotograPhy by Jeff Crawford. Styling by CaSey trudeau

Gleaming white lacquer and quatrefoil designs inspired

by Wynn Palace show off this season’s most sparkling jewels.

Photography by Jeff Crawford Styling by Casey Trudeau

66 Brush Stroke

12

fall 2016

76 Long, luxurious pools stretch from Wynn Palace Garden Villas.

departments 76 life in the palace The rooms and villas of Wynn Palace are filled with reverence for Eastern history and symbolism, Western joie de vivre, and Wynn’s own exuberant fusion of the two.

By Mark Ellwood

Christophe Devoille’s pâtisserie epitomizes the Wynn Palace ethos.

At Sweets, precision, art, and delightful surprise rule the day.

By Mark Ellwood

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photography by roger davies

86 the artisan: how sweet it is!

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28 A regal peacock presides at the end of the spa corridor.

28 A private dining room at Wing Lei Palace.

40 Jeff Koons’s gleaming Tulips .

90 dining news From traditional to contemporary—and always authentic—the restaurants of Wynn Palace are designed to impress.

94 The Finer PoinTs: wynn is in The deTails The whole may be greater than the sum of its parts— but what parts!

ON THE COVER The dramatic exterior of the new Wynn Palace, lit by night and surrounded by its eight-acre Performance Lake, photographed by Barbara Kraft.

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PhotograPhy by roger davies (sPa corridor, wing lei); barbara kraft (tulips)

96 wynn momenT

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Editor-in-Chief ANDREA BENNETT Publisher ALISON MILLER Co-Publisher VALERIE ROBLES

mark ellwood

bonnie holland

Mark Ellwood writes regularly for Departures, T: New York Times Style, and Bloomberg Business Week, among others. Ellwood got a chance to visit Wynn Palace before its opening to report a few stories for this issue of Wynn. “Sure, the suites are astonishing,” says Ellwood. “But I adored the attention to detail in every room. I have never seen a hotel where the hangers were color-coordinated with the interiors scheme. Tiny touches like that really set Wynn apart.”

Our fashion feature for this issue of Wynn was shot on location by our go-to fashion photographer, Bonnie Holland. “It’s all about graceful edges and fluidity,” she describes. “We wanted to showcase the softer side and we were not disappointed. Every room and space was flooded with beautiful natural light, architectural curves and a pervasive airy quality fit for floating. For the last shot of the day we discovered a hidden jewel of a space right in the models’ changing room, and of course, it is my favorite shot.”

Wynn Editorial Advisory Board Maurice Wooden, Michael Weaver Wynn Resorts Liaisons Nehme Abouzeid, Aga Abram, Barry Cheong, Reddy Leong, Katharine Liu, Deanna Pettit-Irestone, Linda Switzer, Hedy Woodrow Executive Vice President & Chief Editorial and Creative Officer Mandi Norwood Vice President of Creative and Fashion Ann Y. Song Creative Director Nicole A. Wolfson Nadboy Senior Managing Editor Karen Rose Art Director Allison Fleming Photo Director Lisa Rosenthal Bader Photo Editor Marie Barbier Senior Fashion Editor Faye Power Associate Fashion Editor Casey Trudeau Associate Market Editor Connor Childers Assistant Fashion Editor Lisa Ferrandino Copy Editors David Fairhurst, Julia Steiner Senior Digital Imaging Specialist Jeffrey Spitery Digital Imaging Specialist Jeremy Deveraturda Advertising Sales Susan Abrams, Michele Addison, Kim Armenta, Debra Halpert, Lynn Scotti Kassar, Matt Stewart, Dan Uslan

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barbara kraft

roger davies

Barbara Kraft spent much of the summer in Cotai shooting Wynn Palace for its debut, and for this magazine. “There is nothing like a Wynn opening,” says Kraft.

“Saying it is a flurry of activity is an understatement—it is an incomprehensible undertaking.

This was my fourth: Encore Las Vegas and Wynn Macau in 2006, Encore at Wynn Macau in 2010, and now Wynn Palace, aptly named! I want each photo to be an invitation to the viewer to want that experience that Wynn knows, oh so well, how to deliver. Next up, Boston!”

Los Angeles-based photographer Roger Davies’s in-demand work appears all over the world in publications such as Elle Decor and Architectural Digest, and he was a natural choice to join the team documenting the opening of Wynn Palace. “Witnessing the culmination of so many years of work, by so many different artists all gathered in on place, gave the shoot a magical feeling,” says Davies.

“Seeing Wynn Palace come to life was a photographer’s dream.

It was an incredible honor to have been part of the project.”

Director of Production Paul Huntsberry Publishing Operations Manager Tara McCrillis Production Artist Marissa Maheras Traffic Supervisor Estee Wright Traffic Coordinators Jeanne Gleeson, Mallorie Sommers Wynn magazine is published by GreenGale Publishing, LLC. The entire content is copyright of GreenGale Publishing, LLC. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the express written permission of the publisher. Wynn magazine does not assume liability for products or services advertised herein. Wynn magazine is a registered trademark.

GREENGALE PUBLISHING, LLC | GREENGALE CUStom PUBLISHING

711 3rd Avenue, Suite 501, New York, NY 10017 Phone: 646-835-5200 Fax: 212-780-0003

Managing Partner Jane Gale Chairman and Director of Photography Jeff Gale SVP/Group Publisher Alison miller Chief Operating Officer maria Blondeaux Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer John P. Kushnir Chief Executive Officer Katherine Nicholls

The exclusive Chairman’s Club gives guests an extraordinary show of the fountains at night.

Wynn Palace:

And So It

begins

Designing and building Steve Wynn’s palace in Cotai has been a years-long journey with a singular goal: create a destination that is full of joy.

An ItAlIAn rock crystAl chAndelIer is the centerpiece and inspiration for the design of Wing lei Bar in Wynn Palace. It is unusual in that, although it was made in the early 19th century, its 18th-century style is reminiscent of louis XV. the crystals are so densely assembled that you’ll only see layers of cut rock crystal pendants seemingly dripping together. executive Vice President of design for

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Wynn design & development roger thomas found it in a gallery in the seventh Arrondissement in Paris and had been waiting some time to build a room around it. rather than destroy the integrity of such a piece with wiring, Wynn’s designers focused external lighting on it: Its rock crystal pendants now seem lit from within, shedding light on the gilt-bamboo, sparkling mirror, and malachite, lapis lazuli,

PhotograPhy by roger Davies

by Andrea Bennett

I M P E RI A L E Discover th e Wor ld o f Ch o p a rd : W yn n L as Ve gas • 7 0 2 .8 6 2 .4 5 2 2 Exp lore th e collectio n a t u s .c h o p a rd .c o m

golden tiger’s eye, and mother-of-pearl inlays in the wall. Standing beneath it, I feel like I’m in an antique, mirrored jewel box.

And on a later visit with Steve Wynn, it also becomes something of a metaphor in my mind for the Wynn ethos.

“So, what did you take away from your visit?” Wynn asks me on my return to Las Vegas. I am still processing some astonishment, for all the reasons you’ll read about in this issue of Wynn and many you’ll discover on your own. But I’m curious about this unusual chandelier. “It’s undeniably beautiful,” I say, “but why put a rare piece in a room when few people may ever appreciate its significance?”

The simple answer, Wynn tells me, is “We wanted to. It may be true that the public will never understand that chandelier, but like so many lovely things, you don’t analyze it— you feel it. If the place is consistent, then you

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know you’re in the best place there is.” But the decision to procure the chandelier wasn’t made lightly; the room’s distinct beauty depends on that particular piece—and that, says Wynn, is something you can’t fake. “If you’re Roger or me, you have to ask, Was all this worth it for one resort? Could we have value-engineered it for $200 million less on décor? And Roger’s answer would be, ‘The premium we paid for the best wasn’t so much higher than for something mundane.’ In this case, I encouraged him to [buy a chandelier whose rarity might not be obvious to most people]. Should there be a price tag for the best hotel in the world?”

Planning for Wynn Palace began six years ago, several years after the opening of Wynn Macau, and it was conceived as a destination as much as a resort, Wynn explains.

(Incidentally, the cost to open Wynn Palace was roughly that of Shanghai Disney,

Ornate green tassels hanging from the ceiling are just some of the design elements in Wynn Palace that keep guests looking up. above: The interior of Wing Lei Bar was designed to feel like an antique jewel box.

photography by roger davies

“Like so many lovely things, you don’t analyze it—you feel it. If the place is consistent, you know you’re in the best place there is.”—steve wynn

New York Porto Montenegro www.misahara.com

which also debuted this year.) “In Wynn Macau, we’re in a downtown area and get the cross traffic of four other hotels,” Wynn explains. “If a guy doesn’t like his hotel, he can walk across the street to ours. Cotai is so separate, we had to be so fetching that we became the destination—so people would know they had to come see it and experience it. How do you take an enterprise like this to another level besides just saying it?

You review every single detail, over and over. You think about the comfort and happiness of the employees, the distances they have to walk, the emotional experience of the guest moving through the space… And then you revisit them.”

Planning for this or any Wynn resort, Wynn describes, begins when he and Executive Vice President of Architecture at Wynn Design & Development DeRuyter Butler sit down with an idea. “We’re thinking about the most fundamental experience.

If you walk through a crummy hallway to a palatial room, it takes the edge off the room’s loveliness in your mind. But if you walk through a palatial hallway, it elevates the whole experience,” he says. “So I took another look at corridors: In all hotels, they’re five or six feet wide. We made them eight feet wide, and the feeling of just walking the hallway is luxurious. We deepened the rooms. We raised the ceilings. We

24

revisited every element of the room, inch by inch, and item by item.”

I recall a moment on a tour of a Garden Villa in which I marveled to a member of the WDD interior design team that even the sprinkler caps on the ceiling are the precise shade of Cotai White that belongs to Wynn Palace. “Thank you,” she said. “Do you know how many times I matched those custom sprinkler caps?” Wynn is amused at the anecdote—but not surprised. “Do you know why we can do what no one else can?” he asks.

“No one has the patience, and no one has the dedication to the process. ‘Art is long and life is short’—Kafka [quoting Hippocrates]. This is also taken to mean that the technique and craft are long and life is short. We’re willing to crumple up pieces of paper that were okay but not good enough.”

Wynn explains that when he asks about

guests’ takeaway from the resort, he is not soliciting opinions on design or décor, he’s looking for a feeling. “Is it contemporary? Is it palatial? Is it warm? Is it joyful? Is it very fancy? You could go to the Victoria and Albert Museum, and it’s beautiful, but it’s from another time and you might not identify with it. You don’t see yourself living in it. You might not call Buckingham Palace joyful.”

While Steve Wynn certainly has favorite moments and places in Wynn Palace, those are not what he and I are talking about on this day. The point he wants to stress is that the sum of all these laboriously forged elements, these carefully sourced pieces, this custom furniture, is that visceral, gut reaction— something that takes years of development to get just right.

“I learned an important thing from the great advertising innovator Hal Riney.

top left: Roger Thomas, Executive Vice President of Design for Wynn Design & Development, sketches many initial plans on paper. above: The Wynn Chairman’s Club is filled with thoughtful and ornate details, such as polished brass floral trellises inspired by an Art Deco necessaire (or cosmetics case) inspired by Van Cleef & Arpels, and are designed to reflect the fountains outside.

photography by roger davies (chairman’s club); courtesy of moore & giles (thomas)

“We think about the comfort and happiness of the employees, the emotional experience of the guest... And then we revisit them.”—steve wynn

When we were opening the Mirage in 1989, I had been pitched all these grand ideas from the biggest agencies. But Hal was a terse man, and he said, ‘One thing I’ll never do, Mr. Wynn, is show your building before it’s open.

No renderings, models, all that hyperbole. If you’re considering us, I have to tell you: A chief executive, a president, a boss has to be able to define who they are. Because if the boss doesn’t know who they are, then guys like us can’t make it up. I’ve seen your model and I believe that your hotel is going to be spectacular, but the last thing I’ll ever do is say that. Your job is to build it; my job is to provoke people to discover it on their own terms.”

When Wynn shot the commercial for the opening of Bellagio in 1998, he took away those lessons. “We didn’t show the hotel in the ad. We had Andrea Bocelli singing ‘Con Te Partiro,’ and a couple on balconies—no talking. All we had were pictures of the lake and the fountain, and water filtering over the

26

woman’s hand. Then, black screen: ‘Bellagio.

And so it begins.’ We created the expectation—and then we fulfilled it.”

Wynn is delving into hotel history, he explains, because he wants the hotel to do the talking. “As Hal would say, ‘I can tell you that this is the eighth wonder of the modern world, but I wouldn’t do that. I want to invite people to come and experience it [for themselves].’ If you’re going to write a story, it should be called ‘Wynn Palace Begins.’ You can use that line,” he says with a wink.

“I want people to come to Wynn Palace and love the things they see, of course,” Wynn says. But the things they won’t see or know—the most luxurious employee dining room, a design coordinator painstakingly poring over sprinkler caps, and yes, even the story of that chandelier— are the foundation that Wynn Palace is built on. “And if it makes people joyful,” Wynn says, “then I’ve done my job.”

from top: The entrance to Andrea’s restaurant; Steve Wynn at the opening of Wynn Palace.

PhotograPhy by barbara kraft (andrea’s); © ron yue (Wynn)

“I want people to come to Wynn Palace and love the things they see.”

—steve wynn

M I K I M OTO.CO M

The O riginat o r of Cult ure d Pe arls.

S i n c e 18 9 3 .

T h e S h o p s a t C r y s t a l s™ , L a s Ve g a s • 7 0 2 7 3 0 4 710

Wynn PALACE Steve Wynn’s palace in Cotai opens to grand acclaim. Here, Gamal Aziz, President of Wynn Macau Limited, serves as tour guide through the much-anticipated new destination resort.

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PERFORMANCE LAKE The showpiece of Wynn Palace, the 8-acre Performance Lake employs nearly 1,200 jets that shoot water from its 8 million gallons in an intricately choreographed show to heights of 200 feet—dancing to Chinese, European, and American operatic arias, pop songs, and other musical numbers. One of the best ways to take it all in: A ride in one of the air-conditioned SkyCabs that slowly circles the lake, its speakers piping in the music, and traveling as high as 90 feet above the water.

Meeting Room Grand Promenade

above:

A floral-themed promenade leads to a Grand Theater, VIP suites, boardrooms, and four floral-themed rooms. This ornate entry is graced by a special console designed by Roger Thomas, which incorporates 19th-century Coromandel screens. right:

VIP Registration

The centerpiece of two VIP Registration rooms is one half of a rare set of Cantonese three-fold screens on which artists hand-painted gilded scenes of courtly life. Auspicious symbols, such as the ever-present quatrefoil, greet guests, and the ceiling is inset with the Chinese cloud motif that can be seen in hand-laid mosaics, custom carpeting, and fabric around the resort.

wing lei palace

The name “Wing Lei” is actually a play on the name Wynn; its Chinese characters mean “eternal prosperity.”

Layer upon layer of capiz shells, peacock feathers, and sumptuous green fabric leads diners into a room whose jade, gold, and white colors specifically evoke a Chinese jewel box.

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photography by roger davies; page 28–29 photography by barbara kraft

opposite:

“Some of my favorite places in Wynn Palace include what we call the ‘opera boxes’ at Wing Lei Palace, which give you the freedom to open your curtains and join the energy of the crowd, or be anonymous and share an intimate meal with friends and family.”

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“Wynn Palace tells a story of duality at every turn, at once grand and intimate, elegant and playful, palatial and personal, lavish and comfortable.”

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photography by roger davies

Each element of the Diamond Club is custom-designed, from the auspicious cloud carpeting to the gold wall coverings, to sumptuous seating designed by Wynn. Even the chandeliers—evoking both floral and Art Deco elements—were created specially for each room design.

Wynn Las Vegas · 702.770.3520

photography by roger davies

“What we’ve perfected here is a level of luxury few dare to approach. It’s luxury that’s not afraid of simplicity, and luxury that embraces authenticity.”

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spa corridor Imperial guardian lions, known as “Shi,� flank a long, serene corridor leading to the Spa at Wynn Palace.

Known for millennia for their powerful mythic benefits, they are always presented in pairs, a representation of yin and yang.

The male lion holds under its right front paw an embroidered ball, and the female holds a cub under her left, representing the cycle of life.

tea ceremony

“I love this resort for its magic, which is designed in a way that the magic will never fade.�

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photography by barbara kraft

Couples who choose to marry in Wynn Palace may take a unique tea ceremony together in an intimate room. In the traditional Chinese marriage ceremony, the bride and groom serve their parents. The ceremony symbolizes the joining together of the two families.

TO BREAK THE RULES, YOU MUST FIRST MASTER THEM.

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wynn shopping promenade

photography by barbara kraft (this page): roger davies (opposite)

The grandeur of the Shopping Promenade is unsurpassed. Some design facts point to its importance in Wynn Palace: The Promenade is lined with nearly 52,000 square feet of Golden Spider stone from Greece and Yellow River stone from Turkey, and lined with 84 custom-designed, hand-tufted rugs.

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red 8 The best in Southern Chinese cuisine is served in this fan-shaped room, whose colors are inspired by a lacquered cinnabar box. The butterfly tree is meant to bring joy to all who enter, and an angled, mirrored back wall reflects the energy of the restaurant crowd.

“Wynn Palace is a resort that focuses on engaging you. It’s got an energy, a personality, a heartbeat, a swagger that pulls you in and doesn’t let go.”

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this page: The Audience of the Emperor, wool and silk, French (Beauvais), circa 1820, in the Chairman’s Club. opposite page:

The famous Qing Dynasty Buccleuch Vases, circa 1800, stayed with one family for centuries, and were later repatriated to China by Steve Wynn.

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photography by roger Davies

I

n 1684, a Belgian Jesuit missionary, Père Couplet, traveled to France from his mission in China, bringing with him a young Chinese convert—and attracting so much attention that the exotic travelers gained an audience with Louis XIV at Versailles. Two years later, a delegation of representatives from Siam (now Thailand) arrived at the court, bringing with them lacquer, ceramics, porcelain, and silks, in a visit that Charissa Bremer-David, curator of sculpture and decorative arts at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, describes as a significant ambassadorial voyage that took them to the Beauvais manufactory, an enterprise roughly 40 miles north of Paris that produced intricate woven tapestries for the wealthy bourgeoisie and French nobility.

“You can imagine that East-West contact was challenged by distances and travel and how to communicate,” Bremer-David says.

“But there were these pivotal encounters that captured their imagination.

It is likely these pivotal in-person meetings at the court of Versailles partly inspired the production of a series of Beauvais tapestries called The Story of the Emperor of China, based on nine stories thought to be about the Chinese Emperor K’ang Hsi, who reigned from 1661 to 1722. Enter The Chairman’s Club at Wynn Palace, and you will see one of these scenes, The Audience of the Emperor, an 11-foot-high tapestry hung on a golden wall that is a fanciful depiction of the emperor under a festooned pavilion. Another, The Harvesting of Pineapples, anchors a corridor in Wing Lei Palace restaurant, in which workers gather pineapples under a tall banana tree as a woman (possibly the empress) gestures to viewers to look beyond the fan she holds toward pagodas in the distance.

Many details about these tapestries will never be known. “What were the critical points of contact? Who gave these books to the Beauvais manufactory? Who advised the artist that the emperor should be wearing this very cap? It doesn’t look like the Ming equivalent precisely, because the poor artist never went to China,” notes Bremer-David. The series’ great importance lies in the fact that the tapestries are considered some of the earliest expressions of chinoiserie in France. The Western evocation of Chinese motifs later turned playful, given purely decorative, rococo twists. Travel and trade made artistic exchange possible during the 18th century, and lacquerware—such as items that early Siamese delegation brought to France—became a significant import to Europe from China. One rare example of this export

is an antique lacquer screen that anchors the lobby of the business center in Wynn Palace.

The single Cantonese eight-panel screen is an exceptional example of Chinese export art, circa 1820. Many layers of lacquer were applied onto wood to create the glossy black surface on which hand-painted, gilded scenes depict the exotic pagodas, pleasure gardens, and boats of courtly life.

In fact, much of the basis for the design of Wynn Palace, as well as the fine art collection it holds, is the tradition of chinoiserie, says Executive Vice President of Design for Wynn Design & Development Roger Thomas. “When the tradition of chinoiserie first began, there was very little understanding—other than limited physical contact—between East and West,” he says. “But we now have extraordinary access,

Much of the basis of the design of Wynn Palace, as well as the fine art collection it holds, is the tradition of chinoiserie.

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Jeff Koons’s Tulips (1995–2004) glows in the east atrium of Wynn Palace.

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photography by barbara Kraft (tulips); roger Davies (Heel)

which allows us to reinterpret the idea of chinoiserie.” From earnest 17th- and 18th-century depictions by French artisans of a place they had only read about in books to a contemporary Chinese sculptor playing with the global obsession with Chinese and American counterfeiting through monumental “super-fake” stainless-steel stilettos, the conversation between East and West that takes place in art all over Wynn Palace might be described as postmodern chinoiserie: vivid, floral (sometimes florid), often provocative, and in total, exuberant.

Undoubtedly the most famous new residents of Wynn Palace are the four Buccleuch vases, which now greet guests on the West Esplanade.

Formerly flanking another Beauvais tapestry, The Emperor on a Journey, in the lobby of Wynn Macau, they made their final journey on a twocentury voyage that took them from China to various residences of the dukes of Buccleuch (still the largest landowners in the United Kingdom), and finally repatriated to Macau by Steve Wynn in 2011. Robert Copley, Christie’s Deputy Chairman and International Head of the Exceptional Sale of Decorative Arts, points to the rarity of this quite literal fusion of Chinese art (in the porcelain) with European (in their gilt ormolu mounts made by Parisian bronziers). Purchased during a period when socalled “foreign curiosities” from China were wildly popular, most of the French artisans who crafted the mounts pierced the porcelain to attach them. Understanding the phenomenal quality of the porcelain on the vases purchased by the Buccleuch family, however, “The French respected the porcelain enough to leave it intact,” Copley says. Their only known equivalents were an 1814 commission for the Prince Regent (George, Prince of Wales, later George IV) that still reside in Buckingham Palace.

Although there is, of course, ample security in Wynn Palace, Steve Wynn’s philosophy about art has always been that it is meant to be shared with everybody; in fact, his credo occupies the frontis page of a book about the art in Wynn Las Vegas. “You never own any of this stuff; you just have custody. And frankly, that’s enough,” it reads. One of Wynn’s most publicly enjoyed pieces has been Tulips, the seven-foot-high rainbow of translucent, shimmering balloon flowers by Jeff Koons, which debuted at the Wynn Theater Rotunda in Wynn Las Vegas in 2012 and now seemingly floats from the east atrium of Wynn Palace (despite its weight of more than three tons of cast stainless steel). An expression of pure joy, Koons calls the sculpture—one in a series of five unique pieces, of which one version can be seen at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao,

Spain—“a symbol of hope and the strength of life’s energy.” Is the sentiment so different from the fantastic, swooping bats on the Buccleuch vases’ celadon surface—a homophone in Chinese for a word meaning “happiness”?

Tulips moved from Las Vegas at roughly the same time as Amphora III, a monumental vessel by ceramicist Viola Frey that once occupied the Esplanades at Wynn Las Vegas, and now holds court in the Palace. “There is an essence that we all agree to call beauty,” Thomas says.

“An object may not be historically important, or it may not be the size to fit a room. The most important question I ask is, Is its beauty memorable?”

Which is not to say that Thomas steers away from gentle, witty provocation. Contemporary Chinese artist Liao Yibai, internationally renowned for his hand-welded, large-scale stainless-steel Pop art sculptures that explore the global obsession with luxury brands (and the glut of counterfeits) in both American

and Chinese culture, is represented in nine pieces around the resort. For instance, look for his Fake High Heel Channel X on the main Promenade near the North Atrium—a perfectly rendered stiletto that also spotlights the real artistry of both “real” and “fake” luxury goods. As you wander the resort, take special note of Yibai’s stainless-steel vases, also from his Fake Antiques series. Borrowing liberally from cultural treasures of the Ming, Qing, and Yuan Dynasties, he combines traditional lotus and dragon motifs with playful characters wearing slippers or boxing gloves, in a series of irresistible “fakes” that are themselves valuable original pieces—and, one could even say, bring the East-West conversation full circle.

“If you base a collection on joy and beauty, it transcends ethnicity, time, and cultural and economic factors,” Thomas says. “The art is all a beautiful celebration of life’s moments, and we hope it produces the same kind of experience that the guests are having.”

Fake High Heel Channel X (2010) by Liao Yibai.

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PhotograPhy by barbara kraft

A spectacular flowering cherry tree in Mizumi shimmers with hundreds of lights that change with the “season” throughout the evening.

Dinner

theateR Surprising vignettes, spectacular fountains, a kinetic sculpture—at the restaurants of Wynn Palace, the delights aren’t limited to the plate.

by Mark Ellwood

“i call it immersive dinner theater,” says production Designer michael Curry, the creative mastermind of this mold-breaking attraction. When Wynn palace was in the planning stages and steve Wynn tasked him with designing a dinner show, Curry admits that he shook his head. “i hate conventional dinner theater,” he says, “because you feel compelled to give performers your attention and so feel rude enjoying your dinner.” so he suggested a more creative approach. he said, “‘let’s do it without human performers but still create musical theater.’ mr. Wynn loved that idea.” The result is this groundbreaking entertainment combining commedia dell’arte, marionettes, and custom computer programs (the program that coordinates the movement and music for those playing cards is also used in Le Rêve—The Dream at Wynn las Vegas). such showmanship is integral to any Wynn project—after all, this is the hotelier who named two resorts encore and a restaurant il Teatro. But the sW steakhouse show may be the ultimate expression of Wynn’s commitment to grounding his hotels in performance. “When you walk into one of mr.

Wynn’s resorts, you’re already onstage,” Curry explains. “he doesn’t think about creating little pockets of conventional performance. it’s about seeing the entire experience, as well as your interaction with it, as an extension of the performance. it’s the ultimate interactive environment.”

The same sense of theatricality is subtly incorporated into Wynn palace’s new Wing lei Bar, a mirrored hideout serving 50 handpicked teas and a selection of fine Cognacs, among other beverages. Topped by a vintage crystal chandelier, the space evokes in every guest the feeling that he or she is the jewel in a precious box, or a songbird in a birdcage (as you might imagine, there’s no better place to tweet a photo). even at mizumi, the ultraluxe sushi restaurant whose interiors were fashioned by minimalist designer Vicente Wolf, the focal point of the dining room is showmanship—in the form of a gilded 500-piece blossoming cherry tree. as the room darkens, it pulses through four seasons in a few minutes

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PhotograPhy by barbara kraft

The firsT Time iT happens, iT’s sTarTling.

The gleaming wall panels slide silently open, revealing a darkened stage. next, the music starts—a full-throated french chanson, perhaps, or richard Burton and Julie andrews performing their duet “What Do the simple folk Do?” from Camelot. Then the lights go down and the show begins. But at Wynn palace’s sW steakhouse, don’t expect conventional dinner theater. instead, the fully equipped stage (complete with fly loft and wings) presents a variety of amusing vignettes, each lasting several minutes—just long enough to give diners a diverting pause—in a cutting-edge fusion of computer animation, puppetry, and animatronics. some are playful, others lyrical. see King Kong besotted by a mystery object that’s no screaming fay Wray, or a huge vase that shimmers with pen-and-ink animations based on Chinese folk tales and projected as if they’re happening in real time, or a pair of 10-foot-high playing cards (a king and a queen, of course) dancing and singing in a lush garden. a vignette is revealed every 30 minutes in the secret theater hidden in the walls of sW steakhouse, so that a diner lingering over a meal might experience three or four different playlets.

In CafĂŠ Fontana, diners visit a food hall inspired by famous global markets. Just opposite, they enjoy a spectacular view of the fountains of the Performance Lake.

This page: phoTography by barbara KrafT; opposiTe page: phoTography by barbara KrafT (show); CourTesy of MiChael Curry Design (Curry)

Wall panels slide open in the SW dining room and a magical dragon slithers around a threedimensional screen in the form of a vase. opposite: Michael Curry works with models he uses for live puppetry scenes. In one SW scene, magnificent flowers bloom in the space of a few minutes; in another, King Kong picks up a banana (formerly disguised as a sleeping woman).

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“Walking into a resort like Wynn Palace, it’s no less fantastic than a hollyWood Movie.”

—michael curry

in a brilliant display of light and color, like a sculptural mime.

Theatrical show kitchens enhance the guest experience at Andrea’s as well as 99 Noodles, where amidst an illuminated display of rainbow colored resin bowls on white open-shelved bookcases and modern lantern sculptures dangling from above, diners can watch master chefs hand-pulling different varieties of noodles to order— including the favorite of Chef Shi Wei Dong, a noodle dramatically whittled from a massive ball of dough with a saber-sharp knife.

Perhaps the keenest examples of performance effortlessly integrating into every aspect of Wynn Palace are the restaurants Wing Lei Palace and Café Fontana. Both occupy the hotel’s most important real estate: directly facing the 8-acre lake where fountains, choreographed to music, dance up to 200 feet in the air every 20 minutes. The restaurant’s rooms are stepped so that no table’s view of the show will be blocked by other diners. In fact, Wing Lei Palace’s private dining rooms were inspired by opera boxes, with a proscenium providing a frame and curtains that can be drawn when the show concludes (all that’s missing are opera glasses). At Café Fontana, the French marketplace-inspired space feels like a set from Gigi or An American in Paris, yet it offers subtle but important design concessions to the show. “Look at all the reflective surfaces,” says Wynn Design & Development Creative Director Alex Woogmaster, one of the project’s lead designers. “There’s not just gold, but mirrors, high polishes, and marbles. It’s so that even if you’re not facing the lake, we can bring that vision to you just the same: As the fountains are exploding, they’re pulled into the room with little glimpses here and there.”

Wynn Resorts has emphasized immersive experiences from the outset, but today they’re a genuine cultural trend. “We’re always talking about interactivity and breaking the fourth wall now in theater these days,” says Curry, “but Mr. Wynn has gotten that for 30 years. Walking into a resort like Wynn Palace, it’s no less fantastic than a Hollywood movie.”

Such immersive experiences are manifestations of an increasing global trend toward involving the audience in the production—a trend longtime producer Vance Garret attributes partly to a fundamental change in consumers.“In the Internet age,” he says, “where people feel like they can participate in, or comment on, almost anything, this is what modern audiences want.” Needless to say, that’s something that Steve Wynn understands intuitively.

f

lower

POWER Theatrical floral sculptures create elegant—and astonishing—moments of unbridled joy in Wynn Palace.

photography by roger Davies

by Andrea Bennett

left: Mythical animals, including a Pegasus, hippocamp, and unicorn, dance around a 16-foot-high musical floral carousel.

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It’s a good day when you’re a panda on a floral Ferris wheel.

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daisies, and lisianthus; a jack-in-the-box that springs from his floral encasement to a height of 15 feet (the largest of his kind in the world); and five balloons—one of nearly 17 feet in height—that, despite their weight of two metric tons, seem to rise effortlessly to the ceiling.

To fully comprehend the detail involved, now imagine these pieces, some comprising as many as 6,000 individual parts, dismantled and shipped from Las Vegas more than 7,000 miles to their new home in Cotai.

Bailey, of course, is no stranger to spectacle, and his love for a good extravaganza is what first brought him to Wynn. “Many years ago, I created a floral peacock sculpture, and then was asked to create one in Covent Garden in London for an art exhibit that then traveled to Taiwan, Jakarta, and New York,” he explains. And although Roger Thomas, Executive Vice President of Design at Wynn Design & Development, already knew him, it wasn’t until Bailey’s wedding three years ago that the idea of a Wynn collaboration kicked in. “I had this idea of walking out from underneath this 12-foot-high moving wedding dress designed by Vera Wang,” Bailey says. “It was held at the Empire State Building on Valentine’s night at midnight, and Roger was a guest.

There was this incredible mystery and romance about that night.” One partnership was solemnized that evening, and the Wynn collaboration shortly thereafter.

Bailey’s first projects for Wynn were the charming floral carousel and balloons that decorate Wynn Las Vegas—two of the most photographed landmarks in Las Vegas. But as happens in many of Steve Wynn’s hotels, the two floral sculptures were a study for the Palace’s much grander statements. When Wynn conceived Wynn Palace, Bailey recalls, “He said, ‘Preston, show me what you’ve got.’” From among dozens of ideas and hundreds and hundreds of revisions, the eight fabulous sculptures will now begin their rotations in the Palace. Thanks to air compressors, coolers, and cranes tucked invisibly below each atrium, these sculptures will be swapped out every few months like plays at a repertory theater.

Months earlier, Bailey is in the studios of Forte Specialty Contractors, where all the sculptures were fabricated. As effortless as the carousing monkeys look during testing, the armatures that surround them in Las Vegas tell a story of high-flying feats of mechanical, electrical, and artistic engineering. He inspects the work as artisans cover entire cellos in gold leaf, examine each individual button mum, and work on the mechanical underpinnings that will send the monkeys on their exuberant, teetering dance. Forte master sculptor Mod Toonrud carved the monkeys, and you can credit Las Vegas costume designer Tricia Camacho for the naturalistic way in which the coats seem to flip up and around. Her challenge in this case: imagine how a costume would move on a monkey playing a cello. “You look at the way a cape flies up in the air and you realize that someone behind that vision really knows fabrics,” Bailey marvels. On that day, the final of the eight spectacles is also in production: a massive, 12-foot-tall Fabergé egg that slowly opens its gilded shell to reveal a flower-covered phoenix, which rises to a height of 16 feet above the floor, flapping its wings, while the egg slowly rotates. Despite the fact that this egg has been more than 18 months in the making and has required over 650 drawings to finalize, Bailey claps his hands in delight as if it’s the first time he’s seen such a thing. “These were crazy ideas,” he says. “A lot of what we were doing, we wondered at the time if it was really possible. But I encourage the impossible. It’s making them possible that’s the most exciting.”

photography by barbara kraft. opposite page: emily Wilson (cello, bailey); roger Davies (ferris Wheel)

W

eeks before the opening of Wynn Palace, technicians are testing a band of merrymaking monkeys in a deep recess in the resort’s north atrium.

Swooping, dancing, flowerbedecked monkeys, holding French horns, flutes, and drums, that swing on a four-pronged seesaw anchored by golden cellos, to be more precise.

Once raised to their atrium height, they’ll stand 14 feet above the floor in all their Technicolor glory—straight out of a wild childhood fantasy.

In fact, the monkeys are just one of eight massive, floral spectacles that will fill the north and south atria, changing every few months. “We knew that we needed to keep people amused and surprised,” explains artist and event planner Preston Bailey, from whose brain this boundless joy sprang—as well as the seven other kinetic displays.

Enter the colorful new carousel currently taking its happy turn inside Wynn Palace’s south atrium, its 10 horses, including a mythical Pegasus, unicorn, and hippocamp (a seahorse from Greek mythology), festooned with more than 83,000 flowers. In the north atrium, a Ferris wheel revolves slowly, covered with 102,000 flowers and more than 1,100 lights—each of its chairs having required a meticulous 250 hours of fabrication. Also on the way: a windmill of 75,000 roses, peonies,

This golden cello is just one of the instruments played by a band of merry floral monkeys. below: The Ferris wheel contains more than 102,000 flowers, comprises 6,000 individual parts, and weighs more than five metric tons.

Preston Bailey inspects the delicate craftsmanship of a fiery phoenix, which will rise from a massive Fabergé egg.

“We wondered if a lot of what we were doing was really possible. But I encourage the impossible.”

—preston bailey

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Corded lace laser-cut and organza flower cocktail dress by Marchesa ($3,995).

Wynn Collection, Wynn Las Vegas, 702-770-3545

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Iridescent jersey top ($1,300), fantasy tweed skirt ($3,300), and pearl necklace ($6,850), all by Chanel.

Chanel, Wynn Las Vegas, Wynn Macau, and Wynn Palace, 800-550-0005. Lily 95 tall boot by Saint Laurent ($11,350).

Saint Laurent, Wynn Palace, 853-2877-6090

ISN’T IT

ROMANTIC? The sumptuous spaces of Wynn Palace create a stunning backdrop for fall’s most flirtatious fashions. photography by Bonnie Holland styling by Leilani Lacson

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70s midi shirt dress ($90,000) and Donde buckle corset belt ($4,500) by Saint Laurent.

Saint Laurent, Wynn Palace, 853-2877-6090

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White Princess dress ($28,900), headpiece, collar, and belt (prices on request), all by Dolce & Gabbana.

Dolce & Gabbana, Wynn Palace, 853-2877-6240

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High-neck dress, in double faced silk knit, remeshed on an eperon d’or bandana 90 scarves in silk jacquard, salmon color ($8,050) and pumps in Tucson calfskin ($970) by Hermès. Hermès, Encore Las Vegas, 702-6503116; Wynn Palace, 8532877-6029. 18k gold Out of Retirement open cuff ($7,500) and 18k gold and diamond Tiffany T-hinged wrap bracelet ($7,000) by Tiffany & Co. Tiffany & Co., Wynn Macau, 853-2872-3660

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Cape ($22,200) and pants ($7,200) by Salvatore Ferragamo. Salvatore Ferragamo, Wynn Palace, 853-2877-6276. 18k gold Tiffany T wire-hoop earrings

by Tiffany & Co. ($1,650).

Tiffany & Co., Wynn Macau, 853-2872-3660. Jazz Age clutch by Judith Leiber Couture ($1,495). Wynn Collection, Wynn Las Vegas, 702-770-3545. Fortuni heel

by Manolo Blahnik ($745).

Wynn Collection, Wynn Las Vegas, 702-770-3545

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Ornate laser-cut brocade coctktail dress by Marchesa ($2,995). Wynn Collection, Wynn Las Vegas, 702-770-3545. Bracelet by Chanel ($1,025). Chanel, Wynn Las Vegas and Wynn Macau, 800-550-0005

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Velvet dress by Naeem Khan ($3,990). Wynn Collection, Wynn Las Vegas, 702-770-3545.

18k-gold Tiffany T-wire hoop earrings by Tiffany & Co. ($1,650).

Tiffany & Co., Wynn Macau, 853-2872-3660

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Viscose and silk paisley jacquard dress by Dior ($7,100). Dior, Wynn Las Vegas, 702-770-3496; Wynn Palace, 8532872-3486. Sandals by Salvatore Ferragamo ($14,950). Salvatore Ferragamo, Wynn Palace, 853-2877-6276 Makeup by Iryna Pume Hair by Viviana M and Dania Carrillo for Claude Baruk Salon at Wynn Styling assistance

by Jason Klaiber Production by JCH Modeling by Xuchao Zhang, Muse Mgmt/NY

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BRUSH

STROKE

Gleaming white lacquer and quatrefoil designs inspired by Wynn Palace show off this season’s most sparkling jewels. photography by Jeff Crawford styling by Casey Trudeau set artist Dayna Seman

18k rose-gold diamond necklace by Cartier (price on request). Cartier, Wynn Las Vegas, 702-770-3498; Wynn Macau, 853-0800-392

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50.04-carat yellow radiant-cut diamond ring by Graff (price on request). Graff, Wynn Las Vegas, 702-7703494. 18k yellow-gold, 52.18-carat diamond earrings by Van Cleef & Arpels (price on request). Van Cleef & Arpels, Wynn Macau, 853-2878-6006

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18k white-gold with 8.72-carat diamond earrings

by Chopard (price on request).

Chopard, Wynn Las Vegas, 702862-4522; Wynn Palace, 853-28776238. Platinum and tourmaline with diamonds necklace by Tiffany & Co. (price on request).

Tiffany & Co., Wynn Macau, 853-2872-3660

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96.26-carat diamond and 73.46-carat sapphire necklace

by Graff (price on request). Graff, Wynn Las Vegas, 702-770-3494

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Platinum 9.70-carat diamond earrings by Chopard (price on request), Chopard, Wynn Las Vegas, 702-862-4522; Wynn Palace, 8532877-6238. Platinum diamond pendant by Tiffany & Co. (price on request). Tiffany & Co., Wynn Macau, 853-2872-3660

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18k white-gold with 32.61-carats of diamonds necklace

by Chopard (price on request). Chopard, Wynn Las Vegas, 702-862-4522; Wynn Palace, 853-2877-6238.

Platinum tanzanite wave ring by Tiffany & Co. (price on request).

Tiffany & Co., Wynn Macau, 853-2872-3660

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25.42-carat diamond ring by Graff (price on request). Graff, Wynn Las Vegas, 702-770-3494. 18k rose-gold necklace with carnelian, white mother-of-pearl, and diamond necklace

by Van Cleef & Arpels (price on request). Van Cleef & Arpels, Wynn Macau, 853-2878-6006

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Diamond bracelet and ruby and diamond earrings

by Tiffany & Co. (prices on request). Tiffany & Co., Wynn Macau, 853-2872-3660

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18k rose-gold moonstone and diamond bracelet (price on request) and 18k rosegold diamond ring ($16,400) by Cartier. Cartier, Wynn Las Vegas 702-770-3498; Wynn Macau, 853-0800-392

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18k white-gold diamond bracelet by Chanel Fine Jewelry (price on request).

Chanel, Encore Las Vegas, 702-7705468; Wynn Macau, 853-2870-5111.

18k white-gold with 1.98-carat diamond and 31.84-carats of sapphire earrings by Chopard (price on request). Chopard, Wynn Las Vegas, 702-862-4522; Wynn Palace, 853-2877-6238

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Life in the PaLace The rooms and villas of Wynn Palace are filled with reverence for Eastern history and symbolism, Western joie de vivre, and Wynn’s own exuberant fusion of the two.

by Mark Ellwood

China’s last emperor, the Qing dynasty’s puyi, treasured a beautiful teacup—an antique masterpiece of classical imperial Chinese artistry that Wynn Design & Development executive Vice president roger thomas encountered as he began conceptualizing the Wynn palace interiors some five years ago. the colors of the stunningly crafted cup are especially arresting: the surface is a riot of vivid hues—peacock blue, mandarin orange, and bright marigold swirled together in an intricate pattern. each guest room at Wynn palace nods to that royal treasure by employing one color in the trio as its vibrant accent, seen in places both expected (the carpet) and unusual (lacquered hangers in the closet). and each shade is filled with blue, for example, evokes imperial-era enamelware, or cloisonné, while the golden yellow is the color traditionally reserved exclusively for royalty (in ancient China, commoners found wearing that color were condemned to death).

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PhotograPhy by roger Davies

additional historical associations. the peacock

Even the four Penthouse Villas at Wynn Palace act as theaters for Palace guests, who take in stunning views of dynamic Macau from every window.

Every feature in the Penthouse Villas is custom-made, from the embroidered and painted screen behind the bed to a lacquered footrest that conceals a television.

Guests of the Garden Villas can entertain in their own private billiards room.

The quatrefoil, a global symbol of good fortune, is a recurring motif in every room.

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Such a considered approach to a choice as basic as color is typical of Thomas and his team. “We wanted to do a contemporary, Wynn version of chinoiserie, where even the most intimate moment was inspired by the best of Chinese design through history,” explains Alex Woogmaster, Creative Director at Wynn Design & Development and one of the leads on the Wynn Palace design team.

One such instance occurs in the doorway pediments around the hotel. Casual observers likely won’t notice that each features a stylized interpretation of the detail-

ing on a fretwork screen that Thomas and Woogmaster chanced upon while strolling around the Imperial Palace in Beijing. The bas relief sculptures of a deer and a pine tree on the walls above each bedroom’s headboard are equally subtle yet inspired: Describe the scene in Mandarin and the words also mean “prosperity and longevity.”

The quatrefoil, a heraldic mainstay that evokes both medieval palace courts in Europe and the four-leaf clover, a global symbol of good fortune, is a recurring motif in every room, on custom-made headboards, light fix-

PhotograPhy by roger Davies

The Garden Villas open onto spectacular private backyards, each with a pool that stretches 150 feet from the living room.

Each Garden Villa is situated at the head of a garden whose dramatic 150-foot-long pool seems to exist in isolation.

Boxes containing miniature pillows give guests choices that include rose petal-scented. right: Even the white lacquer amenities boxes are custom-made.

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PhotograPhy by roger Davies (toP); DaviD hartung (bottom)

A Garden Villa’s intimate dining area can be served by staff working behind the scenes in the villa’s own kitchen—or catered by one of the restaurants within Wynn Palace.

tures, drawer pulls, vases, and even a crystalline desk paperweight.

Bathroom amenities are carefully housed in a jewelry box-like piece of lacquerware; the collar stays and golden comb inside are thoughtful touches. Even the numbers on the doors are bespoke.

Nowhere, though, is the painstakingly detailed approach to design that typifies Wynn Palace more evident than in its four Penthouses and five Garden Villas. These sprawling yet cozy spaces are the ultimate luxury hideaways—with unexpected features: a small sink inset in the vanity counter for cosmetic convenience, for example, and lacquer boxes with miniature samples of alternative pillows available for picky sleepers (choose from memory foam, buckwheat, or even rose petal-scented). Some other elements are paragons of subtlety.

Take the ombré wall coverings, of which Woogmaster is particularly proud. “Finding a manufacturer able to custom weave every panel that would align across the entire suite was an upholstery feat,” he says. “We deliberately oriented the fabric hue to shift from dark to light to accentuate the soaring heights of these living rooms—some of which stand 18 feet tall. We are always seeking to create interplays that are amusing and feel new— even in elements as basic as walls.”

Much the same is true of the Frette sheets. Look closely and you’ll see a subtle pattern—a phoenix, whose association with rebirth is fitting for these 800-thread-count linens that guarantee a refreshing night’s sleep.

The invitation-only Garden Villas have become a particular passion

AVAIlAblE At SW StEAkHoUSE, tHE CoUNtrY ClUb, b bAr, toWEr SUItE bAr & WINg lEI PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY. Imported Cognac Hennessy®, 40% Alc./Vol. (80˚). ©2015 Imported by Moët Hennessy USA, Inc., New York, NY. HENNESSY is a registered trademark.

A Palace King room in Wynn’s own sunrise yellow.

Describe the scene of the deer and the pine tree in the bas relief above the bed in Mandarin and it means “prosperity and longevity.”

The Chinese cloudinspired mosaic on villa bathroom floors is made of hundreds of hand-lain custom Venetian glass tiles.

Perhaps the most important element is simply the color white, from which all the imperial tones pop.

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project for Steve Wynn. Each of the five Garden Villas is situated at the head of a garden whose dramatic centerpiece is a 150-foot-long private pool that seems to exist in glorious isolation—a seemingly simple that required much t from Thomas and the entire design team. “With Mr. Wynn’s close involvement,” says Woogmaster, “we explored multiple iterations of the garden’s planting format and even the design of the pool’s mosaic artwork so we could have it feel that beyond it, there was just expanse, nothing else at all—a clear view to infinity, like the greatest of the ancient palace vistas.”

Perhaps the most impressive element in the entire hotel, though, is simply the color white, which serves as the base from which all those imperial tones pop. Standardized across every surface, whether lacquer, paint, or porcelain—even the T3 hair dryers and Bang & Olufsen bedside stereos are clad in the color—it’s no ordinary white.

Rather, this is a proprietary shade, approved only after more than 30 attempts by multiple paint suppliers until the team was satisfied. In a tribute to the hotel’s locale, they dubbed it Cotai White, and it’s an achievement even a Chinese emperor would admire.

PhotograPhy by roger Davies (living room, Detail); barbara Kraft (Palace King;)

The imperial colors and auspicious symbols of the Palace come together—with custom carpets, specially designed light fixtures, and incredible views—in four Penthouse villas.

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How Sweet It IS! Christophe Devoille’s pâtisserie epitomizes the Wynn Palace ethos. At Sweets, precision, art, and delightful surprise rule the day.

It Isn’t dIffIcult to fInd sweets, the pâtisserie tucked into one corner of wynn Palace. Just follow the heady smell of toasting waffle cones that wafts down the walkway. the man responsible, pastry czar christophe devoille, sits in the café dressed in crisp chef’s whites. Burly and shaven-headed, he has a shy smile, but he’s palpably proud of his new candy kingdom. the standout is the cabinet bursting with bite-size, pastel-colored morsels. “oh, here, they love how we have rethought the macaron.” devoille lingers on the word; even after spending much of his cooking career trekking the world, he retains a strong french accent. fittingly, since the chef intends to bring a special touch to the bakery here: those macarons are his pièce de résistance. “You need skill, practice, and good equipment to make a classic macaron,” he says, noting the precise ratio between filling and shell. for the perfect cookie, the filling should weigh half as much as the meringue.

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PhotograPhy by roger davies

by Mark Ellwood

Searching for Sweets?

It’s easily located by its delicious aroma, or by sight: The giant mosaic confections that line its walls can be seen from quite a distance.

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Chef Devoille at work on the best kind of assembly line.

But Devoille wasn’t satisfied with a classic approach; rather, he was determined to customize the recipe especially for Wynn Palace. In too many pâtisseries, he noticed, the filling was jam-like and far too sweet. After dozens of tastings and adjustments, he workshopped a solution: removing up to a third of the sugar. The resulting macarons emphasize freshness and acidity, and use fruit shipped in fresh from Japan, Korea, and even the greenmarkets of Paris.

Now, there are 16 custom flavors on offer every day, from yuzu to coconut, vanilla to red bean and chestnut.

Such painstaking perfectionism is what brought Devoille to the attention of Steve Wynn. For Wynn, this cake shop is a passion project, its wall mosaics inspired by the American artist Wayne Thiebaud’s mouthwatering paintings of colorful treats, particularly 1964’s Four Ice Cream Cones. The longtime art collector tasked his pastry chef with creating “edible Pop art,” and Devoille didn’t disappoint.

It’s no surprise, given his cooking pedigree. Devoille’s career began in the kitchen at home in Strasbourg, the German-inflected city on France’s eastern reaches. “Like any kid in France, I made lots of cakes with my mother,” he says.

After pastry school and a stint working at a French restaurant in Manhattan to polish his English, Devoille joined the team of Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse. He spent more than a decade at Ducasse’s side, eventually rising to become head of his entire dessert team. In that role, Devoille traveled around the world supervising sweets at the chef’s many venues, from Las Vegas to

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Tokyo. “Alain Ducasse taught me to respect the product, and to be uncompromising: If something is supposed to be eight inches by two inches, it isn’t 2.2—it’s perfectly cut,” he says. Devoille credits Ducasse with shaping his tastes, too, and teaching him how to compose a dessert à l’assiette, or dessert plate. Contrast is crucial, he explains, bringing creamy, soft, crunchy, and iced textures together in a single serving.

In the pastry chef’s new role with Wynn Palace, he’s able to indulge that expertise via a wide variety of desserts. Five distinct stations make up Sweets: Alongside those macarons, there’s a sorbet and ice cream selection of almost 20 flavors, plus a case filled with an abundance of classic French pastries. There’s also a showcase for homemade chocolates and truffles. “Three people were hired just to take care of the chocolate. Everything is homemade, even the praline,” Devoille reveals. Most shops buy their nut paste ready-mixed, he adds, but his artisan alternative has more texture and crunch. It’s a typical touch for the detail-obsessed dessert maestro.

As for the final station, which serves crêpes and waffles, it’s here that the pâtissier truly indulged his inner Willy Wonka. Every single griddle iron at Sweets was custom-cast for him, with a unique tweak: At the center of each is the Wynn Palace logo, like a tasty tattoo. It’s a testament to Devoille’s devotion to his new job. “That was my first dream,” he says, “to be an amazing pastry chef at a hotel, or a palace.”

PhotograPhy by david hartung

The macarons use fruit shipped in fresh from Japan, Korea, and even the green markets of Paris, in 16 custom flavors, from yuzu to coconut, vanilla, red bean, and chestnut.

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Crispy sour tilefish at Mizumi.

Master Chef Min Kim.

MiZuMi And MiZuMi SuSHi Authentic Japanese gourmet flavors and cooking techniques are the hallmarks of Mizumi and Mizumi Sushi. Using ingredients imported daily from Japan, dishes are prepared by a team of eight Master Chefs led by Chef Min Kim, who has helmed some of Asia’s top restaurants, and complemented by small-batch Japanese whiskies and rare sakes selected by the restaurant’s in-house sake sommelier. Mizumi embodies the spirit of omotenashi, which means “to entertain and serve diners with your whole heart.”

At Mizumi Sushi, just 14 seats comprise a sushi counter where guests can enjoy the freshest fish available under a mobile of brilliant gold and silver origami cranes.

sw steAkhouse The very finest in fine dining, American style.

In Steve Wynn’s signature steakhouse in Wynn Palace, the luxury beef selections are the best available, including USDA prime steaks, certified Japanese Wagyu, and prized Australian Rangers Valley Black Market beef. SW’s now-renowned fish program follows the Wynn tradition of sourcing the freshest in day boat catches, prepared simply. In Las Vegas, SW sources its fish from Hawaiian waters; SW Wynn Palace takes its frequent deliveries from New

AndreA’s

Zealand and Australia. The lobster cart—designed

Fabulous fusion cuisine.

Led by Australian Executive Chef Benjamin Pollard, a team of celebrated chefs who hail from different provinces in China work together to bring the diverse flavors of Huaiyang, Sichuan, and Zhejiang cuisines to guests at Andrea’s. Two sets of three elevated dining nooks provide an intimate way to enjoy the buzz of the room— as well as the theatrical show kitchen—with a soupçon of privacy.

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maintains another SW tradition: offering guests their pick of a selection of the world’s most succulent crustaceans, tableside.

Seafood tower at SW.

The bar at Andrea’s.

photography by barbara kraft (andrea’s; sw); david hartung (food and chef)

exclusively for the restaurant—

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cafÉ fontana

Crispy orbs of sesame filled with egg yolk custard and birds nest at Wing Lei Palace.

wing lei palace Dine like the royalty you are.

Inspired by the world’s Wing Lei Palace’s Wagyu beef with rice crackers.

great food halls, Café Fontana reimagines the classic buffet, featuring

from exquisite signature offerings including an array of handmade dim sum, barbecued dishes, and classic cantonese food created by chef Sammy Ho. The experience is only enhanced by an extensive array of 50 specialty teas selected by wynn palace’s Master Tea Sommelier from across china to showcase the diversity of its flavors and blends.

Chinese and Western favorites in a dynamic market kitchen with 10 distinct food stations.

Focusing on quality rather than quantity, small bites are passed fresh directly from the kitchen. Don’t miss the stunning high-tea presentation or the

99 noodles

dazzling Viaradot Dragon mirror collection

Led by chefs from Shaanxi and Shanxi, the birthplaces of noodles, 99 Noodles serves Northern noodles from an interactive menu that offers guests the opportunity to create their own combinations from a selection of nine noodles, nine broths, and unlimited garnishes and sauces. Guests can see the noodles being hand-pulled by resident master chefs throughout the day. Feel free to gawk.

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by renowned Chinoiserie artist GabrielFrédéric Viaradot.

photography by barbara kraft (cafe fontana wall); roger davies (chef); david hartung (food)

The palatial setting showcases the decorative arts of imperial china transposed into a european Opera House. But lest you let the lavish gold and jade-toned dining room of wing lei palace, with its floor-toceiling windows and stunning views of the performance lake distract you, be reminded that guests do in fact dine like royalty here, as well. choose

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wynn is in the details The whole may be greater than the sum of its parts—but what parts!

1. golden touch: Wynn’s designers opted for handmade

gold wallcoverings over gold leaf to give the quatrefoil ceiling detail in the Salon Suite Living Room its warm, opulent tone and eliminate reflections of the light source.

2. please enter: Koi fish tiebacks at the entrance of Wing Lei Palace were sketched in-house at Wynn Design & Development, then sculpted by Dreamcatchers in Hong Kong. Draperies were hand-embroidered and peacock

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feathers hand overlain. The glimmering capiz shell wall is lain in a fishscale pattern, and layered with capiz floral motifs.

3. what’s up: The chandelier at Wing Lei Bar is a rare antique Italian rock crystal piece reminiscent of Louis XV designs. It’s left unwired and reflects ambient lighting.

4. we’ve got your back: The green and gold custom designs of each chairback in Wing Lei Palace were designed in-house and meticulously hand-embroidered.

photography by barbara kraft (1,3,5,6,7,8); roger davies (2,4)

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Inside secrets: In Pacific Cigar, a series of secret doors conceals humidor rooms and invitation-only lounge areas.

5. curves ahead: The curved metal and glass entrance to Pacific Cigar is inspired by one of Manhattan’s most prestigious entryways—the ladies’ shop at Bergdorf Goodman and its pilasters, itself inspired by the great council chambers of the Scuola Grande di San Rocco in Venice. Secret doors within cleverly conceal invitationonly lounge areas and humidors.

6. light fantastic: One of the great pieces of the Royal Pavilion at Brighton inspired this custom chandelier that graces the Garden and Penthouse villas, also taking cues

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from 1920s Art Deco. The original design’s individual petals are metal framed and hand strung with rows of crystal beads.

7. wall power: The design of a wall in Mizumi’s Private Dining Rooms is based on Japanese Tansu chests— traditional mobile storage chests for highly prized items—each one intricately fitted into the next.

8. prosaic mosaic: A hand-cut Italian mosaic rosette on the front of a bathtub in a Salon Suite conceals an access panel to the bath, beautifully in keeping with the Wynn ethos of pairing functionality with elegance.

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photography by barbara kraft

performance lake

10:18 pm

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