Elaine Wynn, a prominent philanthropist and one of the most successful women among Nevada casino executives, has died at the age of 82.
The Elaine P. Wynn & Family Foundation announced her passing on Tuesday. Punam Mathur, the foundation’s executive director, reported that Wynn died peacefully after a short illness on Monday morning at her residence in Los Angeles, surrounded by loved ones.
Wynn Resorts Ltd. expressed their condolences in a statement regarding her death.
“We are all deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Elaine Wynn and send our condolences to her daughters, grandchildren, and her many close friends. As co-founder and one of the largest shareholders of Wynn Resorts, she helped to create and grow the company to become the most esteemed luxury resort brand in the world. Her many talents and special touches are indelibly imprinted on the company and still evident throughout our resorts.
Elaine cared deeply about the employees of our resorts. The current and former employees who worked alongside her to create Wynn and Encore Las Vegas cherish the many fond memories they have of her, especially of when they opened Wynn Las Vegas with her 20 years ago this month.
She was a tireless advocate for Las Vegas, for children and their education, and for the arts. We’re grateful that the enduring sense of philanthropy she instilled in our company continues to this day.”
Elaine Wynn’s rise to power and wealth paralleled that of her former husband, Steve Wynn. The two were married twice and divorced for the second time in 2010.
Born Elaine Pascal on April 28, 1942, in New York City, she spent part of her childhood in Miami Beach, where her mother was a homemaker and her father sold package tours for resort hotels. She majored in political science at George Washington University, graduating in 1964.
She met Steve Wynn on a blind date arranged by relatives, and they were married in 1963, at the conclusion of her junior year. At the time, Steve Wynn had just graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and was working to revitalize the family business, a failing Maryland bingo parlor.
An opportunity soon emerged to invest in the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas, which led them to relocate to the city in 1967.
“We decided if we were going to be in the gaming-entertainment-amusement business, why not go to where it really exists in a much greater capacity,” Elaine told author Jack Sheehan for a biography he wrote about the Wynns’ mentor, banker E. Parry Thomas.
“We hired a manager for the bingo business and we used the proceeds from some of the good fortune we had at the bingo (parlor) as an investment— as our initial investment — in the Frontier.”
Initially feeling out of place in the rapidly changing environment of Las Vegas, Elaine later found comfort in its similarities with Miami Beach.
Soon after their move, Elaine became actively involved in civic activities, a commitment she maintained throughout her life.
Together with her husband, Elaine Wynn co-founded both Mirage Resorts in 1976 and Wynn Resorts Ltd. in 2000, both of which would have a monumental impact on the gaming industry.
The Mirage debuted at a time when conventional wisdom opined that Las Vegas was overbuilt, adding 3,000 rooms and ushering in the era of mega-resorts costing billions.
Wynn Resorts’ first property, Wynn Las Vegas, was the most expensive resort ever built at $2.7 billion, yet it quickly became the most profitable in Las Vegas. The company was also among the first to invest in gaming in what is now known as the Macau region of China.
Elaine Wynn attended the closing of The Mirage in July, which is undergoing a transformation into the Hard Rock casino-hotel.
Steve Wynn received significant mentorship from banker Thomas, who also played a crucial role in encouraging Elaine’s professional growth.
She recounted, “Parry was the first person who I respected and admired who made me believe that I had worth separate and apart from Steve, and that my influence on Steve … was very important and very critical to his success.”
The Wynns’ divorces were reportedly amicable; however, after their second divorce, Elaine sued Steve Wynn in 2012 to break an agreement that provided him with voting control over her stock in Wynn Resorts, ultimately allowing him to control the company despite being the second-largest shareholder behind T. Rowe Price & Associates, while Elaine was the third-largest.
In April 2015, Wynn Resorts’ board of directors chose not to re-elect Elaine to the company board.
When Steve Wynn stepped down as CEO and faced accusations of sexual harassment in 2018, he agreed to return control of Elaine’s shares to her.
Elaine appeared in front of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission in 2019, which was evaluating whether to revoke Wynn Resorts of its license prior to the opening of Encore Boston Harbor. Her testimony, alongside that of other board members, aided in convincing regulators to allow the property to open later that June.
In 2020, Elaine Wynn was relicensed by Nevada gaming regulators as an investor and indicated that she no longer wanted to join the Wynn board, citing company-set age restrictions. At this point, she expressed her desire to focus more on her philanthropic activities.
Forbes estimated her net worth at $1.7 billion in September 2020; by the time of her death, that figure had risen to approximately $1.9 billion.
Elaine Wynn’s list of charitable accomplishments was extensive and impressive.
In 1983, she chaired the dedication event of the 18,000-seat Thomas & Mack Center at UNLV, a high-profile gala that included performances by Frank Sinatra, Diana Ross, and Dean Martin, marking the recovery of Las Vegas after years of economic downturn.
The event also honored basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian, presenting him with a magnificent home court that remains informally known as “The Shark Tank.”
By 1985, Elaine Wynn had become chairwoman of the UNLV Foundation, which serves as the university’s fundraising arm. Even as a passionate basketball fan, she collaborated with then-president Robert Maxson to bolster academic initiatives, ensuring that the university gained prominence beyond its athletic reputation.
She proclaimed at the time, “We need to put balance back in the picture. Basketball, as much fun as it is … is really meant to be a small part of the university.”
Although she stepped down as chairwoman after 1991, Elaine remained a steadfast supporter of UNLV.
In 2011, she co-chaired Nevada’s Blue Ribbon Education Reform Task Force, which resulted in the enactment of transformative reform legislation.
She was appointed to the Nevada State Board of Education in 2013 and again in 2015, where she eventually served as president.
Her commitment to youth initiatives was further exemplified through her co-chair position at the Greater Las Vegas After-School All-Stars, aimed at serving low-income children.
Elaine Wynn emphasized that her most impactful charitable work was for Communities in Schools, an organization dedicated to ensuring at-risk students succeed academically and beyond.
Having served as national chair, she also held the role of state chairwoman, and a school in Clark County is named in her honor.
Additionally, in 2015, she was co-chair of Everytown USA, promoting a referendum for universal background checks for firearms, while contemplating a more significant national involvement.
Her involvement in politics was characterized as typical for an engaged citizen. She stated, “I believe in making financial contributions in modest amounts. But I am not comfortable making big contributions, because I believe America is a democracy.”
Elaine Wynn was also a patron of the arts. Notably, she purchased Francis Bacon’s “Three Studies of Lucian Freud” for an astonishing $141.4 million, later lending the artwork to the Portland Art Museum.
In 2011, she established the Elaine Wynn Studio for Arts Education at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas and was appointed by President Barack Obama to the board of trustees of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Passionate about sustaining and advancing the arts in Las Vegas, Elaine Wynn supported the planned art museum project in Symphony Park, envisioned as a vital community resource.
She viewed the museum as a personal legacy, stating, “For me, this is a personal legacy of giving something back to my city. This museum is to be enjoyed primarily by people who live and work here, and the children who go to school here, and hopefully the visitors who come to Las Vegas.”
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