Running Scared The Life and Treacherous Times of Las Vegas Casino King Steve Wynn

by Smith, John L.

• ISBN13: 9781568581903
• ISBN10: 1568581904
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-01-31
• Publisher: Da Capo Press

Summary

Steve Wynn is the former owner of the Bellagio Las Vegas's latest monument to conspicuous consumption whose hotel and casino contain over $300 million in fine art and $1.5 billion in Wall Street money. He's a mogul whose empire at one point included the Mirage, the Golden Nugget, and Treasure Island. But how did he gain and wield his tremendous power in Nevada? And why did a confidential Scotland Yard report prevent him from opening a casino in London? When this biography, written by a local reporter, was first released in 1995, Steve Wynn brought suit against its original publisher and forced him into bankruptcy. Now available in paperback, the inside story of the biggest phenomenon to roil Las Vegas since Hoover Dam gives readers an intimate glimpse at the real business that's conducted beyond the gaming tables.

Table of Contents

Publisher's Preface	9	(4)
Acknowledgments	13	(4)
Prologue: Pirates in the Desert	17	(10)
PART I
Young Stephen	27	(18)
Frontier Days	45	(18)
A Bottle of Wine, An Acre of Luck, A Friend For Life	63	(14)
Grabbing the Golden Nugget	77	(16)
Little Louie and the Golden Boy	93	(16)
PART II
Into Atlantic City	109	(18)
Uncle Charlie	127	(14)
Boardwalk Blues	141	(18)
The Trouble with Mel Harris	159	(20)
A Battle with the British	179	(12)
PART III
The Ultimate Insider	191	(16)
Wynn-Moran War	207	(12)
Image Is Everything	219	(24)
A Shadow Over Shadow Creek	243	(12)
The Politics of Dolphins	255	(10)
A Great Friend, An Enemy Who Never Forgets	265	(18)
Expanding the Empire	283	(14)
The Vegas King	297	(22)
Epilogue: Running Strong Into the Future	319	(12)
Postscript	331	(24)
Bibliography	355	(9)
Notes	364	(6)
Index	370