Rolex, Wynn & Company: Steve Wynn Replaces the Wynn Art Gallery with A Successful Rolex Store

(SANEPR.com) May 11, 2009 -- By John Lavitt - In a time when Las Vegas is reeling in a tough economy, casino developer Steve Wynn has discovered newfound success by replacing the Wynn Art Gallery at Wynn Las Vegas with a state-of-the-art Rolex shop. When you think of museums in Las Vegas, you imagine museums dedicated to the history of neon, the entertainer Liberace and the evolution of the pinball machine. Following the sign of the times, highbrow culture in Las Vegas has given way to high-end shopping with the decision by Steve Wynn to convert a gallery at his Wynn Las Vegas resort into a Rolex shop. As a true hotel magnate with money to spare, Steve Wynn remains enthusiastic about collecting fine art. The Wynn Gallery showed the casino owner’s private collection of Monets and Picassos. When the grand hotel first opened, Steve Wynn hoped the Wynn gallery would provide a sense of highbrow legitimacy and culture to his new casino. After all, the Wynn Las Vegas Resort and Country Club (known simply around the town as the “Wynn”) is a AAA five diamond, Mobil five-star, and Michelin five-star casino resort located on the Las Vegas Strip. The $2.7 billion dollar resort became upon opening flagship property of Wynn Resorts Limited. Located directly across the famous The Strip from the Fashion Show Mall, the resort covers over 215 acres and has 4,750 rooms.

Although the Wynn opened to tremendous raves and generated bundles of cash, the Wynn Galley, which charged an entrance fee at first, closed because of poor ticket sales. Attendance was meager at just 12,000 visitors a year, reflective of a general disinterest in art by both the local populace as well as the 40 million tourists traveling to the city each year. The artwork from the former gallery is now scattered around the resort. After all, since Steve Wynn owned the vast majority of the work, what else could the Casino Developer possibly do with his impressive collection of 20th Century masterpieces? Would he put the art in storage or hang it in his private mansions? No, after such publicity, Steve Wynn knew his only choice was to keep the art hanging at the resort as a symbol of taste and high culture. In response to the decision to close the gallery and move the art, Steve Wynn has kept silent in public, However, Vanity Fair art critic Dave Hickey commented on the failure of the gallery scene in Las Vegas: "We were just wrong. I thought there would be more support from the middle class and there wasn't. Nobody in Vegas is particularly interested in cosmopolitan culture."

Although Steve Wynn has kept silent about closing the Wynn galley, he has been talking up a storm about the state-of-the-art Rolex shop that took over the gallery’s prime location. Steve Wynn boasted last year that the Rolex shop he replaced the art gallery with grossed $16 million in sales the first year. When describing his honeymoon trip to Las Vegas and his stay at Wynn, John B. Holbrook, the founder of an writer behind the highly-respected Rolex Reference Page, wrote excitedly about the Rolex shop: “After doing my photo shoot at Wynn & Company, I headed over for a shoot at the Wynn's Rolex boutique. The Wynn has one of the world's only (just 2 others world wide) free standing, Rolex-only retail stores. It was amazing! Their selection was unequalled from any other Rolex counter I've visited. I got to try on some amazing examples that I'd never seen "in person" before.” Although Holbrook saw and even tried on some of the Rolex watches, it is essential to note that he did not but anything at the Wynn Rolex store. Unfortunately, the prices were just too high. An anonymous blogger wrote in The Rolex Forums: “After staying at the Wynn this weekend and making SEVERAL visits to the Wynn Rolex store and not buying anything, I can tell you that they have BY FAR the best Rolex selection anywhere in the US, and a pretty friendly and knowledgably staff.”

Once again, the Rolex enthusiast loved the store, but did not actually purchase a watch. Why would he not buy a Rolex watch at such an amazing store? Simply put, the prices of Rolex watches at the store are as high and expensive as the hotel itself. Luckily, you can visit the Rolex store at the Wynn and check out the luxury Rolex watches without taking out your credit card. Later, when you get back to your computer or return home, you can venture onto the Melrose Jewelers website with your newfound knowledge and love of Rolex watches. At MelroseJewelers.com, you can find the highest quality Rolex watches backed by a rock-solid guarantee for well less than half the cost of the watches at the Wynn Rolex store. After all, in the end, you do not have to be a casino magnate like Steve Wynn to wear a luxury Rolex watch on your wrist. Every Rolex enthusiast deserves to have the ability to buy a Rolex watch!

About Melrose Jewelers

Melrose Jewelers is the nation’s leading online retailer of Rolex wrist watches including mens watches and ladies luxury watches and its associates have, collectively, over 220 years of experience in importing, restoring, and retailing Rolex and other luxury watches. Melrose Jewelers was founded with one simple premise: Buying a Rolex or other luxury watch shouldn’t be mysterious or complicated. Melrose Jewelers also employs a staff of top university-educated Trained Experts that provide customer service that extends from your initial sales call until years after you’ve received your purchase. Melrose Jewelers is not an authorized agent or affiliated with Rolex USA, Rolex S.A., Rolex International, Breitling, or Patek Philippe luxury watches. Rolex Day Date, Rolex President, Rolex GMT Master, Rolex Daytona, Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust, Rolex PearlMaster, Rolex Masterpiece, Rolex Super President, Rolex Submariner, Rolex Yacht-Master, Rolex Explorer and Rolex Sea Dweller are all trademarks of Rolex S.A.

Melrose Jewelers also hosts the Melrose Jewelers (MJ) Rolex Watch Blog. The MJ Rolex Watch Blog is the world’s largest independent forum website about Rolex events and Rolex and other luxury watches in pop culture. With over 300 user-posted articles and new articles and commentary updated daily, the Melrose Jewelers Rolex watch blog contains articles about Rolex watches owned by Danica Patrick, Matthew McConaughey, Eva Longoria Parker, Tobey Maguire, Lindsey Lohan, Eddie Murphy, Tom Selleck, Jennifer Garner, Donald Trump, Eva Longoria, Skepta, Jennifer Lopez, Lance Armstrong, John Mayer, Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Brad Pitt, Drew Barrymore, DJ Am, Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy, Jay-Z, Zara Phillips, Barack Obama, O.J. Simpson, Madonna, Ana Ivanovic, Jennifer Aniston, Tokio Hotel, Paris Hilton, Orlando Bloom, Tupac Shakur, Lily Allen, & Wiley. Blog postings on the MJ Rolex Watch Blog are submitted by independent Rolex enthusiasts and not by Melrose Jewelers.

SOURCE:

Vanessa Puzio
Melrose Jewelers
323-650-0229