Steve Wynn

In a year that brought headline-making layoffs at some Las Vegas casino hotels, Strip mogul Steve Wynn has glad tidings: He is taking applications for 5,300 jobs at his new resort starting Sunday.
He announced via phone this week that he's looking for "happy critters" to staff his 2,034-suite Encore, a bronze tower next to 3-year-old Wynn Las Vegas that he says could open in late December. Job applications can be submitted at EncoreLasVegas.com, where reservations are being taken for February and beyond at rates starting at just under $300 a night.
But isn't the man who brought us a spewing volcano when he owned The Mirage nearly two decades ago nervous about opening a mega-property when Vegas visitation is flat and fuel prices are forcing cuts in flights?
"Welcome to the club," the plain-spoken Wynn, 66, says. "You're not the Lone Ranger here" in expressing concern about Vegas' prospects.
"No one knows what's coming next. … But I'm not the Chamber of Commerce, so I really don't care" about sinking rates at other, more mass-market properties.