Wynn Resorts has acquired a London casino in a bid to attract high rollers to its $5.1bn resort casino in the UAE. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

Wynn buys Mayfair casino

Wynn Resorts has announced the purchase of a VIP gambling establishment in London’s upmarket Mayfair district owned by Australia’s Crown Resorts. 

The acquisition is a strategic move by the Paradise, Nevada-based firm to attract high rollers to its United Arab Emirates asset Wynn Al Marjan Island, a $5.1bn integrated resort in the city of Ras Al Khaimah that the US casino giant expects to open in 2027. 

upsell wealthy British nationals and transiting VIPs to its UAE property

The compact VIP casino gives Wynn a presence in upscale Mayfair that the firm intends to use to upsell wealthy British nationals and transiting VIPs to its UAE property.  

While neither Wynn nor Crown disclosed a purchase price, the former confirmed its London move was not part of a Europe market expansion and instead a strategy to connect visitors to Wynn Al Marjan Island.  

Stepping stone

Wynn CEO Craig Billings made the reason for the acquisition clear in an emailed statement. 

Billings said the London casino offers his firm “a presence in a global gateway city” and that it will also “create a conduit for Wynn guests to visit our resorts, particularly Wynn Al Marjan Island.”

30% of the world’s wealthiest people within a four-hour flight

The Las Vegas Review-Journal cited a Wynn investor report highlighting that the purchase of the Mayfair casino will place 30% of the world’s wealthiest people within a four-hour flight to London.  

Wynn additionally states the London casino will “be synergistic” with the UAE IR, which will have a 225,000 square-foot gaming area, 130,000 square feet of luxury retail, six townhouses, 22 villas, and 297 suites.

Crown London meanwhile, gives Wynn two historic townhouses on Mayfair’s Curzon Street with 20 gaming tables set in multiple sophisticated salons.

Two-year plan

Wynn’s new London asset will operate under the Crown London brand until the transaction ends upon receiving customary regulatory approvals, anticipated for H2 2025. 

The Review-Journal reports that Wynn has two years before Wynn Al Marjan Island opens “to market to the small but extremely high-end clientele consistent with the Wynn brand.”

The Mayfair casino gives Wynn, which has a 40% stake in Wynn Al Marjan Island, a European staging point to complement its IRCs in Asia and the US.