So here I sit on a lazy Tuesday summer afternoon at the Wynn Las Vegas sportsbook.
Check that. Here I sit on a lazy Tuesday summer afternoon, sinking into a comfortable couch in the center of the VIP area. I’m surrounded by an insanely eye-pleasing 21 million-pixel videowall stretching 137 feet wide by 11 feet high, and I can see all of it. Nearly 180 degrees of sports viewing pleasure, at the renovated and newly reopened Wynn Las Vegas sportsbook.
It’s the sportsbook equivalent of the new car look and feel, with all the bells and whistles in terms of technology. And that new car scent, of course.
The sparkling, shiny, bright, bold book is a little slice of sports betting heaven on the Las Vegas Strip. After a four-month renovation, workers applied the finishing touches Tuesday morning, and Johnny Avello – the Wynn’s executive director of race and sports - reopened the betting counter for business.
“I think the videowall is probably my favorite thing about the room, and that’s because you can see the videowall from any part of the (room). I think it’s an attraction to draw you in. I think that’s what we tried to accomplish, and I think we’ve accomplished that.”
The closest seating to the center of the videowall: 49 carrels geared toward horse racing bettors – 41 with a standard single viewing screen, and eight VIP carrels in which screens allow for viewing of either two events, or one screen can be used much like a personal computer. The VIP carrels also have trays for food and beverage.
“The race experience is second to none. If you’re a race player coming to Las Vegas, I think you better visit our racebook,” Avello says.
Beyond the race carrels is a general seating area for 49, with chairs that swivel 360 degrees to allow for viewing of any and all segments of the videowall. Then there’s VIP seating for 40, with those comfy couches and more plush chairs, tables, and electrical and USB plug-ins.
Then comes Avello’s next favorite aspect of this renovation.
“I love the bar in the middle of the room. You’re right in the action,” he says of the lengthy 22-seat space that has great sightlines to the video screens, along with 100 beers – 15 on tap and another 85 in bottles or cans.
Behind the bar is Charlie’s Bar & Grill, which opens Friday and will feature gourmet burgers and an assortment of traditional sportsbook fare – with a Wynn twist – along with entrees and, on Saturdays and Sundays, breakfast offerings as well. And there are 15 more TVs in Charlie’s, to monitor your games and your bets.
Avello, who’s been in this business for more than 30 years and has been at Wynn Las Vegas since shortly after it opened in 2005, said he certainly had some input, particularly with regard to the race carrels, VIP seating and, of course, that videowall. But it was Roger Thomas, executive vice president of design and development, who headed up this major overhaul. The sportsbook occupies exactly the same space as it did four months ago, but it is impressively different within that space.
“We are always refreshing or redesigning spaces to keep Wynn the premiere destination resort,” Thomas says, adding that the goal of the sportsbook makeover was to integrate technology with a “luxe experience.” Consider that mission accomplished.
The culmination of this project is a sentimental moment in Avello’s lengthy and renowned career here in Las Vegas.
“Being in the business for as long as I have, and seeing sportsbooks evolve around town, this project to me is special,” Avello admits. “I feel like I have ownership of it. So it’s just something that is endearing to me.”
In short order, Avello expects it to become equally as endearing to all his customers.
“I think the room encompasses everything you’d want in a race and sportsbook. I think our customers are gonna be very happy when they first step into the room. I think it’s a ‘wow’ factor,” Avello says. “But remember, it’s more than just a sportsbook. Charlie’s Bar & Grill, the expanded VIP area to make it more comfortable, the race experience is better. And the regular casino player who just wants to sit in comfortable seats is gonna be in a heaven-like atmosphere.”
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Patrick Everson is a Las Vegas-based senior writer for Covers. Follow him on Twitter: @Covers_Vegas.
