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Get out
of Town
Copyright © 2006, Las Vegas CityLife
What crimes are so shocking to the conscience, peace,
dignity and morals of Las Vegas that they require
banishment? What offense against the laws of nature and
nature's God are so extreme, what heights of douchebaggery
so outrageous, what conduct so repugnant that no other
sanction seems fitting?
Actually, they're not really all that bad. But what is
December without CityLife's annual list of people who must
be forcibly ejected from Las Vegas? Herewith we present
our suggestions for, as our current president (who didn't
make the list) might say, "aggressive absentization."
Steve Wynn
Yes, we know Wynn has ushered in the three revolutions of
Las Vegas, bringing life to downtown in the form of the
Golden Nugget, creating the megaresort in the form of The
Mirage and redefining luxury in the form of Bellagio and
Wynn Las Vegas. Yes, we know he is a genius casino
developer, even if it's Wynn himself reminding us of his
genius most of the time. And yes, we know he's done
magnificent charitable works during his lifetime.
But that doesn't excuse stealing tips from dealers to
redistribute them to supervisors! Wynn's company
complained it couldn't induce dealers to move up because
tips were so good. Instead of raising supervisor's
salaries to compensate, Wynn insisted dealers "pool" tips,
which are then distributed among dealers and their bosses.
The upshot? Hardworking dealers take a cut in pay, and
Wynn doesn't have to pay more in wages.
So far, courts have blessed Wynn's action, but an appeal
to the Nevada Supreme Court is likely. We're guessing
dealers won't get relief there, either.
Wynn is rich enough -- and his casino is doing well enough
-- to pay his supervisors what they're worth without
stealing tips from the hands of non-unionized dealers. He
can contemplate that as his private Gulfstream G5 leaves
the lights of Las Vegas behind.
STEVE SEBELIUS
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