Encore at Wynn opened in December 2008 as Steve Wynn's vision of what the companion to his masterpiece should look like. Where Wynn Las Vegas used a nature motif centered on the artificial mountain and lake, Encore leaned into floral extravagance — a butterfly motif runs throughout the property, expressed in fabric, glass, tile, and sculpture. Every detail was chosen by Wynn personally, including the particular shade of red used in the hotel tower's exterior glass, which he selected after extended deliberation.
Encore opened two months after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, in the depths of the financial crisis, and its debut coincided with one of the worst periods in Las Vegas's recent history. Casino revenues dropped sharply. Several large projects were halted mid-construction. The Encore Beach Club, which opened in 2010, became one of the most successful nightclub venues in Las Vegas history and helped pioneer the dayclub concept that now generates hundreds of millions of dollars for Strip properties annually.
The Encore and Wynn towers stand side by side on the Strip's eastern edge, their curved bronze glass facades creating a visual conversation that Wynn designed carefully. From certain angles on the Strip, they read as a single unified composition rather than two separate buildings. The precision of that compositional intention is the clearest expression of Steve Wynn's particular genius — and perhaps his most durable legacy in the city he helped shape.