Wynn Las Vegas Wants to Teach How to Run a Sportsbook, Be a Sommelier, and More

Posted on: June 28, 2017, 12:00h. 

Last updated on: June 28, 2017, 10:16h.

Casino.org Staff Writer Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming.

Wynn Las Vegas, like most casinos on the Strip, has long offered classes on how to play popular table games like craps and blackjack.

Wynn Las Vegas Master Class Johnny Avello
Guests of Wynn Las Vegas can learn about setting sports betting odds from famed bookmaker Johnny Avello. (Image: Benjamin Hager/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

But the resort is taking things a giant step further with the introduction of its Master Class series that will provide patrons with the opportunity to learn about a variety of areas intricate to the property’s operations.

The Master Class workshops give guests a behind-the-scenes look at Wynn Las Vegas. Each class is led by a professional employee of the resort who walks them through their typical day. Along the way, attendants learn specific skills related to that person’s job.

Perfecting Your Poker Face, Mastering Bread Baking, Sommelier for a Day, and Oddsmaker for a Day are just a few of the offerings. The classes are roughly 90 minutes in length, and cost between $125 and $150.

Following an initial test run, Wynn Resorts says the program is likely here to stay.

“The classes enable guests to deepen the experience they have in the hotel,” Wynn Resorts Chief Marketing Officer Michael Weaver told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Other concentrations include brewing beer, rolling restaurant-caliber sushi, decorating cakes, cooking tutorials, whisky, champagne, cigar, and chocolate tastings, and how to create lavish pastries.

Class Syllabus

One Wynn Las Vegas workshop takes place each week on a weekday afternoon.

For example, on July 20 at 2 pm, Wynn poker director Ryan Beauregard will introduce poker novices to the game. “In addition to helping you perfect your poker face, Beauregard will cover the rules of the game, how to feel at ease sitting down at the table, and how to master the strategies of outplaying your opponents,” the class description reads.

On August 18, Oddsmaker for a Day guests will attend a casual lunch at 1 pm with Wynn oddsmaker Johnny Avello. The sportsbook boss will walk students through how he comes up with odds for sporting events, and how he manages ongoing lines.

A class on dumplings is scheduled for October 19, with two master dim sum chefs teaching students the process of making perfect wontons and wrappers, to fillings and dipping sauces.

Wynn’s Visionary Continues

The Master Class concept came from the man himself, Steve Wynn. At 75-years-old, the billionaire is showing no signs of readying for retirement, and continues to focus on how to improve his casino empire.

According to Weaver, Wynn came up with the idea for the Master Class while planning last year’s New Year’s Eve festivities at the resort. “Steve said if people could see what it was like to plan such detail, they would probably find it very interesting,” Weaver explained.

However, the Master Class series pales in excitement compared to the property’s $1.5 billion Paradise Park project out back.

Wynn is removing nine holes of his golf course to make way for a 20-acre lagoon surrounded by sandy beaches. A new 1,000-room hotel and convention center space will overlook the lake.

The hotel tycoon could barely contain his pleasure when discussing the project earlier this year. “This is the most fun project in my 45 years,” he professed. Construction on Paradise Park is expected to begin in late 2017.