Wynn buys Desert Inn resort

4/27/00

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Casino mogul Steve Wynn has

purchased the Desert Inn hotel-casino, a month after he

agreed to sell Mirage Resorts Inc. to rival MGM Grand Inc.

"Wynn confirmed this afternoon that he is the purchaser of

the Desert Inn as a birthday gift for his wife, whose birthday

is tomorrow," a spokesman for Wynn, who requested he

not be named, said Thursday.

The spokesman said Wynn and his wife, Elaine, are the

only shareholders of the 715-room resort. Wynn also

acquired the Desert Inn golf course, behind the resort, and

an adjacent 32-acre parcel of undeveloped land.

The spokesman declined to say how much Wynn paid

Starwood Hotels & Resorts for the Strip property, but the

Las Vegas Review-Journal reported earlier this week that

Wynn was considering buying the Desert Inn for $275

million in an all-cash deal.

"He is not going to discuss the price," the spokesman

said.

MGM Grand is buying Wynn's 14-property Mirage Resorts

empire for $4.4 billion. Wynn made $483 million on the

deal, expected to be completed later this year.