Billionaire Tilman Fertitta has increased his stake Wynn Resorts to 9.9%, in response to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The filing suggests a passive stance, although several people conversant in the matter tell CNBC they believe Fertitta will demand.
Wynn's stock price rose 9% on Thursday on the news, in step with its 200-day moving average. Over 20 years, the stock showed high volatility but not that strong sustainable growth.
Wynn stock versus Marriott and Hilton.
The stock is up about 57% over twenty years, compared with Marriott's 20-year gains of greater than 950%. Hilton, which went public in 2013, is up greater than 500% since its debut.
Wynn Resorts and Fertitta declined to comment on his increased stake.
Fertitta, CEO of Landry's, owns the Houston Rockets and eight Golden Nugget casinos across the U.S., including in downtown Las Vegas. He is planning a brand new 43-story casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip.
He is commonly outspoken on issues affecting Las Vegas, be it Formula 1 or historic union agreements. Wynn Las Vegas is the premier, ultra-luxe resort on the Strip and has two high-end resorts in Macau. Its customers are wealthier and customarily buy and gamble more.
But Wynn's third-quarter earnings fell wanting expectations in each Macau and Las Vegas for revenue and adjusted real estate EBITDA, which showed some moderation after an extended, torrid stretch.
Analysts occasionally ask the corporate about plans to develop or sell 162 acres in Las Vegas, including a 128-acre golf course and a 38-acre property across the road from its resort complex on the Strip.
In a June note, Jefferies analyst David Katz estimated the property's value at just over $2 billion, but noted there was “no apparent plan for development or sale.”
Some investors have privately chafed that Wynn is squandering its strength as a luxury brand and its premier hospitality status domestically because it focuses on establishing a brand new gaming market within the Middle East.
During the corporate's third-quarter earnings call earlier this month, at an investor day in October and in an interview with CNBC, Wynn CEO Craig Billings focused on the opportunities he sees within the United Arab Emirates.
Wynn Resorts has a 40% stake in a brand new integrated casino resort being in-built Ras Al Khaimah within the United Arab Emirates for an estimated $5.1 billion.
Today, the stock trades for about 70% greater than it did when Fertitta bought 6.9 million shares in 2022 at about $54 apiece. This position gave him a 6.2% stake in the corporate and made him Wynn's second-largest individual shareholder after co-founder Elaine Wynn.
With his 9.9% stake, Fertitta now replaces Elaine Wynn, who founded the corporate along with her then husband Steve Wynn and left the board at the top of 2020.
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