Steve Wynn sells Las Vegas mansion for $17.5M

A British businessman who made headlines for challenging the U.K. government in court over the country’s pandemic lockdowns has bought billionaire Steve Wynn’s Las Vegas mansion.

Simon Dolan confirmed to the Review-Journal on Wednesday that he purchased the former casino developer’s 15,000-square-foot Summerlin estate for $17.5 million.

Wynn, who bought the home in 2018 and had it on and off the market over the past few years, priced it at $24.5 million last fall.

The sale to Dolan and his wife, Sabrina, closed Tuesday, property records show.

Built in 2001, the lavish six-bedroom house off Town Center Drive at Summerlin Parkway features a private movie room, a climate-controlled wine cellar, crystal staircase, silk drapery and carpets, and marble pillars, according to listing materials.

Broker Kristen Routh-Silberman of Corcoran Global Living, who represented Wynn in the sale, said this was the highest-priced home purchase of the year in Southern Nevada.

“We’re thrilled,” she said.

‘Any other community’

Dolan — whose business interests have spanned industries such as accounting, auto racing and aviation — said he lives in Monaco but decided to move to the U.S. amid his concerns over Europe’s economy and the “infringement on civil liberties” there.

He looked at Florida, adding it was “an obvious choice for us because of our politics,” but said a friend from Scotland lived in Las Vegas and enjoyed life in America’s casino capital.

People typically think of the tourist-packed Strip when they think of Las Vegas, but Dolan said when he started looking at houses here, it was like “any other community.”

He said he felt a sense of ambition in Las Vegas, and while he hasn’t worked in the casino or hotel industry, it’s something he is “extremely interested in.”

Dolan said he toured Wynn’s house around October. According to listing site Zillow, the home went under contract to sell in March.

“This will be our most permanent home,” where Dolan and his family spend most of their time, he said.

Elizabeth Schwartz Fray of Urban Nest Realty, who represented Dolan in the purchase, compared the house to a luxury hotel, citing its long hallways, arches, and marble finishes.

“This is a true estate,” she said.

Wynn, who developed the Bellagio, Wynn Las Vegas and other massive hotel-casinos on Las Vegas Boulevard, resigned as chairman and CEO of Wynn Resorts in 2018 after The Wall Street Journal reported allegations of a decadeslong pattern of sexual misconduct.

Wynn called the claims “preposterous” and cited an “avalanche of negative publicity” when he announced his departure from the casino company in a press release.

‘Business maverick’

Dolan, author of “How to Make Millions Without a Degree,” has garnered his fair share of media coverage across the Atlantic.

A 2011 Daily Mail story called him a “business maverick” over his approach to buying and selling real estate, and a 2016 article described him as a multi-millionaire “motoring fanatic.” In that report, Dolan said he owned 12 properties, including an estate that previously belonged to David Bowie.

In spring 2020, amid widespread business closures and other shutdowns around the globe, sparked by fears of the coronavirus outbreak, The Guardian reported that Dolan was taking steps to challenge the legality of the U.K.’s actions.

“The lockdown is telling us to stop living to avoid dying,” Dolan said in the article. “To imprison people in their homes is an extremely dramatic decision to make.”

Months later, he lost a bid in court to challenge the government’s rules, according to a report on ITV.com.

Dolan on Wednesday cited his legal fight over the lockdowns, noting he was “up against the whole rest of the world.”

Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Follow @eli_segall on Twitter. Review-Journal business intern Emerson Drewes contributed to this report.