Image by: Public Domain
By: George Lamb

“What I like about casinos is they allow us to build hotels. A slot machine or a black jack or a roulette table, they have no power; it’s the non casino stuff that gets people to come back again and again,” A very rich man by the name of Steve Wynn said that. Yes, the man who indeed–by universal agreement–reinvented Las Vegas. And because of this man’s accurate statement, the entire city is known for its lush, extravagant casinos and its gambling way of life.

It’s hard to believe there’s just one man who’s involved in the recreation of an entire city (hotel and casino-wise, at least), but after hearing this man speak you will soon understand why–he’s nothing short of a genius.

Being the 133rd richest man in the United States, something amazing has to be brewing in that 70 year old skull of his. And the best part is he earned every cent of his money doing what he loves. A statement he made soon after confirming that fact: “Consequently, I have never worked a day in my life.” That should be the key motivator in any entrepreneurs arsenal, to not look at what you’re doing as a job or work, but to see it as a lifestyle.

Be a student of something you love, have fun doing it and chase your dreams to your hearts content. Now, enough of my personal insight, lets hear it from one of the richest men in the country.

#1) “Entrepreneurs Have an Appetite for Living Uncomfortably.”

As a self made entrepreneur, Steve Wynn believes one of the prerequisites to being successful is to live uncomfortably. Entrepreneurs are not ‘guys who fly without a net’ so to speak. But its one thing to be able to sustain risks and to live with a certain degree of uncertainty, and to rely on your judgement, but its quite another thing to be reckless. If you’re going to take a risk, develop a business plan, examine and re-examine the fundamentals and convince yourself that what you are doing is going to work.

The idea is not to proceed recklessly, but rather fearlessly. Examine that “irrational or risky” business plan so much that your brain tricks itself into believing that what you are doing is a decision and not a risk.

The key component to maintaining the stability of a firm after a decision is capital structure, which allows you to inevitably survive the cycles of business–the ups and the downs, the wins and the losses and the miscalculations you are fated to encounter. In this business there will be losses, but as long as you supplant them with wins then anything lost turns into nothing more than a learning experience and research for future decisions. If your capital structure is bullet proof, then your chances of success will increase dramatically.

#2) “The Culture Lives and Must Exist at the Most Fundamental Level.”

When Steve Wynn said, “fundamental level” in this quote, what he meant was at the level of  the basic line employee (housekeeper, cashier, dealer, ect.). In a nutshell, he was asked in an interview: “If you manage so many casino hotel resorts–some even out the country–how do you make sure that the standards of other casinos are being maintained. How do you make sure, say, the 9th floor is being cleaned properly or the room service is prompt or something along those lines. When you are in charge of something this giant, how do you infuse your standards and your approach into something this big (i.e. many different casino resorts.)”

This is a very reasonable question, as it seems nearly impossible for one man to manage the multitude floors, rooms and hotel resorts sprinkled over such a wide range of locations. If he’s in Las Vegas and there’s horrible service by some of his employees in Boston, then what possibly can he do about it if he’s so far away?

Steve answered this question with an earnest glare and said, “If I can establish that culture, where each employee feels its important to them to have responsibility then that questioned is answered infinitely.”

Steve Wynn backed up his statement by offering that generally, providing his employees–who feel they are being payed fairly–with a sense of happiness and piece of mind, along with a fundamental identification with the enterprise goes a long way in determining the quality of their customer service.

But how does one increase someone else’s peace of mind? Well, that is simple: if someone who thinks they are being payed fairly is recognized for their efforts, then that not only improves their self esteem, but also their work ethic. This means if you plan on keeping your employees moral high, you may want to reward them for their efforts. Either with a pay raise, an employee of the month award or any other form of recognition that says, “Hey, we appreciate everything you’re doing for us.”

Its working for him, so why can’t it work for you?

Check out some more advice from the man himself.

Steve Wynn is a very rich man, but there are over a hundred men in this country even wealthier than him and all those guys have something to say as well. If you know anything that I’m not telling, let us know below!