Win Stuff At The Wynn Mall Kiosk

I don't usually expound too much on our weekly Top Secret Tourist Tip of the Week for "The Strip" because it's content that rewards the listener who makes it all the way to the end of the show. This one, though, was worth both TSTTotW status and a blogger attention.

In an early December interview with Steve Wynn, I asked him about a rumor I'd heard that there were Wynn people at the Fashion Show Mall across the street giving away discounts on stuff. He said he knew nothing of it and I forgot all about it until last week when I went to do some Xmas shopping.

My first clue was this:


Butterflies! Wynn butterflies! On the floor, on railings, here and there in a particular section of the Fashion Show. Plus arrows leading somewhere no doubt wonderful! I took the bait, followed the arrows and eventually I found...



A full-fledged Wynn-Encore kiosk located, evidently permanently, directly outside the entrance to Needless Mark-Up!

So what, pray tell, does one find at a Wynn-Encore kiosk? That's the interesting part. The attendants I chatted with said they can book rooms, restaurant reservations and show tickets. In fact, by mid-January, I was told, Nevada residents can book "Le Reve" and Danny Gans seats at a 2-for-1 rate that they won't get at the Wynn box office or at any of the discount ticket sellers. The mall desk also boasts stacks of "VIP" passes to get in free pre-midnight at the ultralounge Blush and, if you've got a vagina, at Tryst. See?


But the most fascinating thing about the kiosk is the CHANCE TO WIN FABULOUS PRIZES! If you walk up and ask for a contest card, they give you one of these things:

You peel back one tab -- the missing one above says "Join" -- and stand the chance of winning $10K in slot play. You have to redeem it at the Red Card desk inside the Wynn or Encore casinos and, presumably, if you're not a Red Card member, you have to sign up. But, still, it's free.

I asked for, and received, two of these cards. It was unclear whether I could have taken both prize winners to the casino or what other "Terms & Conditions" apply, as it says, since there's nothing anywhere on the cards explaining the "Terms & Conditions."

Of course, I couldn't bear the suspense of not knowing what I didn't win on the second card, even though that is a clear no-no for this contest. (Invalid if more than one tab is pulled, it warns.) So I threw away the $10 at the ice cream shop Sugar & Ice that I initially won on the card below to see what else I might've received...


Not bad, really. $10 at the deli, free admission for the Ferrari place, $25 slot play... those are actually decent things to win, really.

While I'm on this subject, I think it's terrific that you can make dinner reservations at Wynn or Encore from the Fashion Show Mall, but how is it possible that you can't do so for any of the Encore restaurants on... EncoreLasVegas.Com?!?!? After Miles and I discussed our dinner at Switch at Encore on this week's forthcoming podcast, I wanted to provide a link to the restaurant on the Encore website. Shockingly, I discovered there's nothing on the Encore website about ANY of the restaurants there, which is strange because that is the aspect of Encore that is being most promoted to journalists at this point.

See for yourself:


There's no tab for restaurants. And there's no info about Encore restaurants -- Switch, Sinatra, Society, Botero and Wazzuzu -- on the WynnLasVegas.Com site, either. Isn't that strange? I mean, they've got Danny Gans up there and he doesn't open until February!