(Bloomberg) -- Tilman Fertitta, who reported a 9.9% stake in Wynn Resorts Ltd. this week, is unhappy with the casino operator’s performance and share price, according to people familiar with his thinking.
Wynn management isn’t doing an adequate job communicating Wynn’s performance to investors, and Fertitta thinks there are opportunities to expand the Wynn brand, particularly in the US, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing the investor’s thinking.
Profit at Wynn has surged in recent years, rebounding following the Covid-19 pandemic.
The shares are up sharply since Fertitta first reported a 6.1% stake in Wynn in October 2022. But they have trailed the overall market this year. The stock rose 8.7% to $93.22 on Thursday, jumping after Fertitta reported his increased stake in a regulatory filing.
A spokesman for Las Vegas-based Wynn declined to comment.
Fertitta, a Houston billionaire, owns the Landry’s restaurant company and the Golden Nugget casinos. While he owns a casino in downtown Las Vegas, he has always craved a property on the city’s famous Strip. He has purchased land there that he hopes to develop one day.
Wynn operates its namesake casino in Las Vegas, along with Encore properties in Las Vegas and Boston. It’s also building what could be the first casino in the United Arab Emirates. Wynn properties generally cater to a high-end clientele, but Fertitta is said to believe a middle-market brand like Golden Nugget could feed customers the Wynn properties.
Fertitta operated an online casino business that he sold DraftKings Inc. Wynn tried to make a go of online betting but has largely pulled back.
An outright takeover of Wynn would be complicated by the company’s majority ownership of Wynn Macau Ltd., which operates casinos in Macau and would require the approval of the government there. Wynn got almost half of its 2023 sales in that Chinese gambling enclave.
(Updates with closing stock price, Wynn declining to comment.)
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