Steve Wynn turned to Kazuo Okada when the gambling magnate needed cash to fund his namesake Las Vegas casino in 2000. Now, Okada could be the ace up Wynn's sleeve in the Japanese businessman's home market.
The pair want to submit a bid to operate Japanese casinos once the government opens the market, Aruze Corp. Chairman Okada said in an interview earlier this month. Success in Japan would be a boon to Wynn Resorts Ltd. shareholders, said Michael Rudolph, who helps manage $9 billion at Gardner Lewis Asset Management.
"We want to do it with Steve Wynn," said Okada from Aruze's Tokyo boardroom adorned with jukeboxes and a statue of Buddha. "An international bid is the best way. I think it's possible in Tokyo to create something that will draw visitors from home and abroad, above and beyond Las Vegas."