Steve Wynn Talks Golden Nugget Commercial With Dolly Parton, a ‘Deliciously Gifted Woman’

Steve Wynn is reflecting on his longtime friendship with Dolly Parton, the American icon who died this week at the age of 80 after a brief battle with cancer.

Wynn’s relationship with the Queen of Country began in the late 1980s. The two became acquainted when the casino mogul hired Parton to play at his Golden Nugget in downtown Las Vegas.

Wynn says their friendship budded after Parton playfully asked to be in a television commercial with him after seeing an ad he did with Frank Sinatra, in which the singer poked fun at the casino businessman.

“I said, ‘Let’s dream something up. We can do it tomorrow.’ I sat down with her, and she cooked up this silly idea of her being a housekeeper and me being a room service waiter cleaning up,” Wynn continued. “We filmed the commercial ad-libbed, one take. I want you to look at it, because you can see what a remarkably talented woman she was,” Wynn continued.

“Dolly Parton, we’re all going to miss her. A lot,” Wynn concluded.

Wynn Commercial With Dolly Parton

Wynn was a master marketer, with several of his casino commercials among the most memorable in Las Vegas history.

Before building megaresorts on the Las Vegas Strip, Wynn’s Golden Nugget commercial with Sinatra was deemed an instant classic. In the spot, the businessman shows off a new luxury suite, only for Sinatra to walk in, hand Wynn a wad of cash, and demand “enough towels,” leaving a bewildered Wynn staring at the camera.

While perhaps not as famous, Wynn’s commercial with Parton was also celebrated. In the 30-second commercial, Wynn, playing a room service waiter, boasts to Parton about all of the famous people who have stayed in the Golden Nugget. The ad ends with Wynn telling Parton that “Dolly Parton bit this toast.”

She responds, “Dolly Parton is the best!”

Wynn Raised the Roof on Casino Marketing

The most famous commercial Wynn ever did was for the 2005 opening of Wynn Las Vegas, in which the billionaire stood atop the corner of the 45-story, 630-foot-high resort. The commercial aired during Super Bowl XXXIX.

The commercial caused public debate on whether Wynn was actually standing on the casino edge. Wynn Resorts later confirmed that CGI was not used, and that Wynn was strapped in with a safety harness and other precautions.

“Can I get down now?” Wynn asks.

Wynn did it again three years later when he opened Encore, dangling his legs over the corner of the neighboring resort.

“Next time, we do this in the lobby,” Wynn says.