Wynn Lands $2.4 Billion in Financing for UAE Casino Resort

Posted on: February 6, 2025, 06:27h. 

Last updated on: February 7, 2025, 09:09h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN) announced Thursday that it procured a $2.4 billion construction loan for its planned casino resort in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), meaning financing for the project is completed.

UAE casino
A rendering of Wynn’s UAE casino hotel. The company said it completed financing for the venue. (Image: 11 Prop/YouTube)

The loan, which is denominated in both dollars and dirham, was extended to Wynn Al Marjan Island FZ-LLC. That’s a unit of the gaming company’s40% interest in Wynn Al Marjan Island. Currently under construction in in Ras Al Khaimah (RAK), the integrated resort will be the first gaming venue in the Arab world and is expected to open in 2027.

The term of the loan is seven years at a competitive market interest rate and is structured as a delayed draw facility which provides significant financial flexibility to the joint venture partners,” said Las Vegas-based Wynn in a statement.

The gaming company added that the bulk of the spending will be denominated in dirham and the loan is the largest in the history of the UAE’s leisure/hospitality industry.

Wynn UAE Loan Could Be a Positive Sign

The consortium of lenders extending financing to Wynn to complete the UAE project is expansive, signaling the operator is able to tap capital markets with ease.

“The bank syndicate includes a mix of globally recognized regional and international lenders. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC and Deutsche Bank AG acted as Joint Coordinators of the financing,” according to the press release. “The joint coordinators as well as First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, Emirates NBD Capital Limited, and The National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah acted as Initial Mandated Lead Arrangers, Bookrunners and Underwriters, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation DIFC Branch, Dubai acted as Lead Arranger. First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC is acting as Agent and Security Agent for the lenders.”

That deep bench of creditors could also be a sign the investment community sees opportunity at the intersection of the UAE and casino gaming. By some estimates, the UAE could eventually become the world’s fourth-largest casino market and it could reach that lofty status with just a handful of venues.

Perhaps also attractive to lenders is the point that the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA) has yet to approve any other casinos, meaning Wynn Al Marjan Island will have a multiyear monopoly before it sees competition.

Wynn UAE Casino Construction Advancing

In announcing the financing, Wynn also provided an update on construction progress in the UAE, and that outlook is positive. The operator is aiming to have the hotel tower topped off by the end of 2025 — a goal that appears feasible given that the structure has grown by 140 feet over the past 100 days with workers completing one floor per week.

Thus far, 80% of the guestrooms at the waterfront resort are finished and 20% of the outside façade is complete.

“In the low-rise portion of the building, the concrete and steel structures are a combined 70% complete. Exterior facades and interior fit out have commenced. Elevator and escalator installation across the property is also progressing,” concluded the operator in the statement.