Wynn UAE Casino Could Lure 3.5 Million Tourists to Home Island, Says Exec

• CEO of Marjan Properties says Wynn casino hotel could help island reach annual visitation of 3.5 million by 2030
• If all those tourists visit the Wynn integrated resort, yearly visitation could compare well with individual Las Vegas gaming venues
• Wynn Al Marjan Island recently reached the 61^st floor and is on pace to open in 2027

Wynn Al Marjan Island could be a major contributor in luring 3.5 million travelers per year to Ras Al Khaimah, the emirate in which the casino hotel is being built.

In a recent interview with The Khaleej Times, Marjan Properties CEO Abdulla Al Abdouli said the venue, which is the first of its kind in the Arab world, could significantly boost tourism to Ras Al Khaimah. That emirate is a short flight from Dubai, and the city of the same name is the sixth-largest in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority aims to attract more than 3.5 million visitors by 2030,” said Al Abdouli in the interview. “To achieve this, we need more hospitality keys and active investor participation in real estate, including hotels and apartment.”

Wynn Resorts’ (NASDAQ: WYNN) Wynn Al Marjan Island carries a price tag of $5.1 billion and will feature 1,542 guestrooms. Wynn is self-funding its 40% share of the project. The gaming company’s local partners are Marjan LLC and RAK Hospitality Holding LLC.

Wynn UAE Casino Visitation Could Be Significant

Wynn Al Marjan Island and, in turn, Ras Al Khaimah are seen benefiting from proximity to Dubai and expectations that the gaming venue will hold a multiyear monopoly in the UAE.

While 3.5 million visitors pales in comparison to the more than 41 million that arrived in Las Vegas last year, if the bulk of those travelers to Ras Al Khaimah enter the Wynn property, annual visitation there could eventually compare favorably with what’s seen at some individual casino resorts on the Strip. That implies the venue could be a boon to the emirate’s local economy.

“Supporting it requires residential units and apartments as well. Many businesses will be created there. It will be an integral part of Ras Al Khaimah’s economy,” Al Abdouli told The Khaleej Times.

Wynn and its partners hold a massive plot of unused land near Wynn Al Marjan Island, and that acreage could eventually be used for a variety of expansion efforts, including possibly a second gaming venue, though that hasn’t been confirmed.

Bright Outlook for Wynn UAE Casino

The investment community is awakening to Wynn’s UAE opportunity set. In a report out last week, Stifel analyst Steven Wieczynski estimated that when Wynn Al Marjan Island comes online in 2027, the property could move toward accounting for 15% of the operator’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA).

He added that the UAE property could be worth $18 to $25 a share and that Wynn’s current stock price excludes or undervalues potential UAE contributions.