Wynn Resorts Nixes Fiola Mare Restaurant, Drama Abounds
Plans to open Fiola Mare restaurant, from chef and restaurateur Fabio Trabocchi, have been called off at Wynn Las Vegas.
When we first heard the restaurant isn’t happening, we Tweeted, “Smells like drama.”
We were right, of course. It’s Las Vegas.

In a scenario as rare as David Copperfield declining an invitation to a private island, the Las Vegas Review-Journal was the first to report Fiola Mare has been axed. The plug was pulled months ago, but it sometimes takes the Review-Journal a minute if they aren’t using our Twitter account as a free news feed.
The story provided a quote from Fabio Trabocchi, “We are not moving ahead with the location at the Wynn at this time. We continue to actively look for the right location in Las Vegas and look forward to opening there in the future.”
The story also included the top notch journalism we’ve all come to expect from the Review-Journal, “Trabocchi did not provide a reason for abandoning the project.”
We’re here to help. Not only to show the Las Vegas Review-Journal what “attribution” looks like, but we also have the story behind the story.
So, you know, the story.
Fiola Mare, which was supposed to replace Wynn’s Lakeside restaurant was announced in July 2024. Lakeside closed permanently around that time.
Striking such a restaurant partnership is a pretty big deal given it’s Wynn Freaking Las Freaking Vegas.
Opening a restaurant at Wynn gives one’s brand prestige and exposure, so reportedly Fabio Trabocchi decided to take full advantage of the situation.
In Oct. 2024, many (including Wynn Resorts) were surprised to see this headline: “Chef Fabio Trabocchi Inks Deal to Develop New Italian Concepts Across U.S.” Yeah, we aren’t paying a subscription to view one story, either, but the story basically says Trabocchi signed a partnership agreement with Sam Nazarian’s SBE to expand the chef’s empire. You remember Sam Nazarian? He opened SLS Las Vegas, formerly and currently Sahara, and lost control of the casino when he failed to be licensed due to, you know, his own behavior.
To put it in Marvel terms: You do not want to see Wynn Resorts when it’s angry.
The Wynn deal was dead.
The chef’s quote is technically accurate, “We are not moving ahead with the location at the Wynn at this time.” But that makes it sound like it was the chef’s decision. It was not, according to our sources.
As for the other part of his quote? “We continue to actively look for the right location in Las Vegas and look forward to opening there in the future.”
Good luck with that. Las Vegas is a small town, and you do not want to burn anyone (especially Wynn Resorts), as word gets around.
Wynn Resorts has not made an official statement about the situation, but we wish they would. Wynn’s statements often are sickly sweet on the surface, but deadly in their subtextual shade.
When a high roller used Resorts World’s video screen to attack a Wynn employee, the company said, “We will not dignify the behavior of the guest toward our employee nor Resort’s World’s actions with a comment.”
When Wynn sued Resorts World for poaching employees, the Wynn statement included, “We clearly hope Fontainebleau will achieve the success to which it aspires; their success, if it comes, will benefit all of us.”
As the kids say, “dayum.” Keeping it classy is highly overrated!
Stayed tuned for what’s next in the Lakeside space at Wynn. It’s bound to be fancy.
Update (2/18/25): A previous version of this story had more juicy details about this situation, but we removed some elements of our story due to a letter we received via e-mail from Chef Fabio Trabocchi. Trabocchi disagreed with some of our sourced information, and we have no interest in being the subject of a frivolous lawsuit, as happened with Sahara. We were out of pocket $50,000 before winning the case and Sahara (and its asshat owner Alex Meruelo) paying more than $95,000 in our legal fees.
A portion of Trabocchi’s letter read, “First, as a restaurant operator, I am in frequent discussions with collaborators who would like to create partnerships. I have entered into other licensing and management agreements and understand the legal concept of exclusivity, geographic and otherwise. Suffice it to say that my deal with Wynn was exclusive as to Clarke County NV and any other deals that I entered into after that deal was signed specifically carved out Clarke County.” The letter also included, “To state so directly that I would behave in such an unethical manner declares to the world that I am both ignorant of the legal obligations of the contracts that I sign or that I am not a man of my word and would take advantage of my business partners.”
We asked the chef via e-mail to help us understand why the deal was canceled if everything was on the up-and-up, but got no response. Awkward.
Wynn Resorts has announced a new restaurant concept for its Lakeside space, Pisces Bar & Seafare.
Chef Fabio Trabocchi has yet to announce a new location for his restaurant. Shocker.
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