Picasso auction reveals Vegas shift from gambling to ‘experience’

Picasso auction reveals Vegas shift from gambling to ‘experience’

When Steve Wynn opened the Bellagio resort on the Las Vegas strip in 1998, it marked a dramatic departure from the casino formula that had worked for decades in Sin City.

The Italian-themed resort featured upmarket restaurants, luxury retail and other diversions that offered patrons opportunities to spend large sums of money on activities that did not involve gambling. The Bellagio also became a showcase for Wynn’s art collection, including his Picassos, 22 of which have been displayed for more than 20 years in a restaurant called — what else? — Picasso.

On Saturday, MGM Resorts — which bought the Picassos as part of its $4.4.bn acquisition of Wynn’s Mirage in 2000 — sold 11 of the works at an unusual Sotheby’s auction in Las Vegas for a total of $109m. The remaining Picassos will remain on display at the casino.

The sale might have been seen as a way for MGM to begin scrubbing itself of Wynn’s legacy following accusations in 2018 of sexual misconduct. Wynn was forced to step down from his company, Wynn Resorts, following the allegations, and a new chief executive was installed. Wynn has called the claims “preposterous”.

But in fact the auction — the centrepiece of which was