(Bloomberg) -- Wynn Resorts Ltd.’s two Macau casinos -- once the company’s main breadwinners -- lost money in the final months of 2021.

The world’s largest gambling hub is itself in a state of upheaval. While the local government is renewing casino licenses, it will likely also demand new investment from companies like Wynn, even as China limits travel there by its own citizens.

All of that may seem like a lot to worry about for a company that got 70% of its business from the Chinese enclave three years ago, but Craig Billings, Wynn’s new chief executive officer, is more enthused than intimidated by the challenges.

“I’m most excited and fascinated by Macau,” Billings said in his first interview since taking over in February. “I’m kind of a glutton for ambiguity and change.”

Billings’s plan is to make the company founded by disgraced casino mogul Steve Wynn even more of a global player, expanding into new businesses and focusing on younger, affluent guests. That means new markets and new customers, including people who don’t gamble.

The strategy builds on what Wynn has already been doing in Las Vegas and at its Boston resort, which opened in 2019. By adding features that appeal to younger revelers, Wynn has brought the average age of its Las Vegas guest down in recent years. 

One example is Delilah, an art deco-styled supper club that Wynn opened last year in Las Vegas. The Wagyu pot roast costs $182, but on weekends it’s tough to get a reservation. Surprise guests have included singers Justin Bieber, Macy Gray and Drake. Other investments aimed at attracting a younger crowd include a recording studio for the sports podcasting company Blue Wire, visible to guests walking by shops and restaurants.

Billings plans pop-up stores from cutting-edge designers to complement a retail lineup that already includes Chanel, Gucci and Bottega Veneta. And he’s spending $100 million on as-yet-unnamed new show, to replace “Le Reve,” that will feature magic and a storyline crafted by comic book writer Kelly Sue DeConnick.

Mark Markarian, a 46-year-old plastic surgeon from Boston in Las Vegas recently for a wedding, gets what Billings is trying to do. Markarian, dressed in a designer windbreaker, swimsuit and sneakers, doesn’t gamble and didn’t mind paying about $2,000 a night for his suite. 

“I like the ambiance, just general people-watching, that kind of thing,” he said of the Wynn. “There’s a specific 30-something, 40-something demographic that’s just sort of more fun.”

To further his global ambitions, Billings announced what will be the first casino in the United Arab Emirates. The $2 billion beach resort on Al Marjan Island will have about 1,200 hotel rooms and a Las Vegas-size casino floor. The tables and slot machines will be open only for tourists and the region’s roughly 9 million non-citizen residents. 

Even so, Billings thinks it’s a good bet, given the large number of Europeans and other potential guests. “We effectively have the world minus 1 million people,” he said.

Shares of Wynn, at $78.64 on Wednesday, have doubled from their pandemic low, but its competitors -- Caesars Entertainment Inc. and MGM Resorts International -- have far surpassed that performance, in part because they are less exposed to China and advancing faster in the growing business of online betting.

Customer traffic to Macau, the only place in China where casino gambling is allowed, has been limited by the coronavirus, and a recent resurgence is further crimping business. In addition, the Chinese government, as part of a broader focus on illicit money transfers, has cracked down on the junket operators who bring high rollers into town.

By mid-summer, Wynn and other operators in Macau expect to get terms for their license renewals. They’ll likely require more spending on noncasino attractions. Billings said he’d like to build more hotel rooms. The company is also considering sports facilities, art and cultural attractions, even rooms designed to encourage medical tourism.

“We’re going to have a changed business there,” Wynn’s 72-year-old chairman, Phil Satre, said in an interview. “We’re seeing our customer reflect more of the age group that Craig is in. Baby Boomers to Gen X and Millennials.”

Billings grew up in Las Vegas, the only child of a single mom who worked for the phone company. He worked as a casino banker at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and later ran the social gaming business of Australian slot machine maker Aristocrat Leisure Ltd. before being recruited by Wynn’s then president Matt Maddox.

It was just months before the Steve Wynn scandal broke, with the founder accused of sexually assaulting casino workers. Billings said he had no idea that was going on. Maddox, who became CEO after Wynn stepped down, picked Billings to run the company’s sports-betting business.

Wynn had grand plans for the sports-betting business that included a merger with a special purpose acquisition company. The company hired Ben Affleck and Shaquille O’Neil to appear in commercials, but the high cost of marketing led Billings to shift gears. He halted national advertising for the sports-betting business and is now focused on less-expensive online marketing as he tries to stem the losses.

“We would rather step back, reassess our strategy, take a longer view,” he said.

Billings is considering traditional casino expansion opportunities closer to home, including New York City, where Wynn is looking at several sites for what could be three new casinos approved in the area. He’ll also consider other businesses that could be an extension of the Wynn brand, such as high-end lodging or a boutique cruise line.

“What’s happening with the consumer is a willingness to spend,” Billings said. “And it’s not just us.”

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