Right Place, Right Time
For David Patent, the chance to join the team at Wynn Al Marjan came just at the right time. He was CEO of the gaming analytics firm VizExplorer and the company was going through a transition, so the time was right.
Patent had a long history in the Harrah’s/Caesars Entertainment organization, and later was COO at Rush Street Gaming, responsible for opening up some of that company’s early casinos. So operations was second nature to him.
The interview process at Wynn was not complicated, he says.
“They wheeled out the design drawings for the project, showed me a bunch of materials about it and asked if I wanted to be involved,” he explains. “Of course I said ‘Sure.’ That was a nanosecond decision.
“To be able to be the first entrant in a non-existent, but incredibly dynamic market where there is so much innovation, growth and development happening? To be within a half-day flight to 70 percent or 80 percent of the world’s population? To have no competition around you and to be the owner of the leading brand in the world? How could you not want to be part of that? It’s the opportunity of a lifetime.”
Patent will report to the property’s president, Max Tappeiner, who was a member of the 2023 class of 25 People to Watch.
“Max has been great so far,” he says, “and I’m looking forward to working closely with him as we approach the opening.”
Patent was involved with Harrah’s and Caesars when the corporate culture was the best in the business. He says the Wynn corporate culture should be the model for all gaming companies.
“It’s the absolute dedication to providing the best experience for your customers,” he says. “When you do that, your customers don’t leave you.”
Although Wynn is a public company with a responsibility to its shareholders, Patent believes that its long-term focus is what makes it great.
“We’re looking at long-term customer value as opposed to customer margins,” he says. “That’s really how we think about the customers. We want this customer not for five years, but for 20, 30, 40—we want to be the only place that they come to, or at least their preferred place. You can’t put a price tag on that, frankly.”
Coming from the supplier side with VizExplorer, Patent has a unique ability to mix his gaming operations experience with his analytical approach to the casino. He’s interested in how the players in Europe will respond to the opening of Wynn Al Marjan and also expects to attract lots of visitors from the Pacific Rim. With the expansive resorts in Singapore, Wynn can most likely change the gaming patterns of at least some of those players.
But for Patent, it’s going to be an interesting ride.
