Steve Wynn, one of the people who shaped modern Las Vegas, said Thursday that he would move his company’s headquarters in as soon as four years to the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau, where he believes the bulk of his firm’s future growth will be.

The discussion of whether relocate to Macau by the person who built such iconic casinos as the Mirage and the Bellagio is perceived by some as a symbolic blow to a place that is still trying to shake off the effects of the recession and the bursting housing bubble. Others, however, attach little significance to where Mr. Wynn puts his headquarters.

Mr. Wynn discussed the possible move during a conference call as his company, Wynn Resorts Ltd., announced its first-quarter results. He said that he intends to include new company headquarters in a Macau resort project he hopes to open in 2014.

The executive had first broached the topic a week earlier at the opening of the Encore, part of an expansion at Wynn Macau. Those comments prompted a heated discussion back in Nevada. U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley, who represents Las Vegas, commented to reporters that a move would be a “devastating blow” to the local economy. John L. Smith, a columnist with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, noted that Mr. Wynn had benefited numerous local tax breaks over the years, and offered to help him pack his bags. “Las Vegas, which has given Wynn everything he has ever asked, is struggling,” Mr. Smith wrote. “Unlike Wynn, most locals can’t cut and run.”Any future move is still far from certain. The resort Mr. Wynn said he intends to build that would house a new Macau headquarters is still in the planning stage.

However, he said he and some of his top executive will begin to reorganize their schedules in order to spend more time in Macau. Last year, his company raised US $1.6 billion when it floated its Macau assets in an initial public offering on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

The discussion of a possible move from his traditional base in Las Vegas follows a string of criticisms the casino executive has leveled at the Obama administration for what he regards are misguided economic policies which retard growth.

Mr. Wynn said on Thursday that he has always taken care to cultivate strong relationships with Chinese authorities. “We stay on the good side of the government by attending to proper Chinese protocol, to be humble as a guest, to show appreciation for that privilege including going public on the Hong Kong stock exchange to increase Chinese ownership of our company,” Mr. Wynn said, adding, “Those things have all conspired to… protect our market share and allow it to grow.”

Wynn Resorts has two resorts in Las Vegas, as well as Wynn Macau and the Encore extension. On Thursday the company reported $27 million profit for the first quarter of 2010, compared to a $33.8 million loss for the same quarter a year earlier.

Results for the quarter saw 32% increase in Macau revenue over the same quarter last year, compared to 9.3% increase for Las Vegas revenue. For the quarter, about 75% of the cash generated from casinos came from Macau.

Wynn competitor Las Vegas Sands, which has around the same mix of Macau and Las Vegas income and opened a casino in Singapore this week, does not intend to move its headquarters, a company spokesman said.

Mr. Wynn on Thursday told analysts he was unlikely to invest much anymore in casinos in the U.S., with the possible exception of Massachusetts if that state expands gambling.

He recently withdrew plans to join a group that was struggling to develop a casino in Philadelphia, but he said Thursday that he might consider trying to obtain the license there if it is put out for bid again.

Mr. Wynn’s previous company, Mirage Resorts, spurred the development of a wave of giant opulent casino resorts that reconfigured the Las Vegas Strip, starting with the Mirage in 1989. The company was taken over by Kirk Kerkorian’s MGM Grand Inc. in 2000.

Mr. Wynn launched Wynn Resorts Ltd., soon after, which developed Wynn Las Vegas and Encore, as well as the properties in Macau.

Some in Las Vegas are skeptical that Mr. Wynn would move his headquarters from the city where he established his reputation.

“He revived the town and kept building,” said Bill Thompson, a professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and longtime casino industry observer. “I just take this with a grain of salt. He loves to perform.”

Thank To : WSJ

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