I don't know this guy, but I adore him just the same.

You may or may not have read about the recent near-sale of the Picasso called "Le Rêve." I hadn't, until my friend Michele sent it to me just a moment ago. The former owner of The Bellagio in Las Vegas is now the owner of another grand hotel and resort named after, well, him. The Wynn, apparently is the height of luxury and culture including both amazing food AND a Renoir and a Matisse hanging above the desks of secretaries in Steve Wynn's offices.

Apparently, according to Nora Ephron, he had just finalized a $139 million deal with a purchaser, and was telling his friends (including herself) about the painting. "At that moment, his elbow crashed backward right through the canvas. There was a terrible noise," Ephron wrote, noting that Wynn has retinitis pigmentosa, an eye disease that damages peripheral vision. "Smack in the middle ... was a black hole the size of a silver dollar. 'Oh s---,' he said. 'Look what I've done. Thank goodness it was me.'

He decided to have the painting repaired, keep the painting, and cancel the deal with the purchaser considering the damage that had been done.

The reason I'm relating this all to you is the following, which warms my heart to no end.

A few hours later, they all met up for dinner, and Wynn was in a cheerful mood. “My feeling was, It’s a picture, it’s my picture, we’ll fix it. Nobody got sick or died. It’s a picture. It took Picasso five hours to paint it.”

Way to go Steve Wynn. I don't know you from Adam's housecat, but I WILL be staying at the Wynn next time I'm in Vegas. And I appreciate your perspective. A lot.


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Note: After a cursory examination of the prices to stay at The Wynn, I'm just going to encourage my wealthy friends to stay there, as opposed to actually doing it myself, what with the nightly cost being equal to my entire month's rent. Still, even so, love the guy.