Creativity and innovation cannot be limited by a clock, although the failure to adhere to a schedule is often more costly than valuable. At Encore, there were several last-minute changes that radically altered what Wynn Resorts’ Encore Las Vegas would become.

From the groundbreaking, where Steve Wynn described a property that was quite unlike the finished product, through the early stages of construction and even upon entering the homestretch, there were changes at Encore that finely tuned its appeal to customers and its final form.

Encore was dramatically impacted by the company’s first resort outside the United States, Wynn Macau. The designs for the rooms and the two-story suites influenced Steve Wynn and company executives so much that they implemented changes in design as the building was under construction.

According to chief architect DeRuyter Butler, the revelation about the two-story suites was implemented in such a manner that it did not impact the construction schedule; the drawings, permits and layout would be completed in time to start the concrete pours on the 21st floor. And the transformation from modestly larger rooms (compared to Wynn Las Vegas) into mini-suites was just as dramatic and timely.

Roger Thomas, the company’s chief designer, describes last-minute changes in the restaurants Society and Sinatra that complied with the requests of the chefs/operators who were only chosen as the property was nearing completion.

The changes overall make Encore one of the most intimate large hotels in the business, able to impress the VIPs and the common man alike.

But the changes were dramatic and risky, proving two old adages: Where there’s a will, there’s a way; and look before you leap.