"Plants, water, the natural light of the sun, primordial stuff, that's how the creative process began," he says. "What sustains life on this planet; I started with that idea, and if you go through Wynn, you'll notice skylights everywhere, sunshine filtering through etched glass, ceramic and mosaic tiles with flowers from Matisse's Persian Robe."

Architecture and design alone will not make a casino-resort competitively advantaged and enduring, however, he says. The other key ingredient is happiness—happy employees and happy customers--and Wynn takes it more seriously than most. As a Buddhist, Wynn believes that true satisfaction and enduring happiness is only gained by making a better life for other people.

There is evidence that his actions are in line with his belief. Nearly 100,000 people applied for the 10,000 jobs at Wynn Las Vegas because Wynn is known as a union-friendly boss who offers top pay and benefits in exchange for the attention to detail.

"I can't get an advantage with a building, and neither can you, because everybody copies; you've got maybe 60 months, maybe 40 months before everybody sees it and does it." he says. "You get competitive advantage because of people, and my leadership is defined by my ability to convince the eight-, nine-, 10,000 employees of the Wynn that they have the ability to change the course of the history every day.

"On the creative process, that's everything I've learned," he concludes. "Maybe you're not too impressed, but I am."