Up to 200 Wynn Al-Marjan staff members are expected to arrive in RAK up to six months before opening.
Wynn Resorts is blazing a trail in the UAE with the development of the Wynn Al Marjan Island integrated resort.
Construction of what will be the first legal gambling venue in the Gulf states is now 60% complete and the project is on track to open in spring 2027.
There is plenty riding on this venture - for Wynn and its partners, for the governments of RAK and the UAE, and for the future of gaming in the region on the whole.
Now Wynn’s team is turning their attention to the fine details, including room design, lighting and staffing.
The resort’s hiring portal has already been live for several weeks and up to 200 staff members are expected to arrive on site six months before the venue opens its doors.
“On the day it opens, it has to be perfect,” Michael Weaver, Wynn’s Chief Communications and Brand Officer, told Arabian Business during a site tour this week.
“The nuts and bolts of how you’re really going to run things, the decisions need to be made now and they need to make them when they can think about it and be thoughtful and really make the right calls.
“You don’t want to do it six months before you open.”
The project was among the first to be issued with a license to do business in commercial gaming within the UAE by the GCGRA.
Other early licensees include the UAE’s official lottery operator and several gaming technology companies.
Wynn Al-Marjan Island resort is seen as potentially transformative for the region.
Its success will serve as a blueprint for the development of land-based casino operations elsewhere in the GCC region, and it could also pave the way for regulation and licensing of online casinos and sports betting sites in the UAE.
