Steve Wynn pokes hole in $139 million Picasso

[Galaxy]

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/15310601/?GT1=8618

Picasso dream painting in nightmare scenario
Vegas casino magnate accidentally pokes hole in artist's ‘Le Reve’ work

LOS ANGELES - Picasso’s famed “Dream” painting turned into a nightmare for Las Vegas casino magnate Steve Wynn when he accidentally gave the multimillion dollar canvas an elbow.

Wynn had just finalized a $139 million sale to another collector of his painting, called “Le Reve” (The Dream), when he poked a finger-sized hole in the artwork while showing it to friends at his Las Vegas office a couple of weeks ago.

Director and screenwriter Nora Ephron, who witnessed and related the incident in her blog on the Huffington Post Web site (www.huffingtonpost.com), said Wynn had raised his hand to show the group something about Picasso’s 1932 portrait of his mistress Marie-Therese Walter.

“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.’”

Wynn’s office on Tuesday confirmed the story, an account of which also appeared in this week’s The New Yorker. Both accounts said Wynn had decided to release the buyer from the sale agreement and to repair and keep the painting himself.

Wynn, a millionaire casino developer and art collector, developed the Mirage and Bellagio resorts in Las Vegas in the 1990s, which spearheaded a profusion of luxury hotels and casinos on the once-seedy Las Vegas Strip.



The last sentence should say "billionaire".

[wade moore]

I listen to Penn Jillette's radio show, and his show yesterday was mostly about this.

Apparently, which it doesn't say in this article, Wynn has some sort of vision condition that contributed dramatically to this happening.

[rkmsuf]

I listen to Penn Jillette's radio show, and his show yesterday was mostly about this.

Apparently, which it doesn't say in this article, Wynn has some sort of vision condition that contributed dramatically to this happening.


Re-read the article bro.

Or actually read it.

[Subby]

Apparently, which it doesn't say in this article, Wynn has some sort of vision condition that contributed dramatically to this happening.
Might want to get the ol' vision checked, buddy... :D

[Blade6119]

Sounds like hes a good man at least, or at least i assume from his "at least it was me" comment.

[Galaxy]

If I'm not miskaten, a lot of the famous works of art have been "restored".

I believe at the restaurant Picasso, at the Bellagio, all the real works of Picassos belong to Steve and his wife.

[wade moore]

Might want to get the ol' vision checked, buddy... :D

Apparently my skimming skills aren't what they used to be...

[bulletsponge]

umm, am i the only one to notice in the painting, theres a "Johnson" laying on the womans head

[cartman]

He should have then picked up the painting, shook it over his head and shouted:

"I'm rich, biatch!!!"

[SnDvls]

dude has some much money it was a drop in the bucket for him.

he'll fix it up and then sell it some time down the road for $100 million and and probally write the loss off.

[Eaglesfan27]

Interesting that it says he "decided" to release the buyer from the agreement. I would like think the damage would compel him to do that.

[John Galt]

Interesting that it says he "decided" to release the buyer from the agreement. I would like think the damage would compel him to do that.

Depends on how the contract is written. For example, if the buy/sell date had passed and Wynn were only in possession (but not ownership) of the painting, then the buyer would probably only have a tort claim and not a contract claim - the contract itself would have been executed. If the contract actually had provisions dealing with the interim period before transfer, but after sale (which would likely be the case with a high value item like the painting), the parties could have shifted liability for damage to the buyer. Without knowing more, I think it is wrong to say Wynn was necessarily "compel[led]" to release the other party without knowing more about the contract involved.

[Maple Leafs]

Oh sure... now we all laugh, but when it's Tie Domi instead of Steve Wynn, and Scott Neidermayer's face instead of a painting, suddenly it's a big deal.

[John Galt]

Oh sure... now we all laugh, but when it's Tie Domi instead of Steve Wynn, and Scott Neidermayer's face instead of a painting, suddenly it's a big deal.

:D Yeah, I remember that incident back when they used to play hockey. Whatever happened to that sport anyway?

[Maple Leafs]

:D Yeah, I remember that incident back when they used to play hockey. Whatever happened to that sport anyway?
It vanished like a Yankee in October.

[John Galt]

It vanished like a Yankee in October.

Doesn't bother me. I'm a Nats fan now (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=31043). We were done by June.

[Galaxy]

Oh sure... now we all laugh, but when it's Tie Domi instead of Steve Wynn, and Scott Neidermayer's face instead of a painting, suddenly it's a big deal.


The Yankees spent $200 million and got holes punched in them by Detroit.

[dawgfan]

umm, am i the only one to notice in the painting, theres a "Johnson" laying on the womans head
Actually, it's growing out of her chin and resting on her head.

[Galaxy]

Interesting that it says he "decided" to release the buyer from the agreement. I would like think the damage would compel him to do that.

Tell you what, must be nice to have that much money to spend on a painting.

[Anthony]

everyone who ever gambled in any of his casinos made him rich.

[Groundhog]

Is it just me, or does anyone else think that the painting itself is pretty... I dunno... crappy, anyway?

[Galaxy]

Is it just me, or does anyone else think that the painting itself is pretty... I dunno... crappy, anyway?

It's called "Le Reve", which is "The Dream". I'm not an art expert, but I really don't understand the name and the meaning of the picture.

[MIJB#19]

It's called "Le Reve", which is "The Dream". I'm not an art expert, but I really don't understand the name and the meaning of the picture.
Well, what else can you expect from a Picasso painting?

[Huckleberry]

The painting depicts a woman touching herself with a penis on her face.

Whether that makes it crappy or appealing is left up to the reader as a personal preference.

[stevew]

JANUARY 11--Months after he accidentally poked a hole in a Picasso painting, casino magnate Steve Wynn today sued Lloyd's of London for failing to pay off a $54 million insurance claim. Wynn, who purchased the painting "Le Reve" for $48.4 million in 1997, contends that the painting was worth $139 million when, on September 30, he "accidentally placed a tear" in it while showing the work (pictured at right) to friends visiting his Las Vegas office. According to Wynn's U.S. District Court complaint, a copy of which you'll find below, the businessman contends that, as a result of the tear, the painting's value has plummeted to $85 million. He has demanded that Llloyd's pay him the difference in the appreciated value of the painting and its post-damage worth. The day before he punctured the painting, Wynn had entered into an agreement with hedge fund titan Steven Cohen to sell "Le Reve" for $139 million. That deal died after the damage was disclosed to Cohen. Included as an exhibit to Wynn's lawsuit is a "sworn statement in proof of loss" that likely made knees buckle at Lloyd's. (10 pages)

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0111072wynn1.html

[KevinNU7]

The question ofcourse is did he get a new insurance plan for $139MM or was he paying the same insurance plan for only $50MM

[ctmason]

When staying in Reno I took a van tour of the Lake Tahoe area one day. We drove by Steve Wynn's house on the Lake. I decided then I hate him. Then after I realized that one of his neighbors was Tim Conway, I figured he must be okay.

[sabotai]

Since when do insurance policies cover "I fucked up" situations?

[AlexB]

You can get accidental damage as standard - generally though this translates to getting a replacement TV or stereo, and the old one is kaput or binned. Can't see how this woould work with a Picasso: you can't exactly say OK - we'll give you a Holbein instead.

I don't understand that because he thinks the value has gone down, he should get cash? Until he sells the painting no-one knows the value: it is unique, and the value is what someone is prepared to pay for it, which he'll never know until the cash is handed over.

But I suppose that he could then easily sell it for a fraction of the value and claim the difference, if his policy covers accidental dmage.

[John Galt]

Since when do insurance policies cover "I fucked up" situations?

That's what most insurance covers. When you slam your car into someone else's, that's what your car insurance covers. When you step through the drywall in your attic floor, that's what home insurance covers. Unless your act was intentional, a normal insurance policy would cover it. You purchase insurance, in part, to protect yourself from your own stupidity.

[sabotai]

That's what most insurance covers.

Yeah, I think in my moment of stupidity, I was confusing insurance with warrenties. (insert embarrised emoticon here)