Jesse Waits, former managing partner and director of Wynn’s Tryst and XS nightclubs, has joined James Packer’s $4 billion Alon hotel casino project team along with previous Wynn Resorts President Andrew Pascal.
The Alon Las Vegas, an 1100 room integrated resort, is currently under construction on the Vegas Strip site of the former New Frontier and just west of the Wynn Las Vegas and Encore, locations of the XS and Tryst venues respectively.
Under Waits leadership, both the Tryst and XS nightclubs were listed in the top ten by Nightclub & Bar’s Top 100 with XS ranked as the No. 1 grossing U.S. nightclub during five of the past six years. Opened in 2009, XS generated over $70 million in its first year of operation with current revenue consistently over $100 million at profit margins of 70 percent – well above the industry average.
Waits success in an extremely competitive market is attributable to his vision of staying relevant including exclusive residencies of DJ giants, an innovative inside/outside DJ both, and a talent for developing and maintaining VIP sales. Building a career that began as a bar-back, he has learned the fine art of excelling in the balance between customer service and meeting ROI.
Before resigning his nightclub positions, Waits told Las Vegas Weekly that he desired to evolve professionally and expand into hotel, hospitality and dining operations. With the 2018 planned opening of the Alon mega-resort, Jesse Waits will have time to exercise and implement his visionary talents.