The resumption of hostilities between the United States and Iran has made it difficult for Wynn Resorts management to provide a firm opening date for its US$5.1 billion Wynn Al Marjan Island integrated resort development in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), but a 2027 opening remains possible, said CBRE Equity Research in a Wednesday note.
Wynn previously outlined a “modest delay” to its planned 1H27 opening date.
The forecast from CBRE’s John DeCree and Max Marsh was provided after the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA) last week revealed record visitation to the emirate of over 670,000 people in 1H26, driven by domestic demand. May was also the strongest single month in Ras Al Khaimah’s history, aided by an extended Eid Al Adha holiday and travel advisories discouraging international travel which fueled domestic visitation.
CBRE observed that international visitation had also rebounded after travel advisories were lifted, particularly from key feeder markets like India, Russia, and the UK, although foreign arrivals have now fallen again with advisories back in effect.
On how this impacts Wynn, the analysts said, “We believe the conflict with Iran is still too volatile for management to provide a firm opening date, but we suspect a mid- to late-2027 opening is still feasible.
“More importantly, we remain bullish on the long-term opportunity for Wynn and Ras Al Khaimah and view the 1H26 visitation data as further evidence in the significant domestic demand opportunity.”
With Wynn due to report its 2Q26 results next week, CBRE also said it was comfortable sticking with its Macau EBITDA forecast of US$287 million but also less concerned with Wynn’s Q2 result after Las Vegas Sands Corp recently reported low VIP hold.
“Looking ahead, we expect some impact from the World Cup on July’s GGR trends in Macau, but we expect demand to bounce back relatively quickly in August,” the analysts said.