[Grant]

Rumor: Just about everything has been said about Wynn Las Vegas, including that it's losing money; that it is closing restaurants and clubs and attractions; the shows are failing; and it is having massive layoffs.

Fact: The rumors are based in certain factual realities. The original nightclubs, La Bete and Lure, are undergoing some changes, with the former getting a top-to-bottom overhaul and a new name, and the latter getting some cosmetic upgrades. A few of the restaurants are getting cosmetic overhauls as well. The art gallery may be closing, but it's only so they can expand a nearby store. The paintings will probably wind up on display elsewhere in the hotel.

Where the shows are concerned, despite an avalanche of bad press, Le Reve seems to be holding its own and, despite an avalanche of positive press, Avenue Q is struggling to find an audience. The latter will be the centerpiece of a big promotional push, so expect to see puppets everywhere in Vegas soon.

As far as layoffs, there was a big story in the local papers that Wynn was going to get rid of a bunch of workers as part of an "adjustment" in the labor force as a reaction to the natural "settling" of a hotel.

In other words, when a place opens you need lots of people and as you get better at doing things and the crowds calm down a little, you need fewer people. However, Steve Wynn himself spoke out the next day and said that is not true -- the company will make adjustments through attrition, and no one is getting laid off.

So what about the losing money thing? Well, yes, that part is technically true. But in the third quarter the company only lost $8 million, which is significantly less than in previous quarters and means it will probably turn a profit in early 2006.

That's pretty stunning for any major business, especially a big hotel-casino, which is expected to lose money when it starts. Factor in that the hotel is running at 93 percent capacity and averaging more than $260 a night for its rooms, both figures at the top of the charts, and it shows that things are only going in the right direction for Wynn.