Boutique hotel operator NYLO Hotels and Vegas hospitality magnate Steve Wynn may soon be facing off in a courtroom over the trademark rights of ‘XS,’ the name of the decadent Wynn Encore nightclub. NYLO, which operates two properties in Texas and one in Rhode Island, asserted claims over the trademark and even offered to let the modern Vegas patriarch pay licensing fees for the rights to use the name at his posh Strip property. Even though NYLO’s ‘XS Hotel’ has not yet opened and management lists franchise opportunities on the company’s web site under the brand name of XP by NYLO, they insist they have undergone resources and public discussions over a property or series of properties carrying the XS moniker. NYLO management asserts it would be creating a franchise-ready brand carrying the name and admitted that Las Vegas would be in such expansion or licensing plans.
In a lawsuit filed in District Court in Las Vegas last week, Wynn responded with a similar comment, noting that, “Wynn has spent a significant amount of time, resources and money in developing and promoting a restaurant, bar, nightclub and indoor and outdoor entertainment venue at Encore under the XS mark.” Furthermore, the suit also states that Wynn’s use of the name is lawful and “does not infringe upon the rights of NYLO."
When reached for comment, a senior employee of the nightclub backed Wynn’s assertion that they are legally in the clear, so to speak. While the courts ultimately will make the final decision, it’s pretty hard to believe that Wynn, or Victor Drai for that matter, would invest so much money — $85 million is the price tag those involved like to bat around — and resources into a venue without covering their back. Of all the places you might not want to run into Steve Wynn, we’re picking a courtroom surrounded by his high-priced legal counsel above all others.