Encore Las Vegas (also called Encore at Wynn Las Vegas or simply Encore) is a luxury resort, casino and hotel located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The resort is connected to its sister resort, Wynn Las Vegas, located directly south. Both are owned by Wynn Resorts and located on the former site of the Desert Inn resort, which Steve Wynn purchased and closed in 2000. Encore took the place of two Desert Inn hotel structures, the Palms and St. Andrews towers, both demolished in 2004. Construction of Encore began on April 28, 2006, the one-year anniversary of Wynn Las Vegas' opening. The Encore project, built by Tutor Saliba, cost $2.3 billion. It opened on December 22, 2008. The 48-story hotel tower includes 2,034 rooms, and the resort also offers of gaming space, as well as the Encore Esplanade retail area. In addition, it has several restaurants, including one dedicated to singer Frank Sinatra. The resort has also had several clubs, two of which were added in 2010, marking the completion of the Wynn resort complex. The property includes the Encore Theater, originally built for Wynn Las Vegas and now located in between the two resorts. Encore has received numerous accolades, including the AAA Five Diamond Award and the Five Star award from Forbes Travel Guide. History Encore is a sister property to Wynn Las Vegas, which consists of a single hotel tower. By February 2004, owner Steve Wynn had decided to build a second tower with 1,300 rooms, for an approximate total of 4,000. This would help make the Wynn complex more competitive among other expanding resorts on the Las Vegas Strip. The Wynn complex was built on the former site of the Desert Inn resort, which was purchased and closed by Steve Wynn in 2000. The last remaining hotel structures of the Desert Inn – the Palms and St. Andrews towers – were imploded in November 2004, making way for Encore. It was originally planned only as a hotel tower with a boutique casino, although the strength of the economy prompted Wynn to expand the project, adding restaurants and convention space, among other features. Encore would be targeted at a higher-end clientele compared with that of Wynn Las Vegas. Wynn Resorts sold $400 million in stock to help finance Encore, which cost a total of $2.3 billion. Groundbreaking took place on April 28, 2006, the one-year