Early LaFerrari Sale Causes Eviction of Vegas Ferrari Dealership
Vegas detailer Rich Light recounts the time he worked for casino boss Steve Wynn, plus what Wynn did to Ferrari after breaking a contract.
If there’s ever a place to truly flex, it’s Las Vegas. The lights, the desert sand, the sin to be had. Vegas is the perfect place to drive the flashiest of rides. Along the Strip, expect to see everything from fancy desert pre-runners to your usual assortment of Lambos, Ferraris and Astons. Just be careful who you cross along the way; they may have more power than you’ll ever hold.
No one knows this more than Vegas detailer Rich Light. Light recently sat down with VINwiki to talk about the time he detailed the Ferrari collection of none other than Vegas casino god himself, Steve Wynn. Turns out not even Ferrari themselves should ever cross the boss.
“One day, a guy comes into my shop in Vegas,” said Light. “He’s driving a brand new Ferrari. It was a 360 Stradale. Said, ‘Hey! I’ve heard about [how] you’re the best guy on black cars,’ yada yada yada. I said, ‘Who are you?'”
After pulling out the “Don’t You Know Who I Am” card twice to no avail, the man reveals himself to be none other than Mark Shore, the brother-in-law of Wynn. Shore himself loved Ferraris so much, he was then working on bringing the black stallions to Vegas with a dealership co-owned by Roger Penske. The dealership would be in the Wynn Hotel, because why not? It wouldn’t be long until Light began detailing Wynn’s own Ferrari collection, too.
“‘I’ve got a bunch of different cars,'” Wynn told Light. “‘Mark speaks highly of you. My wife is very particular […] We want you to start working not just on our personal cars, but we want you to work on all the cars. In fact, I’m gonna give you the keys to my cars, and you’re going to be in charge of my personal fleet.'”
Thus began Light’s brief time working for Wynn, and all the things that entails. There, he learned Wynn’s wife at the time, Elaine, was more of the car fanatic than he was. In fact, it was Shore who talked Wynn into the Ferrari scene. However, this adventure into Maranello would go up in flames when Wynn took ownership of a LaFerrari.
“Apparently, Mr. Wynn had bought a LaFerrari,” said Light. “When you buy a LaFerrari brand new, you have an agreement with Ferrari that you will not resell the car; I think it’s for two years. Mr. Wynn hated the car. He wanted to get rid of it, and he found a buyer.”
While Ferrari reps from Maranello were visiting the dealership, they asked Wynn about the LaFerrari. Once they learned he broke the agreement, an all-out argument erupted, leading to Wynn throwing out the execs and evicting the entire dealership from his hotel. Light says another group took over the franchise agreement, adding that when you deal with Wynn, you play by his rules, or you get the boot. Even if you’re an icon like Ferrari.
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