LAS VEGAS, Nevada - Curtains up. It's showtime at Wynn Las Vegas.

With design work done, financing complete and shell construction wrapping up, the $2.5 billion project becomes operational Monday when it starts hiring an expected 9,000 line employees, developer Steve Wynn said.

"We've passed the tipping point," he said. "However good we were at design and financing, it's the people who bring it to life. The hiring part is the real game; Sunday afternoon at the Masters."

This time around, Wynn has his fans, and skeptics are hard to find.

Deutsche Bank analyst Andrew Zarnett said there isn't a chance of a flop this close to opening.

"When you look at his experience, the numbers of qualified people who want to work with him, the people who know him, it'd be almost hard not to hire the right people," he said.

University of Nevada, Las Vegas history department Chairman Hal Rothman said it's highly likely that Wynn will succeed in recruiting the best and the brightest, allowing him to unveil a premier property the way he wants and reigniting excitement in Las Vegas as a destination.

"I can't figure out what will be done that will increase the level of luxury, but I believe he will do it. He'll raise the bar in important ways," he said. "It's very clear Steve Wynn is a draw and an opportunity that can't be matched. He has a reputation that will draw the people he wants to work for him. The prospects for his succeeding are enormous.

"Wynn Las Vegas should yield a huge return to the bottom line over the next year for the city, the county and the state as customers and the just plain curious come to see it."

Zarnett said because no major destination resort has opened in Las Vegas in the past five years, the opening of Wynn Las Vegas will swell visitation as thousands of people come to see "what Steve has built."

Wynn's goal, as it was with The Mirage (1989), Treasure Island (1993) and Bellagio (1998), is to open the entire 2,700-room resort complex all at once, April 28, except for the "Avenue Q" show and theater, which will open on Labor Day.