Wynn's fourth quarter up 67 %

According to the information released by the firm, customers spent us$ 1.3 billion at its Macau slots, up 12 % year-over-year. And the company made more than expected from both its VIP table and mass market table games.

In Las Vegas, revenue rose 7 percent to us$ 348.4 million on a stronger take from table games and increased room, food and beverage and retail revenue. In Las Vegas, the company operates the Wynn Las Vegas and Encore Las Vegas resorts.

CEO Steve Wynn said on a call with investors that Wynn's 2011 revenue in Las Vegas rebounded and topped pre-recession levels. But he noted that the company is feeling clear competitive pressure in Macau.

Sheldon Adelson's Las Vegas Sands Corp. owns the biggest casino in the Chinese gambling enclave, The Venetian Macau, as well as the Sands Macau. MGM Resorts also has a resort among the more than 30 casinos in the region.

Wynn's quarterly earnings rose to us$ 190.5 million, or us$ 1.52 per share, from us$ 114.2 million, or 91 cents per share, in the 2010 period. Wynn Resorts Ltd. booked an income tax gain of about us$ 31 million in the latest period when it took back money it had put in reserve; in contrast, it paid out us$ 4.4 million for the line item a year earlier. Revenue climbed 9 percent to us$ 1.34 billion from us$ 1.24 billion.

Excluding one-time items, Wynn's net income totaled us$ 1.55 per share, beating the average analyst forecast for us$ 1.28 per share, according to FactSet. However, total revenue came in shy of the nearly us$ 1.36 billion that analysts were expecting.

Analysts with UBS Investment Research said in a note to investors that Wynn's earnings would have been us$ 1.23 per share if it hadn't benefited from emptying the tax reserve.

Citigroup analyst Anil Daswani pegged Wynn's adjusted earnings at us$ 1.25 per share and said its growth in Macau was slowing because its market share shrank.

Wynn shares slid 3.3 percent, or us$ 3.98, to us$ 116.80 in extended trading. Before the results were released, the shares ended regular trading up us$ 3.03 at us$ 120.78.

Wynn is the world's third-largest casino company, as measured by revenue.

For all of 2011, Wynn earned us$ 613.4 million, or us$ 4.88 per share, on revenue of us$ 5.27 billion, compared with net income of us$ 160.1 million, or us$ 1.29 per share, on revenue of us$ 4.18 billion in 2010.

Analysts on average had forecast earnings of us$ 5.32 per share and revenue of us$ 5.29 billion for 2011, according to FactSet.