Steve Wynn Just Bought A Giant Steel Sculpture Of 'Popeye' For $28 Million

Would you pay $28 million for this one-ton steel sculpture of Popeye?

If you're Steve Wynn, the answer appears to be, Why not. The casino magnate was the lone bidder for the 2009 Jeff Koons piece in a Wednesday Sotheby's auction that saw mixed results, with a dozen works, including another Koons piece, a glass case of three basketballs floating in water - going unsold.

In fact, Sotheby's now trails rival auction house Christie's significantly - check out this chart from Art Tactic (via Art Market Monitor) showing evening sales levels.

The Wall Street Journal recently discussed what's behind the divergence: While Christie's has diversified its customer base in recent years, Sotheby's has doubled-down on the highest-end bidders. It's the old funds-versus-flows debate, and Christie's seems to be winning.

Wynn said he plans to display Popeye at one of his Las Vegas hotels.