UPDATE 2-Macau lifts Wynn Resorts Q3 profit 14 pct

* Net profit rises to 49 cents/share from 41 cents/share

* Shares fall slightly in after-hours trading (Adds company comments, earnings details, byline, updates stock price)

By Deena Beasley

LOS ANGELES, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Wynn Resorts Ltd (WYNN.O) said on Thursday its third-quarter profit rose 14 percent as growth in Macau helped offset slower business in Las Vegas and an increase in bad debt reserves.

The company, created by casino mogul Steve Wynn, reported net income of $51.1 million, or 49 cents per share, compared with $44.7 million, or 41 cents a share, a year earlier.

"China is pretty stable for us. Las Vegas ... is a little murky," Wynn, the company's chairman and chief executive officer, said on a conference call with analysts and investors. He said the biggest area of softness is mid-week business in Las Vegas.

Casinos across the United States have become less of a draw to consumers, who have been hit by economic uncertainty, a declining housing market and rising prices for gasoline and other staples.

Wynn, which warned earlier this month of a profit shortfall at its Las Vegas casino, said after excluding one-time items, earnings fell to 62 cents a share from 67 cents.

Analysts, on average, expected an adjusted profit of 59 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Wynn's net revenue rose 18 percent to $769.2 million, driven primarily by increased business at the company's casino in the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau. Analysts expected revenue of $743.7 million.

Wynn said its Las Vegas earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation fell 25 percent to $70.1 million, while EBITDA in Macau rose 15 percent to $106.3 million.

Steve Wynn said the company, which has $1.7 billion in cash and access to a $500 million line of credit, will focus on further de-leveraging its balance sheet as well as the opening in December its $2.3 billion Encore resort, adjacent to Wynn Las Vegas. The company is also building a second casino resort in Macau.

"I don't have any plans on rushing into anything else," Wynn said.

The company's shares, which rose 13 percent to close at $46.50 on Nasdaq, were slightly lower at $46.00 in after hours trading. Year-to-date the stock has fallen about 59 percent. (Reporting by Deena Beasley; Editing by Andre Grenon and Bernard Orr)