Avenue Q is not doing too well in Las Vegas:

Steve Wynn, the casino and hotel magnate, paid $5 million for the exclusive North American rights to the Tony Award-winning show.

He built a theater especially for it in his new hotel, Wynn Las Vegas; hired, at very high salaries, several cast members from the original Broadway company; and revved up a nationwide publicity machine to hype its Vegas premiere last September.

The result?

An orchestra section in a 1,200-seat theater that’s half empty at most performances and a balcony section that Wynn hasn’t even bothered to open yet, theater people in Las Vegas and New York told The Post this week.

According to someone familiar with the balance sheet, “Q” either breaks even or loses money week to week. Advance ticket sales are well under $1 million.

One heavy-hitting Broadway producer, who’s sending one of his shows to Vegas, says Wynn has been grumbling about “Avenue Q.”

“He thinks it was a mistake,” this person says. …

One reason the show clicked in New York was that, from the very first preview, it had great word of mouth.

But theater people who’ve looked closely at Vegas say word of mouth is hard to generate in a town made up of people who are just passing through.

“There isn’t a permanent population,” says a Broadway producer.

“Q” may also be too sophisticated for Vegas audiences, whose tastes generally run to animal acts, Celine Dion and slot machines.