Wynn CEO Matt Maddox steps down, replaced by President and CFO Craig Billings

Wynn Resorts announced Tuesday the appointment of current President and Chief Financial Officer Craig Billings to be its next Chief Executive Officer, replacing Matt Maddox, who will leave the role after four years in the job. The change will be effective February 1st, 2022, according to a company statement. Maddox will stay on the boards of the company’s Wynn Macau and Wynn Interactive subsidiaries through next year.

Maddox has served as CEO since February 2018, when he took over after founder Steve Wynn left over allegations of sexual misconduct. In a video message, Maddox said he supported the decision to have Billings take his position.

“The last four years have been challenging but extremely rewarding, and I am incredibly proud that we accomplished so much. We quickly resolved litigation that had distracted the company for seven years. We reorganized the company’s leadership team and focused on our 28,000 employees, rebuilding and strengthening our powerful culture to focus on a common purpose: create and deliver the best guest experiences”, he said. 

Billings became Wynn Resorts’ CFO in March 2017. He also led the company’s sports and online betting initiative. Previously, he worked at Goldman Sachs, where he focused on the casino industry and had executive positions at Aristocrat Leisure Ltd. and International Game Technology. 

Since the announcement, Wynn fluctuated between gains and losses in extended trading. The company has lost 42% of their value since Maddox took over, roughly the same percentage loss as Las Vegas Sands Corp., another major operator in Macau. 

Earlier, Las Vegas-based Wynn, which operates properties in Nevada, Boston and Macau, reported third-quarter results that surpassed any analysts’ estimates. Revenue in the period rose to $994.6 million, beating the $938.1 million average of estimates. The company reported a loss of $1.24 a share excluding some items narrower than the $1.32 a share average of estimates. 

The Wynn Las Vegas and Encore Boston Harbor delivered record adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, the company said. The Wynn Palace in Macau produced earnings of $12.1 million on that basis, while the Wynn Macau had a small loss. 

On a call with investors, Maddox said he “felt good” about Wynn’s chances of renewing its Macau concession next year. 

As reported by Bloomberg, Billings said on a Tuesday call that the sports and online betting operation would focus more on trying to achieve profitability and less on chasing market share. “The marketplace is proving to be very competitive”, he said.