Casino mogul Steve Wynn to pay $10M fine to settle complaint over sexual misconduct allegations

Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn is set to pay $10 million to end his ongoing fight over claims of sexual misconduct. His extended legal conflict with Nevada gambling regulators, which revolves around claims of workplace misconduct, is expected to end today, Thursday, July 27, with a settlement calling for him to pay the millionaire fine and cut all ties to the industry he helped shape.

The Nevada Gaming Commission is scheduled to meet in the state capital of Carson City and accept a deal in which the 81-year-old mogul, founder of Wynn Resorts, admits no wrongdoing, reports Associated Press. The businessman, who now lives in Florida, will not attend the hearing, according to his attorney, Colby Williams. Wynn has consistently denied the sexual misconduct allegations in multiple courts.

The seven-page agreement, which Wynn signed July 17 with members of the investigatory Nevada Gaming Control Board, said he was accused of “failure to exercise discretion and sound judgment to prevent incidents that have reflected negatively on the reputation of the gaming industry and the State of Nevada,” as per AP.

Wynn will still be allowed to maintain “passive ownership” of up to 5% of a publicly traded corporation registered with the Gaming Commission, as per the terms of the deal. However, the agreement prohibits him from assuming “control, authority, advisory role or decision-making power.” A violation of the pact could lead to a finding of “unsuitability” for association with Nevada casinos and an additional fine against Wynn.

Steve Wynn, who is credited with leading the boom that helped shape the current Las Vegas Strip with its huge destination resorts, resigned after the Wall Street Journal published allegations by several women that he sexually harassed or assaulted them at his hotels. In response, he divested company shares, quit the corporate board and resigned as finance chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Wynn was instrumental in the development of a wide range of luxury casino properties including the Golden Nugget, Mirage, Treasure Island, Bellagio, Wynn and Encore in Las Vegas; Golden Nugget in Atlantic City, New Jersey; Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi; Wynn Macau in Macau; and Encore Boston Harbor in Massachusetts.

The Nevada Supreme Court ruled against him in March 2022 in the Gaming Commission case, finding that a state judge in Las Vegas acted “prematurely” in late 2020 when she sided with Wynn’s lawyers and ruled the state lacked authority to punish him. His attorneys argued that the Gaming Control Board no longer had legal jurisdiction over the mogul.

State regulators launched their investigation after the allegations against the casino owner emerged. The board said Wynn’s license had been placed on administrative hold and the commission moved in October 2019 to discipline or fine Wynn. At a December 2019 hearing, commissioners began considering a fine of up to $500,000 and a declaration that Wynn was unsuitable to renew ties to gambling in Nevada.

Months before that decision, the commission also fined his former company a record $20 million for failing to investigate the misconduct claims leveraged against the former CEO; while Massachusetts gambling regulators fined Wynn Resorts another $35 million and new company chief executive Matthew Maddox $500,000 for failing to disclose while applying for a license for the Encore Boston Harbor resort that there had been allegations against Wynn.

Wynn Resorts agreed in November 2019 to accept $20 million in damages from Wynn and $21 million more from insurance carriers on behalf of current and former employees of Wynn Resorts to settle shareholder lawsuits accusing company directors of failing to disclose misconduct allegations, notes Associated Press.