Embattled casino tycoon Steve Wynn is fighting back efforts to be imposed sanctions and face other consequences for allegations that he had for years harassed sexually employees of Las Vegas casino operator Wynn Resorts.
According to court documents obtained exclusively by Las Vegas news outlet 8 News Now, Mr. Wynn said that the Nevada Gaming Commission has no jurisdiction over him anymore and that the regulator cannot seek disciplinary action against him.
The documents were filed as part of the disgraced businessman’s legal battle against the state of Nevada.
Last month, the Nevada Gaming Control Board lodged a complaint with the state Gaming Commission that sought to have Mr. Wynn’s suitability to remain active in Nevada’s casino industry revoked. In addition, the board asked the other regulator to fine the former Wynn Resorts’ CEO and Chairman after an investigation found out that Mr. Wynn had for years subjected company employees to unwanted sexual advances.
In response to the gaming board’s complaint, the businessman’s legal team filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that Nevada regulators cannot discipline him because he was no longer involved in the state’s gambling industry.
Mr. Wynn stepped down as CEO and Chairman of Wynn Resorts in February 2018, about a month after a bombshell report by the Wall Street Journal detailed a decades-long pattern of sexual misconduct by him.
The embattled former casino boss also allegedly paid massive settlements to affected company employees to silence them.
No Longer a Threat
According to Mr. Wynn’s recent filing, the businessman no longer poses a threat to Nevada’s gambling industry or the public at large. The motion reads further that his suitability to associate with a Nevada casino license does not matter any longer, because he is not involved in the state’s gaming industry.
Mr. Wynn and his attorneys said they believe that with its recent actions, the Nevada Gaming Control Board aims to achieve what it had failed to achieve previously, namely to impose significant fines on the tycoon.
Following an extensive regulatory probe, Nevada regulators slapped a record $20 million fine on Wynn Resorts for failing to address properly the sexual misconduct and sexual harassment allegations that had been leveled against its boss and that had floated around for years. The company was fined $35 million in Massachusetts where it opened a $2.6 billion integrated resort this past summer.
Mr. Wynn has settled piles of lawsuits since the publication of the WSJ report in January 2018, but he has not been fined neither by Nevada, nor by Massachusetts regulators so far.
As reported by Casino News Daily last month, the Nevada Gaming Control Board said in its complaint to the Gaming Commission that “Mr. Wynn has repeatedly violated Nevada’s gaming statutes and regulations” and has brought “discredit upon the state of Nevada and its gaming industry.” The regulator seeks to have the disgraced businessman banned from the state gaming sector for life.
Source: I-Team Exclusive: Steve Wynn responds to Nevada Gaming Control Board complaint, 8 News Now
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