Nevada Wants Steve Wynn Out of the Gaming Industry
The Nevada Control Board insists on having oversight over ousted casino executive Steve Wynn. Mr. Wynn has refused to allow what he considers meddling in his personal life and is challenging any attempts in this direction.
Nevada Wants to Have Oversight Over Mr. Wynn
A court will have to decide if Nevada’s gaming regulator, the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC), can have a legal right to oversee former Wynn Resorts boss, Steve Wynn, and his relation to the gaming industry in the Silver State. Mr. Wynn settled with regulators at the beginning of 2019.
The former Wynn boss has been in the cross-hairs of regulators for a while now, and specifically after the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) first broke the news about widespread sexual allegations and advances made by Mr. Wynn towards female staff.
On Thursday, December 19, an attorney for Mr. Wynn said it would ask for a judicial review to bar any control on behalf of the NGC over Mr. Wynn. The attorney explained that since Mr. Wynn was no longer associated with the Wynn Resorts brand he founded in 2002, he could no longer be prosecuted in relation to his involvement in the Nevada gaming industry.
The Gaming Control Board filed a motion in October in which it requested Mr. Wynn to be completely disassociated with the industry as it tarnished its reputation.
Don Campbell, Mr. Wynn’s attorney, argued that Nevada can no longer exert any oversight over Mr. Wynn. According to him, Mr. Wynn had resigned from the company and sold all his assets in a bid to protect the interests of the company and its name:
“He has no control over Wynn Resorts as a matter of law, no financial interest and he no longer exercises any control. In less than 90 days, he ended all personal involvement and ended a nearly 50-year career in Nevada gaming.”
Campbell now intends to appeal the NGC decision with the Clark County District Court in Las Vegas in a bid to bar any attempts on the part of the gaming authority to meddle in Mr. Wynn’s personal affairs.
No Culprit Simply Free to Walk Away
The NGC Chairman Tony Alamo Jr. and commissioners held a meeting with Mr. Wynn’s legal team but they stated they would not consider giving up their oversight. Specifically, the NGC insisted that one should stand accountable for their actions.
Otherwise, the commission members continued, anyone could just walk away when caught doing something illegal or detrimental to the good name of the industry. The Control Board is looking to take an administrative hold on Mr. Wynn’s license, effectively prohibiting him from being associated with the industry in any way.
However, Campbell argued that Mr. Wynn doesn’t have a license and he was just listed as an employee. Campbell also took an aim at the term ‘administrative hold,’ explaining that it was nowhere to be seen in Nevada’s gaming regulations.
Mike made his mark on the industry at a young age as a consultant to companies that would grow to become regulators. Now he dedicates his weekdays to his new project a the lead editor of GamblingNews.com, aiming to educate the masses on the latest developments in the gambling circuit.
1 Comment
As a former regulator, in fact, one who had jurisdiction over Wynn in NJ 30 some years ago, I fail to understand the NGC claim to continuing jurisdiction over a person who has no employment by, no fiduciary interest in or responsibility to, and no control over a licensed casino company or its parent corporation. If he’s out, he’s out and that severs any continuing regulatory jurisdiction. Besides law, which I doubt there is, there is common sense and common sense says Wynn, who would not have been licensed himself but would have to qualify as a person and corporate office on his company’s licenses in Nevada, no longer has any such obligation to Nevada gambling regulators.