Nevada Wants to Ban Steve Wynn from Casino Industry
After he was ousted of his company, Steve Wynn is now in the visor of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, which wants him out of the gambling industry.
NGCB Seeks to Suspend Steve Wynn’s License
The Nevada Gaming Control Board filed a complaint against fall-from-grace businessman Steve Wynn on Monday, seeking to revoke his casino industry license.
The complaint was the latest development in the #MeToo case of Wynn, which started last year after a report by the Wall Street Journal which unveiled a decades-long pattern of sexual misconduct by Wynn.
According to the Gaming Board, Steve Wynn is “not a person of good character, honesty, and/or integrity” and is “unsuitable to be associated with a gaming enterprise or the gaming industry as a whole.” The Nevada Gaming Control Board, therefore, asked the state Gaming Commission to revoke Wynn’s gaming license and to fine him.
The board’s complaint reads 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 Gaming Control Board adds that Wynn’s actions and the broad media coverage that followed “damaged the public confidence and trust in an industry that is vitally important to the economy of the State of Nevada and the general welfare of its inhabitants.”
The case itself deals with multiple former and current employees of Wynn Resorts — the casino hotel company founded by Wynn in 2002 — who claimed that the businessman had subjected them to unwanted sexual advances for decades, using his power to force them into it. Although Wynn denied the allegations, he stepped down from his company in early 2018 and moved out of his luxurious villa at Wynn Las Vegas as a result of Wynn Resorts trying to cut ties with him.
No Wynners
After the WSJ report and the investigation that followed by the Nevada gambling regulators, Wynn Resorts had to pay a $20 million fine for failing to address the sexual misconduct and harassment allegations in due manner. This was then followed by another investigation by the Massachusetts regulators, who slapped Wynn Resorts with a $35 million fine.
Despite all of this, some employees of Wynn Resorts allege that sexual hostility continues at their workplace. A massage therapist at the company’s Las Vegas properties even filed a class-action lawsuit last month, saying that Wynn Resorts executives continue to “mentally abuse” her and other female employees. She also added that company executives “continued to outwardly support” Wynn, despite their media claims.
Steve Wynn was among the entrepreneurs who shaped modern-day Las Vegas, with several famous luxury casinos under his belt, including The Mirage, Bellagio, Treasure Island and Wynn Las Vegas.
Simon is a freelance writer who specializes in gambling news and has been an author in the poker/casino scene for 10+ years. He brings valuable knowledge to the team and a different perspective, especially as a casual casino player.
