Report: Wynn Resorts Executives Knew Of Sexual Misconduct Claims Against Steve Wynn
The C-suite at Wynn Resorts knew for years of multiple sexual misconduct claims against then-CEO Steve Wynn and did nothing, according to a report from the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
The NGCB’s report was released Monday simultaneously with a proposed settlement with Wynn Resorts, where Steve Wynn is no longer employed and which has overhauled much of its board of directors since a report in early 2018 detailed years of sexual harassment claims against the casino mogul.
The casino regulator outlined cases that were previously reported, as well as new instances of alleged sexual misconduct to which former Wynn Resorts executives turned a blind eye, the Wall Street Journal reports.
A former manicurist accused Wynn of forcing her to have sex with him and eventually received a $7.5M settlement. She told multiple Wynn Resorts employees she had been raped and impregnated by the former CEO, according to the NGCB report. The regulator also uncovered the instance of a cocktail server who got a $975K settlement after she claimed Steve Wynn pressured her into nonconsensual sexual relations.
There were also two separate claims by flight attendants who said they had been sexually harassed by Steve Wynn, one in 2014 and another in 2016.
The 2016 claim alleged sexual harassment of “multiple” flight attendants.
Wynn Resorts agreed in its settlement arrangement to pay any fine, and the NGCB won’t revoke any gaming licenses for the company’s Las Vegas casinos. The settlement is Wynn Resorts’ first formal admission it had a lackluster response to any wrongdoings by its founder. The fine will eventually be determined by the Nevada Gaming Commission, which can ultimately approve or deny the settlement.
“We have undergone an extensive self-examination over the last 12 months, intended to reinvigorate and implement meaningful change across all levels of the organization, cultivate a safe, healthy and supportive workplace culture, and build on our core values of respecting our employees, corporate responsibility and citizenship and service to the community,” Wynn Resorts said in a statement to the WSJ.
The company also acknowledge its leaders had fallen “short of their culture and commitment in perhaps one of the most important areas for an employer — focusing on its employees.”
Wynn Resorts also said no employee mentioned in the report currently works at the company. That includes former Wynn Resorts Las Vegas general counsels Stacie Michaels and Kevin Tourek, former Wynn Resorts General Counsel Kim Sinatra, former Wynn Resorts Las Vegas President Maurice Wooden and an unnamed salon executive.
The Nevada report’s findings come as the findings of a completed Massachusetts report into the matter remain stalled in court. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s findings will determine whether Wynn Resorts is able to maintain its Greater Boston casino license for its $2.6B Encore Boston Harbor resort, slated to open in June. Steve Wynn sued the regulator for using information protected by attorney-client privilege, which the MGC has denied. The findings of the MGC report have been delayed, per Nevada court order.
The NGCB report didn’t use the information being disputed in court.
