Wynn Resorts CEO Matt Maddox Assaulted by Wife at Red Rock Three Days Before $35 Million Fine

Posted on: June 3, 2019, 10:40h. 

Last updated on: June 3, 2019, 10:40h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.

Wynn Resorts CEO Matt Maddox had a rough few days at the end of April. Having received a grilling at the hands of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC), and with the local Massachusetts press calling for his head — and with the prospect of fines and even license revocation looming — he headed to T-Bones Chophouse at the Red Rock Resort, Las Vegas, for a spot of dry-aged prime-steak therapy, whereupon he was publicly assaulted by his wife, the Las Vegas Review-Journal has discovered.

Matt Maddox
Wynn Resorts CEO Matt Maddox has presided over a turbulent period for the company. He said he and his wife were deeply in love and supportive of one another, following the incident at the Red Rock in April. (Image: Associated Press)

This was just three days before his company was fined a record $35 million by the MGC for “numerous violations” related to its executives’ failure to abide by company policies in reporting alleged sexual misconduct. Maddox himself was personally fined $500,000.

Maddox took over the at the helm of Wynn Resorts in February 2018 after explosive allegations surfaced in the press accusing the company’s former CEO, Steve Wynn, of sexual misconduct towards female employees.

Stories Don’t Add Up

While the MGC also ordered Maddox to undergo a humiliating course of leadership development training, his wife, Katherine Maddox, must undergo six months of domestic violence counselling and perform at least 48 hours of community service after pleading no contest to at least one count of domestic battery last week.

According to an arrest report seen by LVRJ, Maddox told police that his wife “became angry about something” shortly after finishing their dinner. She hit him twice in the face, and kicked him once, he added — but the couple’s stories didn’t gel.

Katherine Maddox told police the attack happened once they had arrived home and that she had slapped him several times with an open hand after he had attempted to grab her phone.

But casino surveillance video shows Katherine Maddox whack her husband “four to five times in his face” before shoving him two or three times and then hitting him “with an under hook closed fist punch, strik[ing] him in his jaw once, then she slapped the phone out of his hand.”

Hotshot Lawyers

Despite finding themselves $500,000 poorer three days later, the Maddoxes hired the best defense lawyers Las Vegas has to offer, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld.

These are the go-to guys for celebrities who find themselves in trouble in the gambling capital — and they get plenty of work. In the past, they’ve represented the likes of Paris Hilton, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mike Tyson, Bruno Mars, Andre Agassi, David Copperfield, and many more.

“We are pleased to report that the case has been resolved in a positive manner and that Katherine has the complete love and support of her husband,” wrote the defense attorneys in an official statement.

“My wife and I were in an argument on our 17th wedding anniversary,” added Maddox in an official statement of his own. “No one was hurt and no one was in any danger. It was a misunderstanding. We are deeply in love and incredibly supportive of each other for over 20 years. This has already been resolved in court. It is a private matter and will be my last comment.”