Wynn Resorts Concludes Steve Wynn 2019 Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

Posted on: January 31, 2024, 11:28h. 

Last updated on: February 3, 2024, 12:35h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

Wynn Resorts has formally concluded the 2019 lawsuit against the company’s founder and former chairman and CEO, Steve Wynn. Nine anonymous women who worked at the company’s Las Vegas casinos accused the billionaire of sexual harassment.

Wynn Resorts Steve Wynn sexual misconduct lawsuit
Steve Wynn is pictured in 2021 after donating $50 million to the Mohawk Valley Health System in his childhood hometown of Utica in upstate New York. Wynn Resorts this week wrapped up a sexual misconduct lawsuit against its founder in Nevada U.S. District Court. (Image: Mohawk Valley Health System)

In September, Wynn Resorts settled with the women who claimed the casino tycoon repeatedly made unwanted advances and acted inappropriately during spa services. The plaintiffs, who were nail technicians and makeup artists, said Wynn engaged in “inappropriate physical touching,” forced them to massage him “near his genitals” during manicures and pedicures, and asked “inappropriate sexual questions.”

The lawsuit was filed by “Judy Does Nos. 1-9,” none of whom alleged sexual assault or rape.

This week, the settlement terms, which haven’t — and won’t be — made public, were approved by Judge Gloria Navarro in Nevada’s U.S. District Court. Her approval of the agreement officially concludes the case, as the language includes provisions prohibiting the allegations to be refiled or appealed.

Case Closed

Wynn celebrated his 82nd birthday last Saturday. The Las Vegas visionary helped transform the Strip into a luxury playground.

Wynn became a Florida resident after departing the Las Vegas and global gaming industries amid shame following career-ending allegations that he repeatedly used his power to harass and assault female workers at his Wynn Resorts properties.

The Wall Street Journal first brought the decades of allegations to light in a damning expose on the billionaire in January 2018. Wynn resigned the following month and sold his entire stake in the organization in March 2018 for $2.1 billion.

The scandal rocked the U.S. gaming industry and caused uproar among state regulators where Wynn Resorts operates, specifically in Nevada and Massachusetts. The Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) imposed a record fine of $20 million against the company for allegedly looking the other way when complaints against the CEO were raised.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) went even further, levying a $35.5 million fine against Wynn Resorts. Regulators in the Bay State were furious that Wynn executives didn’t disclose knowledge of the sexual misconduct allegations when the company applied for a casino license to build a resort in the Boston area.

The MGC allowed Wynn Resorts to retain its casino license but required the company to strip the Wynn name from Wynn Boston Harbor. The $2.6 billion integrated resort was renamed Encore Boston Harbor before its June 2019 opening.

Last summer, Wynn paid the NGC $10 million to resolve the state’s legal probe of his alleged actions. The settlement bars him from doing business in Nevada’s gaming industry in perpetuity.

Wynn Resorts Overhaul

Wynn has habitually denied acting inappropriately with female staff during his many years of overseeing his multibillion-dollar casino resorts. The gaming magnate has blamed his former wife, Elaine Wynn, for the allegations, saying she was the primary source for the WSJ report and tricked the news outlet into running her smear campaign against him during a nasty divorce dispute.

The scandal resulted in Wynn’s exit and a corporate overhaul of the organization’s board. New rules prohibit a CEO from simultaneously serving as board chair, as Wynn did, and new faces were brought in to oversee Wynn Resorts’ governances.

Wynn’s scandal also resulted in him resigning as finance chair of the Republican National Committee. Wynn, however, remains an adamant GOP supporter. Earlier this month, Wynn was spotted on Donald Trump’s campaign trail during his primary victory in New Hampshire.