Steve Wynn Says Nevada Gaming Regulators Cannot Fine Him

  • Former casino mogul claims Nevada state regulators no longer have jurisdiction over him
  • The Nevada Gaming Control Board called upon the Nevada Gaming Commission to fine Wynn
  • While Wynn Resorts has been hit with hefty fines, Wynn himself has not been fined
Las Vegas Boulevard sign near The Wynn Hotel and Casino
Former casino mogul Steve Wynn has hit back at Nevada gaming regulators by claiming they no longer have jurisdiction over him. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

Attempting to avoid further penalties

Former Wynn Resorts Ltd. Chairman and CEO Steve Wynn has claimed Nevada gaming regulators cannot fine him because they no longer have jurisdiction over him.

no way in which further disciplinary action can be filed against him

Court documents claim that Wynn is no longer under the jurisdiction of the board. Therefore, there is no way in which further disciplinary action can be filed against him.

Wynn is currently embroiled in a legal dispute with the state of Nevada, which is why these papers were filed.

Complaint against Wynn

It was in October that the Nevada Gaming Control Board made a complaint with the separate Nevada Gaming Commission regarding Wynn. It was pushing for the commission to revoke Wynn’s suitability to be active in the state’s casino sector.

In this complaint, the gaming board said that Wynn had brought

discredit upon the state of Nevada and its gaming industry.”

It also called upon the commission to hand out a fine to Wynn as a result of numerous allegations involving him subjecting employees to undesired sexual advances.

Wynn’s legal team fires back

After this complaint was filed by the state’s gaming board, Wynn’s legal team filed a motion to dismiss the case. Their argument is that Wynn has no involvement in the state’s casino sector after being forced out of the company he founded, Wynn Resorts.

It was in February 2018 that he resigned as chairman and chief executive officer of the company after details of his alleged sexual misconduct with employees was published in a report by The Wall Street Journal.

As per the filing from Wynn’s legal team, it says that Wynn no longer poses a threat to the gambling sector in Nevada, or the public in general. His attorneys believe that the gaming board is trying to inflict financial punishment on Wynn as they have not yet been able to do so.

Steve Wynn has been the subject of a number of lawsuits since these allegations arose. However, regulators in both Massachusetts and Nevada have been unable to fine him to date.

Record fines for Wynn Resorts

A record fine was handed down to Wynn Resorts following a thorough investigation. The inquiry concluded that despite the sexual misconduct allegations being around for a number of years, the company’s higher-ups did nothing to deal with the issues at hand. This resulted in a fine of $20m being handed down to the company from the state gaming board.

Wynn Resorts was slapped with a $35m fine by the regulator in Massachusetts. This fine was issued due to executives hiding the details of these sexual misconduct allegations during the bidding process for one of three casinos in the state.

Wynn Resort’s Massachusetts casino was already well underway in its development process when these allegations went public.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *