By Josh Resnek
The founder and former owner of the Wynn Company, whose vision and energy and money built the Encore Boston Harbor Hotel and Casino is being banned from owning a casino license in Nevada by the Nevada Gaming Commission.
Although Wynn Company was fined $35 million before they opened their doors here in June, Steve Wynn’s status was not determined in a legal way by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission except to note that he would not be allowed to be the licensee of the Encore facility and that his name could not appear on the facility identifying it.
The Nevada action now being taken comes as a result of a new spate of lawsuits against Wynn as well as a spate of older ones.
Nevada’s gaming board filed a complaint on Monday to have Wynn banned from the industry. Wynn is “unsuitable to be associated with a gaming enterprise or the gaming industry as a whole,” according to the 23-page complaint filed to the Nevada Gaming Commission.
As basis for the request, the complaint points to his multiple alleged instances of sexual misconduct while overseeing Wynn Resorts, first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
The complaint claims the accusations against Wynn damaged the reputation of the gaming industry in Nevada.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board says they conducted their own seven-month investigation into Wynn after the company failed to address the accusations.
According to the complaint, the board found “many instances of unwelcome sexual conduct by Mr. Wynn.” In early 2019, the Gaming Commission imposed a $20 million fine against Wynn, and more settlements were reached. In Massachusetts, the Wynn Company was fined $35 million.
In the east coast case, Wynn admitted to “multiple consensual relationships during his tenure at Wynn Resorts.”
Wynn’s new problems have nothing whatsoever to do with present management and administration of the Encore facility here in Everett, which has been operating almost flawlessly since the opening at the beginning of last summer.