The Nevada Gaming Control Board voted unanimously without discussion Wednesday to appeal a judge’s decision last month that dismissed an effort by regulators to find disgraced casino operator Steve Wynn unsuitable to hold a gaming license.
The three board members did not debate a motion, entered by board member Terry Johnson during the panel’s monthly meeting, which asked the Nevada Attorney General’s office to appeal the ruling signed Nov. 19 by Clark County District Judge Adriana Escobar.
Board Chairman Brin Gibson and board member Philip Katsaros quickly agreed with the motion. Separately, the Nevada Gaming Commission will have to decide if it also wants to appeal the decision.
Escobar agreed with arguments brought by Wynn’s attorneys that Steve Wynn’s resignation in February 2018 as chairman and CEO of Wynn Resorts and the sale of his holdings in the casino company removed the Nevada Gaming Commission’s oversight.
The Control Board filed a complaint in October 2019 that sought to label Steve Wynn “unsuitable to be associated with a gaming enterprise or the gaming industry as a whole.” Two months later, the Nevada Gaming Commission unanimously voted it had the authority and jurisdiction to rule in the matter but allowed Wynn’s attorney to seek a judicial review.
Escobar agreed with the arguments made by Campbell, who said the five-count-complaint against Steve Wynn was moot. The former gaming executive resigned a week after a Wall Street Journal article uncovered years of sexual misconduct and harassment allegations by Steve Wynn against employees. He has denied the allegations.
The Control Board had scheduled the item surrounding the Wynn matter because Nevada’s Open Meeting Law requires that any vote on the possible appeal of a judicial ruling by a regulatory agency be handled in a public setting.
In February 2019, Wynn Resorts paid a $20 million fine – the largest in Nevada history – to the Gaming Commission to settle a 10-count complaint that detailed years of failure by former company executives to “report and/or investigate” numerous allegations of sexual assault, sexual harassment and sexual misconduct by Steve Wynn. Massachusetts gaming regulators slapped a $35 million fine on Wynn Resorts three months later.
Eight months later, the Control Board filed its complaint against Steve Wynn. The first four counts primarily covered sexual misconduct and harassment allegations; the fifth alleged that Wynn failed to appear and testify at a Gaming Control Board investigative hearing.
In her ruling, Escobar wrote, “Respondents fail to provide any authority supporting their jurisdiction over a person no longer involved in Nevada’s gaming industry in any capacity. Importantly, respondents fail to support their position that they have jurisdiction over a person with no intent to be involved in Nevada’s gaming industry in the future. Why? There is none.”
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgaming.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
