Wynn Resorts has agreed to pay an undisclosed fine to Nevada gaming regulators after a 10-count complaint filed Monday detailed years of failure by former company executives to “report and/or investigate” numerous allegations of sexual harassment and sexual misconduct by former CEO Steve Wynn.
According to a “Stipulation for Settlement and Order,” also filed Monday by the Gaming Control Board, Wynn Resorts will pay a fine that will be determined following a public hearing by the Nevada Gaming Commission.
In the order, the control board agreed not to take action against current Wynn executives, said that it will not seek to revoke the company’s Nevada gaming license, and agreed that conditions on the license could be imposed by the Gaming Commission.
“Respondents agreed to pay a fine in an amount to be determined by the commission,” the order stated. The control board can advocate “for what either party believes is appropriate discipline with the parameters” of the stipulation.
Gaming Commission Chairman Tony Alamo Jr. said in a brief interview that the commission could take up the matter in late February.
The complaint named several former Wynn executives, who gaming investigators said were aware of the numerous allegations leveled by employees against Steve Wynn going back to 2005, including rape and non-consensual sexual relations.
The executives did not conduct mandatory investigations into the allegations, which violated the company’s human resource policies, Nevada law and Nevada gaming regulations.
Named by investigators were former Wynn President and COO Marc Schorr, former general counsel Kim Sinatra, former chief human resources officer Arte Nathan, former vice president of hotel operations Doreen Whennen, former general counsel Kevin Tourek, former general counsel Stacie Michaels, and former Wynn Las Vegas President Maurice Wooden.
In the settlement agreement, however, Wynn Resorts disagreed that Sinatra, Wooden and Michaels knew of the allegations involving a woman described as “Employee 7.”
In a lengthy statement released Monday morning, Wynn Resorts highlighted the numerous changes in the company’s make-up and structure over the last 12 months, including a complete revamp of the company’s nine-member board of directors, four of whom are women, and the appointment of longtime gaming industry veteran Phil Satre as chairman. The company also named Matt Maddox as CEO.
In the statement, Wynn Resorts said any employee mentioned in the control board’s report “who was aware of sexual assault against the company’s former chairman and did not investigation or report it is no longer with the company.”
Much of the settlement also detailed the changes made in Wynn Resorts over the last year following the departure of Steve Wynn. A Wall Street Journal article a year ago uncovered years of sexual misconduct and harassment allegations by Wynn against employees. Wynn resigned as chairman and CEO last February and sold his stock in the company.
The 10-count complaint against Wynn Resorts listed numerous counts of sexual misconduct allegations by Steve Wynn against at least eight different unnamed female company employees, listed as “Employee 1” and so on.
The primary count of the complaint dealt with the allegation that a Wynn Las Vegas salon employee was raped by Steve Wynn and became pregnant. Senior Wynn executives were made aware that the CEO reached a “private, confidential settlement with Employee 1 and paid her and her husband $7.5 million through a separate legal entity funded by Steve Wynn.”
According to the complaint, Steve Wynn also paid a cocktail server $975,000 after “pressuring her into a non-consensual sexual relationship.” Other counts in the complaint involved sexually harassing salon employees, cocktail servers and flight attendants working for the company private airline.
In its statement, the company said it had “fully cooperated and been transparent with the Board in this in-depth investigation. We look forward to appearing before the Nevada Gaming Commission to review the settlement and establish the final resolution of the investigation.”
“Upon learning of the extent of the allegations, the new leadership of Wynn Resorts took immediate action to ensure an open and safe work environment for all employees, and made dramatic changes at every level of the key decision-making in the company,” the statement read.
Satre added that he has “never seen a company take action that was as swift and comprehensive as (that of) the executive team at Wynn Resorts.” Satre said many of the changes took place before he joined the board in August.
“I believe our board’s follow-up and reaction to the regulatory investigations has been just as thorough and decisive,” Satre said.
In April the company added three women to its board – former White House press secretary Dee Dee Myers, three-time CEO Betsy Atkins, and Kestrel Advisors CEO Winifred “Wendy” Webb – who joined current board member Pat Mulroy, making Wynn among the top 40 S&P 500 companies for female board representation. Maddox was appointed to the Wynn board in August.
Wynn Resorts is still facing an investigation in Massachusetts over its gaming license for the $2.6 billion Encore Boston Harbor, which is expected to open this summer. Steve Wynn filed a law suit in Nevada to keep the contents of the Massachusetts investigation private. A Nevada judge is expected to rule on the matter in March.
The stipulation for settlement order was signed Friday by the three Gaming Control Board members, two of whom, chairwoman Becky Harris and member Shawn Reid, were on their final day of service. Maddox, Wynn Resorts General Counsel Ellen Whittemore and outside attorney Greg Brower signed the agreement on behalf of Wynn Resorts.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
