Wynn Boston Harbor Under Review After Sexual Misconduct Claims

Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn said the allegations are a product of his ex-wife’s attempt to sabotage him.

By Alex Newman,
Patch Staff

EVERETT, MA – Allegations of sexual misconduct against Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn could impact his company’s upcoming $2 billion resort and casino in Everett. The complex is expected to open June 2019, but Massachusetts gaming officials said Friday a review would be conducted in the wake of a Wall Street Journal report alleging a “decades-long pattern of sexual misconduct.” The article includes multiple allegations and details of a $7.5 million lawsuit.

Elaine Driscoll, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, told the Boston Business Journal the agency’s Investigations and Enforcement Bureau “will conduct a regulatory review of the matter to determine the appropriate next steps.” In a statement, Driscoll called the allegations “troubling” and said the commission is taking them “very seriously.”

In separate statements, Wynn and Wynn Resorts said the allegations are the “continued work” of his ex-wife, Elaine Wynn.

“The idea that I ever assaulted any woman is preposterous,” Wynn said. “We find ourselves in a world where people can make allegations, regardless of the truth, and a person is left with the choice of weathering insulting publicity or engaging in multi-year lawsuits. It is deplorable for anyone to find themselves in this situation.”

The statement from Wynn Resorts raised questions about Wynn’s claims that she knew about allegations against her ex-husband a decade ago when she served on the company’s board of directors. It alleged an attempt to publicly smear Wynn in the hopes of pressuring a revised divorce settlement.

“It is noteworthy that although Ms. Wynn says she knew about the 2005 allegations involving Mr. Wynn in 2009, she never made them known to the board of directors, of which she was then a member, and she did not raise them until after Mr. Wynn remarried and the shareholders of Wynn Resorts voted not to elect her to the board,” the statement read.

The allegations come in the beginning phase of a major expansion for Wynn Resorts. In addition to the Everett casino, the company is transforming its golf course near the Las Vegas Strip into “Paradise Park” and purchased land in December for $336 million to build another hotel on the Strip. As of 11:50 a.m. Friday, Wynn’s stock was down over 10 percent.