Steven Wynn, the man behind the multi-billion dollar US casino and hotel conglomerate, Wynn Resorts, has asked that his name be removed from the gaming license for the company’s casino project in Everett, Massachusetts.
The state’s Gaming Commission will hold a public hearing in the coming weeks to discuss whether Wynn should be granted his request, made through a lawyer, that he be withdrawn as a qualifier on Wynn Resorts’ gaming license.
The request was made parallel to investigations currently being undertaken by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission about whether the company should be allowed to keep its license to operate the casino, taking into account charges made by several women that Wynn sexually abused them.
According to the chair of the Gaming Commission, Stephen Crosby: “If he [Wynn] were a qualifier, then we would have to take into consideration his role in the organization [Wynn Resorts]. If he’s not a qualifier, then Steve Wynn and his own personal background and so forth aren’t relevant.”
The investigation into the company’s ability to operate in the state will continue, regardless of whether Wynn’s name is listed as a qualifier or not, noted the gambling authorities.
“We’ve always been clear that there were the Steve Wynn personal issues, and then there are the other issues of the organization, the board of directors and other senior management,” noted Stephen Crosby. “That investigation will continue as it always has.”
It is important for the Gaming Commission to determine that Wynn has no influence over Wynn Resorts’ operations, despite the fact that he resigned as chief executive officer and chairman in February when the sexual abuse charges were made public. Wynn Resorts also announced in March that Wynn had sold off all of his stock.
But the Gaming Commission is still treading warily around the issue and are not ready to simply accept Wynn Resorts’ word for it. “It’s not just checking boxes,” said Crosby. “Did he sell his stock, does he have a position? It also goes to, does he have any residual influence, for example. So yes, we will be asking some questions and making sure that we understand, for sure and in detail, exactly what the relationship is.”
