Business
Vegas Mogul Wynn Agrees to $10 Million Sex Misconduct Settlement - Lifetime Casino Ban Likely
By Jake Beardslee · July 28, 2023
In brief…
- Steve Wynn, former casino mogul, agreed to pay a $10 million fine to settle 2019 sexual misconduct allegations.
- The settlement will likely also ban Wynn from working in Nevada's gaming industry, which he helped build.
- Settlement requires sign off from Nevada Gaming Commission next week.
- Allegations of sexual harassment led to a five-count complaint in 2019, which Wynn has now agreed to settle while denying any wrongdoing.
- While Wynn's impact on modern Las Vegas is significant, his complex legacy will carry an asterisk.
Steve Wynn, the former casino mogul who helped shape modern day Las Vegas, has agreed to pay a $10 million fine and stay out of the Nevada gaming industry for life in order to settle sexual misconduct allegations made against him in 2019.
The settlement, posted online by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, is expected to be approved by the Nevada Gaming Commission at their meeting next Thursday.
The Control Board filed a five-count complaint in 2019 seeking to ban Wynn from holding a gaming license after allegations surfaced in 2018 that Wynn had sexually harassed women at his properties for years. Wynn denies any wrongdoing but agreed to the settlement to end the four-year dispute with regulators.
“Steve Wynn would belong on a Mt. Rushmore of people who shaped modern Las Vegas, and he still does, but with an asterisk next to his name,” Dr. Michael Green, a history professor at UNLV who teaches a class specifically about Wynn, told ABC 8 News Now Las Vegas. “This settlement is a reminder of the bad old days and the hope that those days are behind us.”
Wynn developed major Las Vegas resorts like the Golden Nugget, Mirage, Treasure Island, Bellagio and Encore, helping transform the city from a gambling destination to an entertainment hub. But his legacy is now complicated.
“In terms of Steve Wynn having a continuing impact on Las Vegas, the door is not closed. We feel his influence,” said Green. But “in terms of Steve Wynn coming back to have a further impact, I think the door is closed and bolted.”
Wynn’s attorney did not respond to a requests for comment on the settlement. Wynn Las Vegas, which still bears his name but no longer has ties to him, also declined to comment.