The ongoing saga of the founder and former head of Wynn Resorts, Steve Wynn, is finally making some progress. After facing a string of sexual misconduct allegations that led to his decision to vacate the company, Wynn has been facing investigations by a number of jurisdictions, including Nevada and Massachusetts. Now, Massachusetts has said that it has completed its investigation of the case, but isn’t ready to release its findings.
The investigation was designed to determine if Steve Wynn had committed any violations and if Wynn Resorts had conducted itself in a manner that attempted to cover up the suspected activity. The embattled former boss has repeatedly denied that he did anything wrong, despite mounting evidence to the contrary.
Massachusetts has said that it won’t release the findings of its investigation in to Wynn, the company and its Encore Boston Harbor Project at least until after the Nevada courts that are hearing a case about the confidentiality of some of the evidence has completed. That evidence includes material sent by Wynn Resorts to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) and reportedly involves communication between Steve Wynn and his lawyers. His lawyers argue that releasing that information would be a violation of client-attorney privacy.
According to a report by the Las Vegas Review-Journal from January 4, the Nevada courts are expected to keep in place the ban on public disclosure of the MGC’s findings. It also stated that the courts have advised Steve Wynn’s lawyers, the commission and Wynn Resorts to find a resolution that would lead to certain public documents being released. Steve Wynn continues to assert that the documents are privileged and cannot be made public.
Depending on how that arbitration goes, the MGC’s decision could be greatly influenced. The commission is currently trying to determine if Wynn Resorts should retain its license for the Encore Boston, a $2.6-billoin resort project that is expected to open this coming June. The MGC has repeatedly called into question the manner with which Wynn Resorts handled previous reporting of possible sexual misconduct charged levied against its former CEO.
Once the MGC receives the Nevada court’s ruling in writing, according to a report by Bloomberg, the commission will determine how to proceed. It will, at that time, look at what information, if any, needs to be redacted from the findings of its investigation.
