Wynn Resorts has been hit with a record US$20 million fine by the Nevada Gaming Commission overnight for its failure to investigate claims of sexual harassment by multiple women against the company’s founder and former Chairman Steve Wynn.
The fine is the largest ever imposed by the state of Nevada and comes after the five current members of the commission issued a unanimous vote following a 10-count disciplinary action filed by the Nevada Gaming Control Board in January.
Wynn Resorts agreed in January to pay the then-undetermined fine in return for a guarantee that there would be no cancellation of or restrictions placed upon its gaming license.
The action against Wynn referred to complaints by seven female employees who worked for the company as cocktail waitresses, flight attendants or therapists at Encore Spa and Wynn Salon between 2005 and 2016.
The NGCB’s findings included multiple instances where Wynn Resorts “did not conduct a timely investigation” into allegations and where specific executives “failed to initiate and/or conduct an investigation after obtaining knowledge of allegations of sexual misconduct against Mr Wynn as required by the respondents’ policies and procedures.”
Steve Wynn was later revealed to have paid a US$7.5 million settlement to one employee who fell pregnant after alleging she was raped by him in 2005, while a second employee was paid a US$975,000 settlement in 2006 for allegedly being pressured into sex. Wynn stepped down from the board shortly after the sexual misconduct allegations first emerged early last year and sold off his entire 12.1% stake in the company.
The Wynn Resorts board has undergone a raft of changes over the 12 months since Steve Wynn’s departure, including the appointment of former Harrah’s CEO Phil Satre as Chairman and the introduction of new female board members.
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