Steve Wynn has resigned as CEO and chairman of the board of Wynn Resorts amid allegations of sexual misconduct.
“It is with a collective heavy heart, that the board of directors of Wynn Resorts today accepted the resignation of our founder, CEO and friend Steve Wynn,” Boone Wayson, nonexecutive director of the board, said in a statement. “Steve Wynn is an industry giant. He is a philanthropist and a beloved leader and visionary. He played the pivotal role in transforming Las Vegas into the entertainment destination it is today. He also assembled a world-class team of executives that will continue to meet the high standards of excellence that Steve Wynn created and the Wynn brand has come to represent.”
The announcement comes days after Wynn, a casino magnate, stepped down as finance chair of the Republican National Committee and has been replaced by veteran Republican megadonor Todd Ricketts. Wynn has denied the allegations throughout the fiasco.
In the statement Tuesday, Wynn explained he could no longer continue in his role in the company he founded in light of “an avalanche of negative publicity.”
“In the last couple of weeks, I have found myself the focus of an avalanche of negative publicity,” Wynn said in a statement. “As I have reflected upon the environment this has created — one in which a rush to judgment takes precedence over everything else, including the facts — I have reached the conclusion I cannot continue to be effective in my current roles. Therefore, effective immediately, I have decided to step down as CEO and Chairman of the Board of Wynn Resorts, a company I founded and that I love.”
“The Wynn Resorts team and I have built houses of brick,” Wynn added. “Which is to say, the institution we created — a collection of the finest designers and architects ever assembled, as well as an operating philosophy now ingrained in the minds and hearts of our entire team — will remain standing for the long term. I am extremely proud of everything we have built at this company. Most of all, I am proud of our employees.”
The controversy began last month when it was revealed that Wynn was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women in alleged incidents that stretch back at least two decades.
A former manicurist alleged that Wynn forced her to sleep with him in 2005, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Additionally, a massage therapist said Wynn instructed her to perform oral sex on him. Although she refused, he then instructed her to massage his penis during sessions. She complied, she said, due to his position at the casino.
Wynn refuted the allegations and has said they originated with his ex-wife, Elaine Wynn.
The controversy took a new turn this week when the Las Vegas Review-Journal admitted that it was aware of the allegations against Wynn in 1998, but did not publish a story on it. It’s uncertain why the story was never published.
