John L. Smith is often a voice in the wilderness. He’s written several books on major figures in the gaming industry, pulling no punches and omitting no embarrassing facts. When the former columnist for the Las Vegas Review Journal wrote a book, Running Scared: The Life and Treacherous Times of Las Vegas Casino King Steve Wynn, he did just that.
In a recent interview on Nevada Public Radio, Smith stated that he was not surprised by the recent allegations published in the Wall Street Journal.
“The news was fascinating and I thought the reporting was very strong. But know, in my reporting of Steve Wynn’s career I encountered a number of these stories,” Smith said. “The challenge was always to get people to step forward and address the issues on the record. There was no shortage of talk about it, but getting people to move forward into that on the record area was always difficult.”
Smith said that in a wide-ranging deposition of Dennis Gomes, a former gaming regulator who became an executive for Steve Wynn’s company, “part of the deposition focused on the issues of sexual harassment and that Wynn was essentially accused of being a chronic harasser of the hired help, and so that was a very stinging allegation . One of the allegations that Gomes made was that Wynn had attempted to get him to get girls for him.”
Smith’s book, which was originally published in 1995, is still available on Amazon.com and through the Kindle app. Smith confirmed that “ he would certainly be willing to update” the book if there was an interest. “It is a fascinating story and clearly it is evolving.”
