Clark County, Nevada District Court Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez listened to several hours of testimony last week before keeping in place a temporary restraining order, the effect of which is to prevent the Massachusetts Gaming Commission from moving forward with its suitability hearing of whether Wynn Resorts should keep its license to operate a casino in the Boston metro area.
At issue is Wynn founder and former CEO Steve Wynn, who claims that some of the investigation’s documentation that found its way into a suitability report for the MGC includes materials that he claims was privileged between himself and the company’s attorneys. The materials dealt with alleged sexual misconduct.
Without the suitability report the MGC cannot hold a hearing on Wynn suitability, according to its executive director, Edward Bedrosian. The report includes material on how Wynn Resorts handled sexual harassment claims against its founder and relates to whether company executives knew of claims against him when the company was seeking its license in 2015.
The claims against Wynn surfaced a year ago in a Wall Street Journal article, which led to Wynn resigning from the company and selling all his interests in it. He claims to be innocent of any wrongdoing.
The judge extended the restraining order and advised attorneys for Wynn, the company and the MGC to come to an agreement on how to make materials public while protecting documents Wynn believes are privileged.
Those attorneys are expected to give a status report to Judge on January 11.
Commissioners have been increasingly public in their frustrations not to be able to hold an adjudicatory hearing on Wynn Resorts in a timely fashion. They had hoped to be able to do so in November but now the actual date is up in the air.
The necessity of such a ruling becomes more urgent the closer the time comes when Wynn Resorts will open its $2.6 billion Encore Boston Harbor, now scheduled for June.
A spokesman for the MGC issued this statement Friday after the judge’s decision: “The MGC will now closely review the judge’s ruling and assess its overall impact on the investigation.” It continued. “We remain committed to advancing this process and identifying the appropriate next steps to expedite the completion of Wynn’s suitability review. The MGC has a public meeting scheduled for next Thursday, and this litigation development will be on the agenda.”
Wynn Resorts issued its own statement claiming: “We firmly believe that the company did nothing wrong in cooperating with the MGC’s investigation and that the documents and information in question do not violate Mr. Wynn’s attorney-client privileges. The company will continue to defend itself in this matter.”
It is difficult to discern what sort of documents Wynn is trying to keep under wraps, except that they refer to a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission discrimination complaint filed against the company that was adjudicated in 2014.
Another clue comes from a statement by an attorney for the MGC who called Steve Wynn “a scorned plaintiff trying by hook or crook to gain some measure of control over the Investigations and Enforcement Bureau report.” The attorney added that the complaint was intended “to intimidate and bully the investigator” with “incendiary, hyperbolic and offensive characterizations of Ms. Wells.” Karen Wells is the lead investigator for the commission.
Wynn’s attorney shot back “If anybody was intimidating and bullying, it was Ms. Wells from the outset.”
