Last week, Wynn Resorts Ltd. said it was slashing CEO Steve Wynn’s base salary from million to .5 million, while his employment agreement extended two years, expiring in October 2022. Wynn’s pay was adjusted to include a performance-based equity component as part of his compensation.
In an email statement, Wynn spokesman Michael Weaver said this marked the first time the CEO would receive equity as part of his compensation. This agreement “now places a greater proportion of his overall compensation attributable to components that drive stockholder value versus fixed base salary,” Weaver said.
Harry Curtis, a Nomura Securities analyst recently downgraded Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas Sands Corp. due to the recent decline in Macau, which saw gaming revenue fall 2.6 percent in 2014. The dip marks the first annual decline for the region, which is currently on a seven-month skid. Wynn currently has two casinos in Macau and will open the $4 billion Wynn Palace on the Cotai Strip in 2016.
A recent crackdown by the Chinese government on corruption has scared off many high-stakes players, who contributed heavily to Macau’s record $45.2 billion in gaming revenue for 2013. Curtis said, “With Beijing’s insistence on diversifying Macau’s revenues from gaming, we assume 40 percent to 50 percent lower table allocations for the new resorts.”
Also, Wynn will now have to pay to use the company jet for personal reasons, though the filing established an annual $250,000 credit he will receive to offset reimbursement charges. Forbes magazine states Wynn is worth $3.5 billion.
