Wynn Resorts has severed its relationship with celebrity hair stylist Claude Baruk, whose salons at the company’s two Las Vegas Strip hotels figure prominently in the sexual harassment scandal that brought down Steve Wynn.
The venues will no longer be branded with Baruk’s name, corporate spokesman Michael Weaver said in an e-mail to Bloomberg. He did not comment further.
The French-born Baruk, who operated the salons at the resorts since 2013, could not be reached for comment, Bloomberg said.
Wynn was a frequent patron of the salons, where several women who worked at them providing manicures, massages and other services claim he pressured them to perform sexual favors. At least one former worker is suing Baruk, accusing him and salon management of ignoring her complaints about the casino tycoon’s conduct.
The allegations, first detailed in a January story in The Wall Street Journal, forced Wynn, who founded the company, to resign as chairman and CEO and quit the post he held as finance chairman of the Republican National Committee. He later sold all his Wynn Resorts shares.
Since then, four male members of the board of directors have departed and the company has added three new female board members as part of a corporate-wide shakeup.
Investigations, both internal and external, into the allegations continue. Board member Pat Mulroy said at the company’s annual meeting last month that 114 people had been interviewed and more than 3 million pages of documents examined.
Regulators in Nevada and Massachusetts also are investigating.
