Wynn Resorts has recently announced it is dedicated to finding a woman to fill a vacant chair on their board. That might be salt in the wound for Elaine Wynn, who was recently asked to pack her bags and go by the company. One gaming analyst has urged Wynn stockholders not to vote for Elaine Wynn in the proxy fight she is waging to regain the chair.
One issue the company has with Elaine Wynn is over the sale of $9.5 million of her shares in company stock this January. Wynn Resorts said as the company was about to report earnings, directors were prohibited from selling.
“Every year I am allowed to sell a certain amount of shares for my family foundation,” Wynn said. “I did not sell shares to put money in my pocket to go buy boats. After the fact they raise the issue this was a dark period.” Shares in the company stock recently dipped 0.2 percent to $129.22. They are down 13 percent on the year.
GMI Ratings, a New York-based research firm, had some not so savory things to say about the company as well. In a 2012 report, the firm wrote, “We give them a ‘D’ rating when it comes to corporate governance.” Elaine Wynn claims to have not been aware of any criticisms revolving around that, which stem from issues such as Steve Wynn leasing a personal art collection to his companies, and his use of company-owned residences and private jets. “He’s in charge of dealing with that,” she said.
She has even launched a website, elaineforwynn.com to convince shareholders to vote for her in the upcoming shareholders conference on April 24. Her goal is to not only win over the shareholders, but investment groups and hedge funds as well. “It’s not like the Olympics, where you perform, get a rating and then medal,” she said.
