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The Massachusetts Gaming Commission will allow Wynn Resorts to retain its gambling license, but will fined the company $ 35 million, the commission said late Tuesday.
In a written statement, Cathy Judd-Stein, Chair of MGC's Board of Directors, said, "Our primary goal is to ensure public confidence in the integrity of the gaming sector and the strict monitoring of gaming establishments through strict regulations. " But "it goes hand in hand with an equally important duty of fairness".
The ruling paves the way for the global casino company to open its $ 2.6 billion property, Encore Boston Harbor, in Everett, Mass., In June.
Wynn Resorts said in a statement that he had "received a copy of the decision of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on his ability to show up late today." The company added that it was "reviewing this decision and considering the full range of our next steps".
Regulators had posed serious questions about the company's suitability after the investigators determined that it was repeated. Over the years, she had turned a blind eye to accusations of rape, sexual harassment and other wrongdoings against their employees by then-founder and CEO Steve Wynn. He claimed to have had romantic relationships with workers but always denied any coercion.
David Katz, an analyst at Jeffries Gaming, said, "In terms of expectations of potential results, this is a positive number, but Wynn could not keep the license, the building, or its owner." team – would have been more disruptive to the company and the stock ".
On April 7, Jeffries awarded Wynn Resorts the purchase rating with a price target of $ 170. "Our thesis is: it's their last big project, they go through a pivot in the capital where spending stops, cash flow goes up and leverage goes down, which increases the value of equity, "said Katz.
Harry Curtis, Game Analyst at Nomura / Instinet, said the commission's decision "would have long-term positive consequences for Wynn's ability not only to compete, but also to succeed in global destination markets." larger scale ".
The company was defended by saying that she had separated from its managing director shortly after the publication of the allegations in the Wall Street Journal in January 2018. Wynn had resigned on February 6 from the same year and sold the entirety of its stake in mid-March.
Wynn Resorts claimed that society was no longer limited to one man. Leaders and board members have strongly affirmed that the company has reinvented itself, with new leadership, a new board of three new women in leadership, new policies and a new commitment to transparency. with the regulators.
MCG's decision to save the Wynn stations is far more damaging to the loss of their gaming license. The commission acknowledged all the internal changes and said, "Wynn will probably be a successful operator in Everett".
The board also reviewed the suitability of CEO Matt Maddox and co-founder Elaine Wynn, Steve's ex-wife, the only two remaining qualified candidates for the original license application, and ruled that he was not the only one left. they were appropriate.
The game's regulators voted by fining Maddox a $ 500,000 fine for what they called his failures in enforcing the company's policy.
In addition, the board asks the board to hire an executive coach for Maddox to focus on leadership development and will require that the roles of president and chief executive officer remain separate for the 15-year term of the license.
Maddox was the longtime protégé of Steve Wynn – and his appointed successor. During a three-day hearing in March, after the investigators presented their report, the regulators explained to Maddox why he was unaware of the existence of multiple settlements, complaints or a bad one management of allegations.
In its post-hearing brief, Wynn Resorts responded: "… very few people in the company knew of silo-based locations, which means that some people were aware of certain locations, but not at all. # 39; other. "
Wynn Resorts has fiercely defended its CEO in the brief, claiming that the board applied the standard of fitness as "the one who judges his leadership, which is not a statutory criterion of the Gaming Act" .
At the March hearing, regulators had insisted Elaine Wynn explain why, as a member of the board, she had not revealed to the board or regulators of the game the existence of a settlement in 2005 of several million dollars between Steve Wynn and a former employee. At a hearing held in February, she had declared being acquitted of her responsibility by informing then-Attorney General Kim Sinatra.
Sinatra is one of a number of former leaders named and blamed by gambling regulators in Nevada and Massachusetts for their systemic failings in the application of the policy of the United States. business. The company says that these employees are no longer in the business.
In February, the Nevada Gaming Commission fined Wynn Resorts a record $ 20 million for failing to protect its employees and enforcing its own policies on Steve Wynn. But this decision was followed by a letter to Wynn Resorts confirming that in Nevada it was determined that Maddox had met the compliance requirements.
Wynn Resorts had been slow to announce the date when its first quarter results would be published and followed while it was awaiting the decision in Massachusetts.
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