Photo by Steve Adams | Banker & Tradesman Staff
Wynn Resorts on Tuesday paid the $35 million fine imposed on it by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission and the $500,000 fine imposed on CEO Matt Maddox, though the company’s board of directors said it strongly disagreed with the commission’s punishment of Maddox.
Wynn Resorts’ $2.6 billion Encore Boston Harbor project on the banks of the Mystic River in Everett is expected to open at 10 a.m. on June 23.
Last month, the commission ruled that Wynn Resorts could keep the license for its $2.6 billion Everett casino despite errors in handling issues involving Steve Wynn and the “considerable shortcomings” of Maddox, the current chief executive who was Steve Wynn’s hand-picked successor. The commission fined the company $35 million, fined Maddox $500,000 and ordered that the company agree to be monitored by an independent observer.
“The board of directors of Wynn Resorts appreciates the findings by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission that it, and its qualifiers, remain suitable by clear and convincing evidence. The company will not file an appeal,” the company’s board wrote in a statement Tuesday.
But the board members, who testified in strong support of Maddox during the commission’s adjudicatory hearing in early April, said they “do not agree” with the commission’s finding that Maddox violated the company’s own policies and said a number of the commission’s statements related to Maddox “are not supported by the evidence.”
In addition to the $500,000 fine imposed upon Maddox, the commission also ordered that he undergo “coaching and training” around leadership development, appropriate internal communications and enhanced awareness of human resources issues.
The Wynn Resorts board said the company on Tuesday “delivered payment” of both fines, a total of $35.5 million, to the Gaming Commission.
In an annual filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Wynn Resorts reported that it took in $6.7 billion in operating revenue in 2018 between its properties in Las Vegas and the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau. The $35 million fine imposed by Massachusetts regulators represents just less than two day’s worth of revenue for the company. The $35 million will be deposited into the gaming revenue fund, which then directs the money towards local aid, transportation, education and more.
The Gaming Commission is also seeking an independent monitor to keep an eye on Wynn Resorts for five years, a condition of the commission’s order penalizing the gambling company for its “significant” and “repetitive” failures related to sexual misconduct allegations against founder and former CEO Steve Wynn.
The commission announced last week that it had opened the competitive bidding process in search of a firm to evaluate the changes Wynn Resorts says it has made and to monitor the company as it works to implement new compliance and human resources policies and procedures. Bids are due June 28 and the commission said it anticipates that the contract would begin by mid-August.
