The Nevada Gaming Control Board and the Nevada Gaming Commission have reportedly lost a legal motion that had been seeking to have the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for Wynn Resorts Limited, Steve Wynn (pictured), declared unfit to hold a local casino license.
According to a Friday report from CDC Gaming Reports, 78-year-old Wynn helped to establish the casino firm that still bears his name in 2002 but resigned all of his executive roles in February of 2018 following the publication of multiple claims of sexual harassment. The source detailed that the Nevada regulators had subsequently initiated a five-count legal challenge that was seeking permission to have the former casino mogul’s earlier license suitability finding reversed so that a fine could be imposed.
Absent authority:
However, Clark County District Judge Adriana Escobar reportedly ruled on Thursday that the Nevada Gaming Control Board and the Nevada Gaming Commission no longer had any jurisdiction over Wynn following the businessman’s complete divestiture from Wynn Resorts Limited in March of 2018. In dismissing the action, the non-partisan judge purportedly declared that the regulators had ‘failed to provide any authority supporting their jurisdiction over a person no longer involved in Nevada’s gaming industry in any capacity.’
Reportedly read a statement from Escobar…
“Importantly, respondents failed to support their position that they have jurisdiction over a person with no intent to be involved in Nevada’s gaming industry in the future. Why? There is none.”
Dominant defence:
In throwing out the case, Escobar was reportedly agreeing with arguments presented by Las Vegas attorney Don Campbell, who was representing Wynn, in that the five-count complaint was now moot. His client has steadfastly maintained his innocence and is purportedly believed to have retired to Florida with no intention of ever again becoming involved with the Nevada casino market.
Future focus:
Responding to the decision and the Nevada Gaming Control Board reportedly asserted that it now intends to review ‘the substance of the court’s ruling’ in cooperation with its legal team before deciding its next steps. The original complaint had purportedly sought to have Wynn labelled as ‘unsuitable to be associated with a gaming enterprise or the gaming industry as a whole’ although the casino tycoon’s lawyers soon countered by asserting that the regulators had no legal jurisdiction ‘to discipline a person who no longer has any involvement with a Nevada gaming licensee.’