WYNN RESORTS IS PARTING WAYS with a top executive who apparently had been aware of a $7.5 million private legal settlement Steve Wynn had negotiated with a former employee to settle allegations of sexual misconduct.
In a short, two-sentence filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday, Wynn said Kim Sinatra would step down as executive vice president, general counsel, and secretary on July 15. The filing said the terms of her departure had not been finalized yet.
Sinatra’s departure could play a key role in the Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s suitability review of Wynn, which has dragged on for more than five months. Sinatra is a key player at Wynn, often considered the No. 2 employee at the company behind CEO Matt Maddox. She is paid $13 million a year, on a par with CEOs at other gaming companies. She also played a hands-on role in landing a Massachusetts casino license, which allowed the company to begin construction of a $2.5 billion casino and hotel in Everett that is scheduled to open next year.
The Massachusetts casino license is now in doubt, as investigators for the Gaming Commission try to determine whether the company is suitable to retain its license after allegations of sexual misconduct were raised against Steve Wynn, prompting his resignation. Many members of the company’s board of directors have also left.
In the early stages of the commission’s investigation, officials said
awareness of the previously undisclosed 2005 settlement with Wynn’s manicurist could determine whether Wynn is suitable to retain its license. “A central question is what did the board’s directors and staff know about the settlement and when did they know it,” said Stephen Crosby, the commission’s chairman, in early February.
Elaine Wynn, Steve Wynn’s ex-wife, alleged in a lawsuit against the company that she had asked Sinatra in 2009 whether she knew anything about a settlement her ex-husband had negotiated with an employee in 2005. She claimed Sinatra told her “that Mr. Wynn had decided the matter should not be disclosed to the board or other company counsel.” Sinatra several months ago issued a statement saying Elaine Wynn had only made an oblique reference to a settlement during their 2009 conversation.
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About Bruce Mohl
Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.
About Bruce Mohl
Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.
Despite the allegations by Steve Wynn’s ex-wife, Sinatra has given no indication her job was in trouble. She joined Maddox in April before the Gaming Commission
to give reassurances that the company has moved on from Steve Wynn.
“There is no association with Steve Wynn. There is no business association with Steve Wynn,” Maddox said at the time. “I’m my own man. Kim Sinatra is her own woman.”
