This week, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) is set to hold hearings as to whether Wynn Resorts is suitable to hold a gaming license in Massachusetts. In March, MGC released heavily redacted closed-door meetings regarding its decision to end Steve Wynn’s lawsuits that show it must omit significant information when deciding whether to let Wynn Resorts keep its Boston casino license.
With a $2.6 billion casino set to open in June, Wynn most certainly is hoping for an outcome similar to that achieved with the Nevada Gaming Control Board in February. In that settlement, Wynn paid a $20 million fine and also admitted to corporate behavior that most certainly would have disqualified any entity applying in Massachusetts (allegations of a rape of a Wynn employee by Steve Wynn and subsequent failure of management to do anything about it was discovered ... allegations of pressuring Wynn employees into sex ... management facilitating sex between cocktail waitresses and Mr. Wynn ... etc.).
Wynn Resorts stated in its Nevada settlement that they have put a new face on the company, revamped its board of directors, released the executives involved and admitted that they had "focused on a single man, rather than the company's greatest asset; its 25,000 employees." In that settlement the company pretty much admitted to everything alleged except an incident stating that both Wynn Las Vegas's, general counsel, Kevin Tourek, and president Maurice Wooden were aware of allegations of sexual misconduct made by "Employee 3." One may wonder why the protection of two guys who have since left the company.
Encore Boston Harbor's current executive vice president Brian Gullbrants was formerly a high ranking executive at Wynn Las Vegas where he was head of all hotel operations. He reported to Wooden who, when the initial Wall Street Journal report came out about the allegations against Mr. Wynn, sent a note to Wynn employees condemning the report and expressing support for Mr. Wynn. In Gullbrants position he would have had oversight and final accountability for all activities at all hotels – including the spa(s) where Steve Wynn allegedly assaulted female employees. It would make sense for the Wynn organization to distance Wooden, and thus Gullbrants, from any association with the scandal inside Wynn since he has such a key role in Boston. Gullbrants is expected to testify at the MGC hearings and will be the only executive who had such close ties to the Wynn subsidiary where most of the allegations of assault took place.
This hearing is a big deal for Wynn but it is not a big deal for Massachusetts, despite narratives that so many jobs are at stake with MGC's decision. That is just not true. Wynn's suitability is about whether the company is suitable to operate a casino. If they are not, the state will choose another company that they believe is.
Massachusetts is very different from Nevada. Nevada's economy depends heavily on gaming and tourism associated with gaming. The Nevada Resorts Association produces a report every two years on the economic effects of gaming for the state. They issued one this month and reported that gaming tourism accounted for 37.5 percent of Nevada’s general fund revenue. The sector accounted for $1.8 billion in fees and taxes collected by Nevada, including gross gaming taxes, live entertainment taxes and room taxes. Gaming is the largest contributor of state and local taxes in Nevada ... it is important!
The laws of Nevada even recognize the importance of gaming. The Nevada Legislature declared under NRS 463.0129(1) that:
(a) The gaming industry is vitally important to the economy of the State and the general welfare of the inhabitants.
Gaming holds no such status in Massachusetts, which only passed gaming in late 2011 and opened its first big casino in 2018 in Springfield, MA (MGM). Massachusetts, particularly Boston has a rich and diverse economic base including a number of Fortune 500 corporations, banking institutions and some of the finest universities in the country (Harvard, MIT, Tufts, Boston College, Williams, Boston University, Northeastern .....). According to the Boston Planning and Development Agency's economic report, Boston's Gross City Product was $119 billion in 2016. The Gross Domestic Product for the entire state of Nevada was just $30 billion more that same year .... and Boston's economy included no gaming at that time ... zero.
The MGC, which usually live streams public meetings, is NOT going to do so in its adjudicatory hearing of Wynn this week. The event is open to the public and the press.
There are a number of people appearing on behalf of Wynn in addition to Gullbrants, including:
- Matthew Maddox: Current CEO and president - Wynn's right hand man for 20 years.
- Ellen Whittemore: Executive vice president, general counsel and secretary
- Craig Billings: CFO and treasurer
- Elaine Wynn: Co-founder and largest shareholder - Knew about Steve's sexual assault and reported
- Philip Satre: Board chairman
- Dee Dee Myers: Board director and former White House press secretary under President Bill Clinton
- Robert DeSalvio: Encore Boston Harbor president
- Rose Huddleston: Senior vice president of human resources
- Jacqui Krum: Senior vice president and general counsel
- James Stern: Head of security (Former agent Federal Bureau of Investigations)
One person missing from this list is former Massachusetts governor and former close advisor/counsel to Wynn, Bill Weld. Weld, who worked at ML Strategies helping to guide Wynn to its successful bid in Massachusetts, addressed the MGC in his closing comments of support of Wynn in 2013 saying, “The company [Wynn] has something of a reputation as a blue-chip within the industry. I think it’s earned ... in dealing with these folks, you take a bite of sirloin, you take another bite, it’s still sirloin. It doesn’t vary.”
