LAS VEGAS, Feb. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Wynn
Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN) today issued the following statement in
response to the Nevada Gaming Commission's final resolution of the
investigation into the response of certain employees to allegations
against the company's founder, former CEO and Chairman:
"This brings to a conclusion the Nevada gaming regulators review of who in the
Company was aware of allegations against the Company's founder and
former CEO.
"We are pleased that the Nevada Gaming Commission has recognized
the company's transformation and 'refreshed culture' over the
course of the last twelve months and acknowledged the 'paradigm
shift' that has occurred within the company.
"The completion of the review by Nevada regulators is an important step
forward, and we deeply appreciate the trust and confidence they
have placed in the new leadership of Wynn Resorts to 'grow and
prosper.'"
Over the past year, the Company has taken many remedial actions,
several of which were recognized by the Commission during the
hearing:
- Executed a separation agreement with founder Steve Wynn that paid him no severance and
arranged for liquidation of all his Wynn Resorts shares.
- Separated the roles of CEO and Chairman of the Board,
consistent with current corporate best practices.
- Appointed Matt Maddox as CEO of
Wynn Resorts.
- Commenced a robust Board refreshment process and, as of today,
the median tenure of our eight independent directors is now less
than two years. In April 2018, the
Board elected three new female directors, resulting in a Board that
is now nearly 50% women. In August
2018, the Board elected Philip G.
Satre, Richard Byrne and
Matt Maddox to its Board. Mr. Satre
is Chairman.
- Ensured that any employee who was aware of allegations of
sexual assault against Steve Wynn
and did not investigate or report it is no longer with the
company.
- Appointed Ellen Whittemore, a
recognized expert in gaming regulatory matters, as General Counsel;
appointed Marilyn Spiegel, an
executive with significant hospitality and human resources
experience, as President of Wynn Las Vegas; and appointed
Rose Huddleston, a seasoned human
resources executive, to the newly created corporate position of
Senior Vice President of Human Resources, North America.
Under the leadership of CEO Matt
Maddox, the company has taken the following steps to further
transform its workplace environment:
- Launched enhanced Workplace Compliance and Prevention of Sexual
Harassment training for all employees, designed and delivered by a
third-party expert.
- Launched a Women's Leadership Council to promote equality
within the workplace. The group's first activity was to produce a
speaker series, "Women Who Thrive," to educate and inspire
employees through powerful female role models.
- Commissioned pay and promotion equity studies to measure pay
equality among men and women in the workforce.
- Launched a new Paid Parental Leave program that provides six
weeks of paid time off to new parents.
- Implemented new Diversity, Inclusion and Unconscious Bias
training for all employees taught by third-party experts. Company
senior executives completed an eight-hour training program.
- Launched the Great Place to Work survey and focus groups which
measure employee engagement against the Fortune "100 Best
Companies to Work For."
- Launched a new annual Wynn Employee Foundation scholarship
program, which has awarded ten $7,500
college scholarships to employees and their dependents.
Since the transformation of Wynn Resorts began in February 2018, the company has achieved the
following:
- Coordinated the sale of all of Mr. Wynn's stock in the Company,
including 8 million shares to two long-term institutional
investors.
- Settled six years of litigation with Universal Entertainment
for $2.4 billion, an effective
redemption price of $78 per Company
share.
- Raised $927 million through the
sale of 5.3 million shares in Wynn Resorts to Galaxy Entertainment
Group, Macau.
- Resolved the litigation filed in 2012 by former Board Member
Elaine Wynn, thereby finally resolving all claims in that
litigation with no payment by Wynn Resorts.
- Recognized by the U.S. Department of Treasury for "substantial
contributions" to investigations as part of the annual FinCEN
Director's Law Enforcement Awards Program.
- Ranked as the highest casino resort on Fortune
Magazine's 2019 World's Most Admired Companies list and first
overall for Quality of Products among all international hotel
companies.
- Achieved the Forbes Travel Five-Star ranking for all of its
resorts internationally for 2019, and retained the honor of having
a record eight Forbes Five-Star awards at Wynn Macau and being the
highest rated independent resort company worldwide.
- Named among this year's Best Employers for Diversity by
Forbes Magazine, which recognizes the top employers in
the United States for their
commitment to diversity and workplace culture. Wynn Resorts was one
of only 14 hotel companies to be recognized in these rankings.
About Wynn Resorts
Wynn Resorts, Limited is
traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol
WYNN and is part of the S&P 500 Index. Wynn Resorts owns and
operates Wynn Las Vegas (wynnlasvegas.com), Wynn Macau
(wynnmacau.com) and Wynn Palace, Cotai (wynnpalace.com).
Wynn and Encore Las Vegas feature two luxury hotel towers with a
total of 4,750 spacious hotel rooms, suites and villas,
approximately 192,000 square feet of casino space, 22 dining
experiences featuring signature chefs and 11 bars, two
award-winning spas, approximately 290,000 square feet of meeting
and convention space, approximately 106,000 square feet of retail
space as well as two showrooms; three nightclubs, a beach club and
recreation and leisure facilities. Wynn Las Vegas recently unveiled
Wynn Plaza, a Strip-front expansion
that offers a collection of world-renowned luxury, contemporary,
and lifestyle brands.
Wynn Macau is a luxury hotel and casino resort located in the
Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China with two luxury
hotel towers with a total of 1,008 spacious rooms and suites,
approximately 273,000 square feet of casino space, casual and fine
dining in eight restaurants, approximately 31,000 square feet of
meeting and convention space, approximately 59,000 square feet of
retail space, and recreation and leisure facilities including two
opulent spas, a salon and a rotunda show.
Wynn Palace is a luxury integrated resort in Macau. Designed as a floral-themed
destination, it boasts 1,706 exquisite rooms, suites and villas,
approximately 424,000 square feet of casino space, 11 food and
beverage outlets, approximately 37,000 square feet of meeting and
convention space, approximately 106,000 square feet of designer
retail, SkyCabs that traverse an eight-acre Performance Lake, an
extensive collection of rare art, a lush spa, salon and recreation
and leisure facilities.
Wynn Resorts is currently constructing Encore Boston Harbor
located in Everett,
Massachusetts.
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SOURCE Wynn Resorts