Wynn Resorts has received a much-needed boost in the wake of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s recent three-day license hearing, with the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) officially declaring CEO Matt Maddox suitable to hold office.
In a statement, Wynn revealed it had received written confirmation from the NGCB that Maddox, who is also CEO and Executive Director of Wynn Macau, had been “found suitable as an officer of Wynn Resorts Limited in Nevada in January 2010 and remains in good standing with the Nevada Gaming Control Board.”
The vote of confidence comes despite the Nevada Gaming Commission slapping Wynn Resorts with a US$20 million fine in February for its failure to investigate claims of sexual harassment by multiple women against the company’s founder and former Chairman Steve Wynn.
Wynn Resorts is still awaiting the findings of last week’s Massachusetts hearing, which will determine whether the company will be allowed to retain its state gaming license ahead of the June opening of its US$2.6 billion Encore Boston Harbor. Maddox was one of numerous Wynn executives to be grilled by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission during the hearing.
Wynn Resorts Chairman Phil Satre offered his support for Maddox in the wake of the NGCB’s affirmation, stating, “In the past 12 months, the Wynn Resorts Board of Directors – independent and with no extensive pre-existing relationships with each other or the executive team – have been keenly focused on establishing the right direction and leadership for the company.
“Matt Maddox has the full confidence of me as Chairman as well as the entire Board of Directors of Wynn Resorts as our CEO today, tomorrow and into the future. Immediately upon taking over as CEO, Matt led the transformation of our company with a new executive team, new policies and procedures, and a new corporate culture – a transformation the Nevada regulators referred to at a hearing as a total ‘paradigm shift.’
“No one deserves more credit, or has played a more critical role, in remaking Wynn Resorts as a company and responding to the past failures of now-departed leadership. Matt will do an excellent job leading our team of 25,000 employees worldwide, and with the expected opening of our US$2.6 billion Encore Boston Harbor destination resort in Everett, Massachusetts.”