A Wall Street Journal report spoke to dozens of employees and others who claim Wynn sexualized his workplace.
Casino magnate and real estate developer Steve Wynn is facing multiple accusations of sexual misconduct in light of a Wall Street Journal story published Friday afternoon which recounts the alleged experiences of dozens of employees and others who knew him.
The Journal says it reached out to more than 150 individuals who worked or used to work for Wynn.
One alleged incident involved him pressuring a manicurist into having sex with him at his Wynn Last Vegas casino in 2005, for which a $7.5 million settlement was later paid.
From the story:
Former employees said they sometimes entered fake appointments in the books to help other female workers get around a request for services in Mr. Wynn’s office or arranged for others to pose as assistants so they wouldn’t be alone with him. They told of female employees hiding in the bathroom or back rooms when they learned he was on the way to the salon.
“Everybody was petrified,” said Jorgen Nielsen, a former artistic director at the salon. Mr. Nielsen said he and others repeatedly told high-level company executives Mr. Wynn’s sexual advances were causing a problem, but “nobody was there to help us.”
In a statement, Wynn said, “The idea that I ever assaulted any woman is preposterous.”
He continued: “We find ourselves in a world where people can make allegations, regardless of the truth, and a person is left with the choice of weathering insulting publicity or engaging in multi-year lawsuits. It is deplorable for anyone to find themselves in this situation.”
Wynn added that “the instigation of these accusations is the continued work of my ex-wife Elaine Wynn, with whom I am involved in a terrible and nasty lawsuit in which she is seeking a revised divorce settlement.”
An attorney for his ex-wife denied her client was behind the story.
Wynn recently became finance chairman of the Republican National Committee and is a major political donor, having given more than $2.5 million to the Republican Governors Association since 2012, Politico notes .
Wynn owns nearly 12 percent of Wynn Resorts, which the Wall Street Journal notes amounts to $2.4 billion.
