The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) announced on Tuesday that it should be finished at the end of August with its investigation into sexual harassment claims and suitability considerations for Encore Boston Harbor.
That came just as the Wynn Resorts organization in Las Vegas announced last week that it had completed its internal investigation this month, presented it to the Board on Aug. 3, and has turned over that report to regulators in Massachusetts, Las Vegas and Macau (China). All three regulatory bodies are conducting investigations.
On Tuesday, during the MGC’s regular monthly meeting, MGC Executive Director Ed Bedrosian told the Commission that its Investigations and Enforcement Bureau (IEB) has the Wynn report and should finish its own investigation – implementing the Wynn information – by the end of August.
The determination made by the MGC could be catastrophic for the Encore project, which at the worst could face being deemed unsuitable for a gaming license. That would be uncharted territory in a world of uncharted territory in the Massachusetts market. However, the investigation could also find that the Wynn company and its Board has taken appropriate steps to correct the problems that led to the allegations committed by former CEO Steve Wynn.
“The [IEB] has reported to me that they are entering the final stages of their investigation,” said Bedrosian. “As many of you have likely seen from recent media reports, [Wynn] has announced the completion of the independent review by board’s special committee. We have repeatedly stated from the beginning that one of the four primary elements of the IEB’s review centers on an assessment of Wynn Resorts and the board’s response to the findings of its independent review. Investigators will now review and evaluate this additional information and expect to conclude their work by the end of this month.”
Bedrosian said when they conclude their investigation, they will begin preparing a presentation for the public meeting to unveil the findings. It would seem that presentation would come some time in September.
On Aug. 7, in a federal Securities and Exchange Filing (SEC), Wynn announced it was done with the investigation into sexual harassment allegations against Steve Wynn. The Special Committee running the investigation made the presentation of its findings to the revamped Wynn Resorts Board on Aug. 3.
It was to be kept under wraps until the three regulatory investigations were completed.
Reports in the Las Vegas Review Journal have quoted Committee members over the last several months talking about the review. One member said that 114 people had been interviewed and more than three million documents reviewed as part of the Wynn inquiry.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP company assisted as outside counsel.