Steve Wynn has resigned as CEO and chairman of Wynn Resorts, the company announced Tuesday.
The move comes after a Wall Street Journal report published in January detailed allegations of decades of sexual misconduct by the gambling mogul.
The allegations in the report detailed accounts from dozens of current and former employees that would amount to “a decades-long pattern of sexual misconduct,” as well as a $7.5 million financial settlement paid to a manicurist who alleged she was pressured into having sex with Wynn.
“It is with a collective heavy heart, that the board of directors of Wynn Resorts today accepted the resignation of our founder, CEO and friend Steve Wynn,” non-executive director of the board Boone Wayson said in a statement. “Steve Wynn is an industry giant. He is a philanthropist and a beloved leader and visionary. He played the pivotal role in transforming Las Vegas into the entertainment destination it is today. He also assembled a world-class team of executives that will continue to meet the high standards of excellence that Steve Wynn created and the Wynn brand has come to represent.”
The board has appointed Matt Maddox, currently the company’s president, to be the CEO, the statement said.
Trade in shares of Wynn Macau was halted on Wednesday, the Hong Kong stock exchange said in a notice.
In a statement provided by the company, the former CEO did not admit to any wrongdoing, but instead pointed to the “environment” created by the allegations themselves:
“In the last couple of weeks, I have found myself the focus of an avalanche of negative publicity. As I have reflected upon the environment this has created — one in which a rush to judgment takes precedence over everything else, including the facts — I have reached the conclusion I cannot continue to be effective in my current roles,” he said.
In statements issued around the Journal report, Wynn denied he had ever assaulted anyone, and his company said the newspaper report reflected allegations made in court by his ex-wife “in her legal battle with him and the company.”
Still, Wynn Resorts formed a special committee to investigate the allegations, according to a board statement.
In January, Wynn stepped down from his post as the Republican National Committee’s finance chief. The billionaire, a prominent supporter of President Donald Trump, presided over a record-setting cash haul for the RNC. The group is projected to have raised more than $130 million in 2017.
—CNBC’s Chloe Aiello and Javier David contributed to this report.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
