By John McCormack:
According to The New York Times, on Friday Jan. 26, casino mogul Stephen Wynn was accused of sexual misconduct by current and former female employees. This comes while Wynn Resorts is building a new $2.4 billion casino in Everett, MA. Many news outlets broke the story, because of Wynn’s fame, success, and popularity in the gaming community. More and more women each day are accusing the billionaire of sexual assault, some even dating back to the 1970s.
According to The New York Post, on Jan. 29, a victim filed that Wynn assaulted her in Las Vegas, and another on Feb. 5 from a woman in Chicago. Multiple women have accused Wynn of sexual assault in the past, but the allegations seem to be on the rise coinciding with the #MeToo movement.
The #MeToo movement is a viral hashtag that shows women will stand together with other victims of sexual assault to show they are not alone. The #MeToo movement was heavily publicized in the Larry Nassar and Harvey Weinstein cases.
In 2005, The Journal reported Wynn paid a manicurist $7.5 million to keep quiet after he pressured her into having sex after she said no.
Wynn has been facing backlash since the new allegations became public. On Feb. 6, CNBC and The Independent reported Wynn stepped down as CEO of Wynn Resorts.
This hits hard closer to home as Wynn Resorts is opening a billion dollar casino in Everett, MA next year. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission is planning to file an investigation into Wynn’s sexual assaults. Before awarding Wynn the right to build the casino, a process that took several years, MGC did an extensive background check on Wynn. If the MGC finds anything concerning it could jeopardize the Everett casino.
In the past few days, however, the case has moved away from investigations about sexual assault and now onto the political side of Wynn.
According to Fox News tweet below and The New York Times, on Jan. 27, Wynn stepped down as the finance chairman of the Republican National Committee, or RNC. Wynn was handpicked by President Trump after the 2016 election. Over the years, Wynn has donated about $5.2 million to Republican and Democratic candidates. However, Democratic officials called for the RNC to give back the donations that they received from Wynn. Republicans made a similar call when Harvey Weinstein, a Democratic donor, was accused of sexual assault earlier this year.
Wynn has denied all allegations, but knows he must step down from his positions while his investigation is ongoing. In a quote from the New York Post, Wynn calls the allegations “negative publicity.”
“In the last couple of weeks, I have found myself the focus of an avalanche of negative publicity.”
Wynn’s sexual assaults are an ongoing investigation, but for now we know he will not be a part of the RNC or CEO of Wynn Resorts. If Wynn’s sexual assault allegations are true, we could see a trial and possible jail time for the casino mogul.
THE AC301 