Allegations of unauthorized gambling surface in Wynn hearing
Wynn Resorts fired two top executives in 2013 for unauthorized gambling, lawyers said Tuesday during a court hearing.
Former Executive Vice President for Strategy and Development Tim Poster was fired for online sports betting, lawyers for Elaine Wynn and Wynn Resorts said during court testimony in Las Vegas.
Chief Operating Officer Marc Schorr, Poster’s supervisor, was also let go in connection with the illegal betting.
“Mr. Wynn fired Mr. Schorr for being part of the illegal gambling and not reporting it,’’ Mark Ferrario, Elaine Wynn’s lawyer, told Chief Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez.
State gaming regulations prohibit top casino executives from placing illegal wagers.
Poster admitted his offshore wagering when he sought a Nevada gaming license in late 2013. The Gaming Control Board rejected his request.
Regulation 5.013 says, “No officer, director, owner or key employee of an entity which holds a gaming license in this state, or of an affiliate or an affiliated company of an entity which holds a gaming license in this state, shall play or place a wager at any gambling game, slot machine, race book or sports pool which is exposed to the public for play or wagering by that gaming licensee or by an affiliate or affiliate company of that gaming licensee.”
Online sports wagering is illegal if placed at locations outside Nevada or from bettors not located within the state’s boundaries.
Pending trial
Elaine Wynn is suing Wynn Resorts and her ex-husband, Steve Wynn, for breach of contract. She claims she was not renominated by the board in 2015 because she was raising questions about misconduct by executives.
This week Ferrario will try to show that Elaine Wynn reported the illegal betting and other executive misconduct to the board.
Gonzalez will then rule whether this activity can be raised at a jury trial next month. Elaine Wynn is seeking $460 million in damages.
In taped testimony played in the courtroom, Steve Wynn said he had no reason to believe employees were illegally wagering online when they could do it in the race and sports book. But he described Poster as an active sports gambler who was a “special case.’’
Ferrario said Schorr’s name appears on a spreadsheet of sports bets.
Schorr later had a “blowout with Mr. Wynn’’ over the issue, Ferrario said.
In the taped deposition, Steve Wynn said Schorr “liked to bet sports” and that Schorr informed him that he bet at The Mirage and The Venetian.
Wynn Resorts announced in March 2013 that Schorr, then 65, would retire as chief operating officer and would leave the Wynn Macau board.
The Gaming Control Board declined to comment on any investigation of illegal gambling by Schorr.
“This type of information is considered confidential and not subject to disclosure,” the GCB said in a response to a request for information.
Testimony from general counsel
Separately, the court heard taped testimony from Kim Sinatra, Wynn Resorts’ general counsel.
Sinatra said Elaine Wynn called her sometime after Steve and Elaine Wynn’s divorce to mention that Steve Wynn had made a 2005 settlement with a woman.
Sinatra said she sought the advice of internal and outside counsel, including Wynn Las Vegas general counsel Kevin Tourek. Sinatra said she didn’t inform the board.
She said she was unaware of the “crazy details” that would later emerge about the case.
Contact Todd Prince at tprince@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0386. Follow @toddprincetv on Twitter. Review-Journal writer Richard N. Velotta contributed to this report.