Jury doubles damages for Wynn

LOS ANGELES - A jury doubled its verdict against "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis on Tuesday, ordering him to pay an additional $20 million in punitive damages to Steve Wynn for claiming the casino mogul threatened to kill him.

The decision came one day after the same nine men and three women awarded Wynn $20 million after determining that Francis slandered Wynn.

Francis plans to appeal the verdicts.

In a statement Tuesday, the Las Vegas billionaire cast his win as a victory for all people in the digital age.

"Joe Francis represents a new kind of criminal type: the digital assassin,'' Wynn said. "He takes advantage of the protection afforded by the Internet to issue intentionally destructive charges against someone's reputation, knowing full well that in the age of the Internet those statements will live forever."

Wynn noted that the only recourse is time-consuming legal action that few can afford.

"In this case, with this unbelievably reckless human being, Joe Francis, I am a surrogate, a stand-in, for all the people with any reputation or in any business or even just a private citizen, who can be wildly attacked,'' Wynn said.

"Thank God for the justice system that finally sent a message: If you think you're taking a cheap shot, it may be a lot more expensive than you had imagined. Therefore, think before you post; think before you speak; hesitate before you start to destroy someone's character. There may be a day of reckoning."

The jurors followed the suggestion of Wynn's attorney, Barry Langberg, who asked them to double their initial compensation for damage to Wynn's reputation and casino empire.

"It tells Mr. Francis and the world, you cannot do this," Langberg said before the jury began deliberations .

Francis' attorney, Aaron Aftergood, argued that Wynn's side hadn't shown any evidence about his client's finances and they shouldn't deliver another large judgment.

Francis did not provide financial records to Wynn's attorney, so estimates of his wealth were not presented to jurors.

Francis said record producer Quincy Jones told him Wynn threatened to hit him in the back of the head with a shovel and have him buried in the desert amid a dispute over a gambling debt, but the Grammy winner testified no such statements were made.

Aftergood said he intends to file a motion for a new trial on the grounds that jurors were allowed to consider statements Francis made to a "Good Morning America" crew, but the panel was never shown the interview and heard little testimony about it.

A judge allowed Wynn's attorneys to add the interview to the case after testimony had concluded and before jury deliberations began.

Jurors awarded Wynn $22 million for the comments. Wynn has said he intends to donate the money to charity.