Casino Mogul Steve Wynn Reaches Settlement Over Sexual Misconduct Claims

Steve Wynn, the longtime Las Vegas casino magnate and major Republican donor, has agreed to pay Nevada a $10 million fine and to step back from its gambling industry in a settlement related to employee allegations of sexual misconduct, closing his yearslong battle with the state’s gambling regulators.

The agreement was approved on Thursday by the Nevada Gaming Commission. Mr. Wynn, 81, who did not admit wrongdoing in the settlement, agreed to be “entirely removed from any direct or indirect involvement” with financing, advertising and consulting in the state.

The agreement appears to end regulators’ investigations into Mr. Wynn’s conduct, though he could face additional fines if he violates its terms.

Mr. Wynn resigned as chairman and chief executive of his casino empire, Wynn Resorts, in 2018, when the misconduct allegations began to emerge more publicly. He has repeatedly denied them. Amid the fallout, he divested company shares and stepped down from his position as finance chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Mr. Wynn’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

A Wall Street Journal report in 2018 laid out the concerns of women who viewed Mr. Wynn as exhibiting a pattern of sexual misconduct, including pressuring some employees into sex.

“The idea that I ever assaulted any woman is preposterous,” Mr. Wynn responded at the time.

In 2019, an investigation overseen by the Nevada Gaming Commission found “a pattern of Mr. Wynn recklessly engaging in sexual conduct with subordinate employees, which, even if it was consensual as maintained by Mr. Wynn, is oblivious to the significant power imbalance between the C.E.O. of a major gaming company and subordinate employees.”

The commission fined Wynn Resorts, which Mr. Wynn founded in 2002, roughly $20 million for ignoring complaints about his behavior.