Steve Wynn steps down as CEO of casino company after harassment allegations

Former Republican National Committee (RNC) finance chairman Steve Wynn resigned Tuesday night as CEO of Wynn Resorts following multiple allegations he sexually harassed employees.

“In the last couple of weeks, I have found myself the focus of an avalanche of negative publicity,” Wynn said in a statement. “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.”

The board of directors for Wynn Resorts announced it had accepted Wynn’s resignation, and appointed the casino company’s president to be the new CEO. 

“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,” board member Boone Wayson said in a statement. 

Matt Maddox, the president of Wynn Resorts, will take over as the company’s CEO.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that Wynn had engaged in a pattern of sexual misconduct involving Wynn Resort employees, and that he agreed to pay a $7.5 million settlement to a manicurist at one of his hotels who accused the casino mogul of pressuring her into sex.

Wynn has denied the allegations.

Wynn had already stepped down as finance chairman of the Republican National Committee. GOP mega-donor Todd Ricketts was chosen as his replacement.