Wynn Resorts Continue to Struggle Against Kazuo Okada

The arguments centered around the board at Wynn Resorts are beginning to spill over lower down the company, and could end up with shareholders interest being devalued, and a severe downfall in the resorts reputation, according to the latest United States gambling news.

Wynn Resorts and their seventy year old founder, Steve Wynn, have been consistently making the gambling news in the last few weeks as the row with Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada, a vice-president of Wynn Resorts Macau, continues to blaze on.

The in-house fighting at Wynn Resorts kicked off when Steve Wynn and his board attempted to have Kazuo Okada removed by citing him for violating the American gambling laws, by “comping” gambling officials in the Philippines for thousands of dollars worth of casino services.

The Philippines reacted angrily against the slur on the name, and have since denied Wynn any opportunity to set up business in their country. As for Mr. Okada, he is to have launched a counter-suit against Wynn and even questioned a $135 million donation made by the resort to the University of Macau.

There is a growing fear though, that despite the bad blood between the two warring parties, that it will be the shareholders and their interests, that will luck out in the end.

At a time when the US is investigated a whole range of anti-corruption issues, the integrity of Wynn Resorts could suffer irreparable damage due to the feuding, with the US also scanning a range of casinos and businesses for overseas bribery.

The two lawmakers believe that Mr. Okada’s casino and poker rooms in the Philippines may be competing directly with Wynn Resorts and his investment in the business, which could mean that “Mr. Okada was invalidating his fiduciary duties as a Wynn Resorts board member.”

Mr. Okada isn’t the only board member in the spotlight though, as much attention has been paid to Steve Wynn’s private business in recent weeks too. The board are claimed to be unhappy that Wynn had four times his annual intake as a termination package enabled as well as costs shareholders $315,000 a year for use of the companies private aircraft.

Mr. Wynn and his wife also lease apartments at the companies property in Las Vegas, something which shareholders may not be willing to take too much longer, should his behaviour continue to damage the companies image.