Mass. agency OKS hearing to decide Wynn Resorts’ fate

An adjudicatory hearing will be conducted by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to determine whether Wynn Resorts Ltd. would be penalized in connection with the investigation of sexual harassment allegations against its founder and former CEO, Steve Wynn.

The hearing is expected to be conducted next month.

Four commissioners agreed Thursday to go forward with the hearing, which could take several days to complete. Following the hearing, commissioners would deliberate in a closed session to determine what actions, if any, it would take.

The commission is empowered to suspend or revoke a license or fine the company. Wynn Resorts is building the $2.5 billion Encore Boston Harbor resort on the Mystic River in Everett, Massachusetts, near Boston. The project is expected to be completed in June.

“We continue to support the Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s process,” Wynn Resorts said in an email after the meeting.

General counsel Catherine Blue outlined the procedure for the adjudicatory hearing.

Blue said the hearing, similar to Nevada’s process on suitability hearings, would start with a report from the commission’s Investigations and Enforcement Bureau. Commissioners can take testimony from witnesses, including Wynn Resorts representatives. But Blue stressed that it won’t be a public hearing at which any member of the public could submit their views.

Blue said the commission could call a hearing over several days or have it all in one day.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the commission would gather in a closed session to deliberate over its course of action.

Once a deliberation is reached, commission staff would prepare a public document, probably within a week, that would be presented at a public meeting.

Commission regulations state that a licensee isn’t entitled to any further review after the commission’s decision, but can appeal to the courts.