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Wednesday, January 31, 2018

The loss of Steve Wynn's MA casino license







We submitted the comments below to the MA Gambling Commission as they begin an emergency "suitability review" of Steve Wynn for a MA casino license. The Commission is meeting today at 2pm. I encourage you to let them hear your voice as well by sending comments to mgccomments@state.ma.us

January 31, 2018

RE: Comments Regarding Suitability Review of Steve Wynn for Massachusetts Casino License

To the Massachusetts Gambling Commission:

As the Commission examines the growing sexual abuse scandal engulfing casino operator Steve Wynn, we are writing to ask your suitability review center on one central question:

“Is The Wall Street Journal investigative report about Wynn’s sexual abuse of women accurate or did The Wall Street Journal get it wrong?”

If the Commission’s review finds The Wall Street Journal reported the facts accurately, then Wynn is a sexual predator who would not pass a suitability standard for any vocation except for inmate. His license should be revoked immediately.
Best,
Les Bernal
National Director
Stop Predatory Gambling
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Sunday, January 28, 2018

GOP Silent Over Sex Misconduct Accusations Against RNC Finance Chair Steve Wynn




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27 January 18 PM
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Steve Wynn. (photo: Jessica Rinaldi/Getty Images)
Steve Wynn. (photo: Jessica Rinaldi/Getty Images)

GOP Silent Over Sex Misconduct Accusations Against RNC Finance Chair Steve Wynn

By Ed O'Keefe, The Washington Post
27 January 18

epublican leaders remained silent Friday about allegations of sexual misconduct against casino mogul Steve Wynn, who serves as finance chairman of the Republican National Committee and would not say whether he plans to relinquish his role.
The accusations leveled against the businessman, a rival-turned-confidant of President Donald Trump, gave Democrats an opening to revive attacks on the GOP.
In recent months, Democrats and Republicans have called on the opposing party to return financial contributions or cut ties with prominent individuals accused of sexual misconduct. When allegations against entertainment executive Harvey Weinstein surfaced last fall, RNC Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel and other GOP leaders quickly called on the Democratic National Committee, its House and Senate campaign arms and individual Democratic candidates and lawmakers to refund his thousands of dollars in donations.
Last weekend, McDaniel and Wynn hosted a fundraiser for Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort to mark the first anniversary of his inauguration. Trump skipped the event, staying in Washington as a partial government shutdown unfolded.
On Friday, the RNC did not respond to requests for comment about a report by the Wall Street Journal that included interviews with dozens of people who have worked at Wynn's casinos or been told of his alleged behavior, including allegations that he pressured some employees to perform sex acts.
With the report, a major business executive now faces the kind of allegations that have led to the downfall of celebrity chefs, movie moguls, pro football team owners and national television news anchors. At least eight members of Congress have resigned or announced plans to retire because of similar misconduct allegations.
Wynn Resorts - the company that bears his name - saw its stock price drop 10 percent Friday in the wake of the Journal's report.
In a written statement, Wynn strongly denied the allegations, saying they stemmed from an ongoing divorce battle with his ex-wife.
"The idea that I ever assaulted any woman is preposterous," Wynn said. "We find ourselves in a world where people can make allegations, regardless of the truth, and a person is left with the choice of weathering insulting publicity or engaging in multiyear lawsuits. It is deplorable for anyone to find themselves in this situation."
Asked whether Wynn planned to step down from his RNC role, company spokesman Michael Weaver said, "Neither Mr. Wynn nor the company have any comment on that."
The DNC criticized McDaniel and the RNC for standing by Wynn, noting that when Weinstein was accused, she said candidates and political organizations "shouldn't take money from somebody who treated women with the absolute highest level of disrespect."
Wynn, a onetime business rival of Trump, became head of RNC fundraising operations a year ago next week. The 75-year old is an outsize figure in Las Vegas, best known for bringing resorts with dancing fountains and man-made volcanoes to the Strip before selling the Bellagio, Mirage and Treasure Island hotels, under pressure from investors, to MGM Grand. He later built two glass towers adorned with his signature at the north end of Las Vegas Boulevard.
Wynn has been a frequent presence in Washington since taking the RNC role and is among a cast of several business associates, longtime aides and friends who have fallen in and out of favor with Trump.
The two traded barbs in the press through the 1990s and have faced off in court. In his book "Trump: The Art of the Deal," Trump said, "Wynn is very slick and smooth, but he's also a very strange guy."
Wynn has given more than $1.5 million to the RNC, the National Republican Congressional Committee and other party committees in the past five years, including a donation of more than $450,000 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee in the 2016 cycle. Several leading Republican members of Congress, including Sens. Ted Cruz, Texas, Marco Rubio, Fla., and Patrick Toomey, Pa., have benefited from his cash.
There were signs Friday that the accusations against Wynn could influence ongoing congressional campaigns.
Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., the most vulnerable GOP senator seeking reelection this year, received $5,400 from Wynn - the maximum individual amount permitted - in March, according to campaign finance records.
Rep. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., who is challenging Heller, called the reports about Wynn "horrifying and disturbing." Rosen said the RNC should remove Wynn as finance chairman and called on Heller to demand Wynn's ouster.
As of Friday afternoon, Heller's campaign had not returned requests for comment.
The Indiana Democratic Party urged Rep. Luke Messer, R-Ind., a GOP Senate candidate and fifth-ranking member of the House GOP Conference, to call for Wynn's removal.
Michael Feldman, a spokesman for the Indiana Democratic Party, said Messer "has a real opportunity to live up to his own principles."
Messer is hoping to unseat Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., but first faces a primary against Rep. Todd Rokita, R-Ind. Messer has never met or received campaign donation from Wynn, a Messer campaign official said.
In 2000, Wynn gave $20,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, according to campaign finance records. Before backing Trump, Wynn donated $2,700 to Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.


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Wall Street Journal report on Steve Wynn's sexual abuse of women

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

High court declines to hear Aquinnah gaming case






High court declines to hear Aquinnah gaming case


By Ethan Genter
Posted Jan 8, 2018

Decision clears way for Wampanoag bingo hall.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to take up a case against the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah)’s planned bingo hall in that island town, clearing the way for the gaming center to go forward.
In a post on its website Monday, the court included the case, brought forward by the town, state and a taxpayers group, on the list of cases it would not hear.
At the center of the case is whether an agreement between the state and tribe is superseded by the 1988 federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
The town and state have argued that the tribe waived its rights to a casino in 1983, when the state and tribe agreed to a land settlement of about 485 acres in Aquinnah. In that land deal, the tribe agreed to abide by state and local zoning laws.
The tribe contends that because it is federally recognized, it should be allowed under the regulatory act to have certain types of gambling on land it controls. It also has maintained that the federal act overrides the land agreement.
The Supreme Court’s decision not to hear the case leaves the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ 2017 ruling in favor of the tribe over the town, state and group intact.
It is rare for a case to make it before the highest court in the country, with about 1 percent of the 8,000 or so petitions it receives each term granted a hearing.
“We’re not surprised at the outcome,” said Larry Hohlt, president of the Aquinnah/Gay Head Community Association. “It’s a formidable task for any case to be taken by the Supreme Court.”
James Newman, chairman of the Aquinnah Board of Selectmen, declined to comment on the court’s decision, saying he had not met with the board or town counsel. The board is scheduled to meet in executive session at 5 p.m. Wednesday and will likely talk to the public after that meeting, he said.
The tribe plans to convert its community center into a 9,000-square-foot Class II gaming facility, a category that allows electronic and traditional bingo. Town officials have previously said that Aquinnah, the smallest town on the island, does not have the infrastructure to support such a facility.
Tribe Chairwoman Cheryl Andrews-Maltais did not respond to a request for comment.

http://www.capecodtimes.com/news/20180108/high-court-declines-to-hear-aquinnah-gaming-case