Elaine Wynn has a message for the Wynn Resorts board of directors, on which she used to sit: Set my stock free! She has filed a lawsuit to that effect, arguing that since 
Kazuo Okada has been ousted from the company, she’s no longer bound by restrictions on how she, Steve Wynn and Okada could dispose of their shares. She backs up her legal threats with insinuations that stop just this side of blackmail: “Ms. Wynn learned that Mr. Wynn, using the services of a private criminal defense attorney and a private gaming attorney, has previously made a multimillion dollar payment after apparently being threatened with allegations of serious misconduct occurring on company property against a Wynn Resorts employee,” her lawsuit reads.
Rather than take what seem to be accusations of sexual hanky-panky lying down, a Wynn spokesman dismissed them as “lies and distortions,” adding, “This is simply an attempt to inflict personal pain on Mr. Wynn. Ms. Wynn is a disappointed ex-wife who is seeking to tarnish the reputation of Wynn Resorts and Steve Wynn and their daughters.” The reply did acknowledge a 2009 settlement between Mr. Wynn and an unnamed employee, paid with his own money. The Wynn flack also noted that Mrs. Wynn had not seen fit to raise the confidential settlement as an issue until now. In addition to the liberation of her shares, Elaine Wynn is suing Steve for punitive damages for fraud. It will be interesting, to say the least, to see how this powder-keg litigation progresses.
* A Lake Pontchartrain casino dock and headquarters building for Bally’s Riverboat Casino have lain fallow since the riverboat was moved, 11 years ago. If a new plan comes to fruition, the infrastructure will be repurposed as part of a three-park project Stage one of Lakeshore Landing calls f0r refurbishing the office building as meeting space and restaurants, as well as adding a 5,000-seat amphitheater to the site. The question of how this will be financed, to the tune of $13 million, has been begged but the Louisiana Non-Flood Protection Asset Management Authority has given its blessing.
The coolest part of the development, though has to be the restoration of P.T.-305, which saw action on the Mediterranean front during World War II, to seagoing condition. Once fully restored and berthed at Lakeshare Landing, it will offer cruises on the lake. That will be a truly unique tourist attraction, a worthy addition to Louisiana‘s many other charms.
