Wynn Resorts dodged a $2.6 billion bullet and will get to keep Encore Boston Harbor. It will have to pay $35 million for that privilege (and it is a privilege) and will pony up the money if it’s smart. After all, those 35 large will close the book on the Steve Wynn sex scandal and finally allow his former 
company to move forward. While some had called for a still-higher fine, “We are confident that we have struck the correct balance and met our legal and ethical burdens,” wrote Massachusetts Gaming Commission Chairwoman Cathy Judd-Stein. The MGC also released its 54-page conclusion of l’affaire Wynn. Wrote the MGC, “this commission remains concerned by the past failures and deficiencies … [and while] there was a lack of substantial evidence to disrupt the licensee’s suitability status, commissioners were profoundly disturbed by ‘repeated systemic failures and pervasive culture of non-disclosure.”
On top of the fine, CEO Matt Maddox, the most clueless man in Las Vegas, will be hit up with a $500,000 impost, the price for his maladroit testimony in Massachusetts and his “clear failure” to deal with the one sexual-harassment 
complaint of which he was aware. Humiliatingly, he will have to take company-funded “leadership development and other executive skills.” Wynn Resorts came to Maddox’s defense but was otherwise mum on the MGC report, pending further review. The company is busy winding down construction of Encore Boston Harbor, putting the finishing touches in place and possibly coming in under budget ($600K remains unspent). The goal is to finish by June 1 so that training can take place on-property.
Steve Wynn’s stated position is that nobody was harassed, that he’s just an irresistible piece of man candy. Yech. As for the company, things could be worse, in part because it clear-cut a firebreak between it and 
Steve Wynn, and his cronies. Were Wynn still clinging to power we wouldn’t give him good odds for retaining a Bay State license. That particular cult of personality is dead and buried. El Steve still has to sit out of the gaming industry for another 10 months and, at age 77, he may decide he has better things to do with his sunset years. Everett Mayor Carlo De Maria stressed the positive, stating, “I know 5,000 people who can’t wait to get to work, and with this resolution, they now can.” One hopes that Wynn Resorts ponies up the 35 mil and makes De Maria’s hope a fact.
* Having left the states with an ungodly mess, in the form of his reinterpretation of the Federal Wire Act, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is calling it quits. Doing his best imitation of George Washington, 
Rosenstein’s Monday letter of resignation ran, “We enforce the law without fear or favor because credible evidence is not partisan, and truth is not determined by opinion polls. We ignore fleeting distractions and focus our attention on the things that matter, because a republic that endures is not governed by the news cycle.” Rosenstein’s tenure was controversial both in and out of gaming, and I will leave it to others to parse the question of his stormy relationship with Donald Trump (Rosenstein to the boss: “We keep the faith, we follow the rules, and we always put America first.”). We just feel sorry for whoever has to come in and clean up the Wire Act confusion that will remain long after Rosenstein is gone.
* The Clark County Commission is looking at implementing tighter gun-control laws on the Las Vegas Strip and we’re all for it. The Strip has too long been a free-fire zone, including the recent Bellagio shoot-em-up.
