“The company’s success has been one of my life’s main passions, and I bring that attitude to my role as a director each and every day.” So wrote Elaine Wynn, as she gears up for a 
proxy fight to remain on the board of directors of Wynn Resorts. She’s facing long odds. A faction led by former Nevada Gov. Bob Miller is seeking to remove her for reasons the Las Vegas Review-Journal summarized as “he language in a longstanding stockholders agreement, potential conflicts of interest, and her lack of independence under Nasdaq listing standards.”
Without her, the Wynn board becomes a boys’ club, a fact Elaine Wynn has not been hesitant about underlining: “This appalling lack of diversity would be highly inappropriate at any public company, and would be especially unacceptable at Wynn Resorts. The exclusion of any diverse voices from the board is not just a symbolic misstep, it’s bad business.” The glass ceiling on the Wynn board is evident in the compensation discrepancy. Miller rakes in $506,209, compared to Ms. Wynn’s $72,000.
Surely, it would be easier for Ms. Wynn to walk away but writes, “For me, board membership isn’t some professional title; it’s a labor of love to which I am whole-heartedly devoted and have the tenure to prove.” Even so, there’s no question that she’s facing an uphill battle, with Wall Street investors unlikely to buck the board’s expulsion of the woman who helped make Wynn Resorts what it is.
* Applied Analysis, acting at the behest of the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority, estimates that average visitor spending in Las Vegas last year was a record $723 per tourist. (In 2013, the number was $690.) Conventioneers were particularly liberal with their dollars. All categories of entertainment scored best-ever numbers except for gambling.
* Shrugging off competition from Ohio and wintry weather, Detroit casinos saw revenue increase across the first two months of 2015. MGM Grand Detroit was flat but retained its market-leading position, grossing $47.5 million. New ownership has been good for Greektown Hotel-Casino, which rose 8%, to $28 million. And firmly in the middle was MotorCity, grossing $39 million — a 5% boost. Analysts are giving lower gas prices (and the concomitant increase in discretionary income) credit for the bump in casino business.
