How can we miss Steve Wynn if he won’t go away? He’s suing a Las Vegas law firm for saying he was “leering” at female performers. Wynn’s defense is that he is legally blind (true enough), although we have found his 
impaired eyesight has become a catch-all excuse. For one thing, we’ve seen him getting around Wynncore perfectly well, certainly not bumping into walls or anything of that ilk. In fact, if you didn’t know that Wynn’s eye troubles make him legally blind you’d be hard put to tell the difference. Wynn is responding to a suit from a ShowStoppers cast member who said that Wynn was something of a Peeping Tom.
“During rehearsals, dancers would normally wear jazz pants, tank tops, or other casual fitness wear. Yet when Mr. Wynn stopped in to the rehearsals, which he did often when he was in town, the female dancers were instructed immediately to strip down to bras and panties, put on heels, and apply extra makeup so as to be sexually appealing to Mr. Wynn. Mr. Wynn would then sit in the front row of the theater and leer while the female performers danced particularly physically revealing segments of the show,” said The Bloom Firm. If true … Ewwwww!
In addition to demanding $75,000 compensation, Wynn said, “During rehearsals of ShowStoppers, all performers – men and women – were expected to wear audition-appropriate attire. The performers selected their own audition-appropriate rehearsal attire.” So it’s the women’s 
fault, basically. We’ve heard that one before. Responded attorney Lisa Bloom, “In my opinion, Mr. Wynn sued me in an attempt to intimidate other women. This time, he chose the wrong woman. I will fight him in court, and I will win, just as I have won against so many other high profile men. Perhaps Mr. Wynn has not heard of the #MeToo movement. It is even more powerful than an unemployed billionaire.” Yes, but unemployed billionaires need something to do with their unwanted free time. We might suggest that Wynn run for president of the United States (a job with lower ethical standards than CEO of Wynn Resorts) but a well-known groper beat him to it.
* The rich continue to get richer. For instance, Sheldon Adelson has a sweet provision in his employment agreement with Las Vegas Sands that rewards him with 250% of his base salary if the company makes its earnings targets. Of course you’d think, as majority shareholder, Adelson 
would be sufficiently incentivized to maximize shareholder value. But that’s not what made him a zillionaire. His latest pay packet included over $4 million for health care and security (warding off imaginary enemies ain’t cheap). Adelson earns a mere $5 million in salary — arguably a bargain considering how much Sands makes — boosted this year with a $12.5 million cash bonus, plus over $4 million in stock grants, for a grand total of $26.1 million, which is more than double what he made in 2016. Revenues from Macao primarily drove the good numbers, which resulted in Sands beating its $4.1 earnings goal by almost 3%.
Sands spokesman Ron Reese got a little testy when it was pointed out to him that the company board is almost a boy’s club, with one token female 
member. Experience and skill set, he said, got you a seat on the board. I guess there aren’t many skilled, experienced women. Perhaps Reese was expecting more deferential coverage from a newspaper that the Adelson family owns. Perhaps the only line item missing from the SEC filing was Adelson’s toupee budget but perhaps that comes out of his own pocket. At $26 million a year, you’d think he could afford some better ones.
* It’ll cost you $10 for 90 seconds of virtual-reality archery at The Orleans, as Boyd Gaming field-tests some new International Game Technology skill-based product. Presumably the steep tariff is what Boyd’s David Strow is referring to when he says “This is about the 
broader strategy of how do we expand our customer base. How we do connect with customers we aren’t reaching today?” ‘Charging them through the nose,’ would appear to be the answer. “People don’t like losing money and feeling like they didn’t get something enjoyable out of it or feeling clumsy in the process,” says UNLV Center for Gaming Studies Director David Schwartz, describing a risk Boyd is running with its pricey gambit. (If the players hoist a few at adjacent Bailiwick American, their skill set will definitely be eroded.) The games look like fun … but ten bucks for a minute and a half? That’s no deal.
