Longtime Las Vegas gaming attorney Ellen Whittemore is expected to be named the new general counsel at Wynn Resorts, said sources close to the situation.
Whittemore will replace Kim Sinatra, whose departure from Wynn Resorts was announced Thursday in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Sinatra, 58, effectively became the No. 2 executive in the Wynn Resorts hierarchy in February after sexual harassment allegations led to the departure of company founder and CEO Steve Wynn.
The company said Sinatra will leave her roles as general counsel, executive vice president and secretary on July 15. It is unclear if she will remain with Wynn Resorts in any capacity.
The Wall Street Journal said Whittemore would replace Sinatra, “according to people familiar with the matter.” Sources also confirmed Whittemore’s appointment to CDC Gaming Reports.
Whittemore did not respond to emails seeking comment.
Whittemore is a shareholder in the Las Vegas law office of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck and has more than 30 years’ experience in gaming law in Nevada. She has represented MGM Resorts International as outside counsel for numerous regulatory matters, including the company’s major acquisitions and developments.
Prior to joining her current firm, Whittemore operated Whittemore Gaming Group, a boutique law firm in Nevada. She previously spent 20 with the Nevada law firm of Lionel Sawyer & Collins. Whittemore also served as a supervising deputy attorney general in Nevada for the agency’s gaming division.
Sinatra’s departure comes as Massachusetts gaming regulators continue to look at the sexual misconduct allegations against Steve Wynn. Nevada gaming regulators have also opened an investigation.
Wynn Resorts is building Encore Boston Harbor, a $2.4 billion hotel-casino complex scheduled to open in 2019. Massachusetts officials have said they would be looking at what company executives and board members knew about the claims against Steve Wynn, which the Wall Street Journal described as “behavior that cumulatively would amount to a decades-long pattern of sexual misconduct by Mr. Wynn.”
Wynn stepped down as chairman and chief executive of Wynn Resorts in February. In March, he sold his entire 12 percent stake in the company for $2.1 billion.
Wynn President Matt Maddox was elevated to CEO.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming Reports. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
