Wynn Resorts Ltd. General Counsel Kim Sinatra will step down from her position with the casino operator effective July 15, the company said Thursday.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Wynn Resorts said in a one sentence statement that Sinatra “will cease to serve” in her current positions as general counsel, executive vice president and secretary effective a week from Sunday.
“Ms. Sinatra and the company have not finalized the terms of her transition and departure,” the SEC filing stated.
Sinatra, 58, became effectively the No. 2 executive in the Wynn Resorts hierarchy in February, about a week after sexual harassment allegations led to the departure of company founder and CEO Steve Wynn.
Company President Matt Maddox was elevated to CEO.
A replacement for Sinatra, who joined Wynn Resorts in 2004, was not named.
According to the Wynn Resorts 2018 proxy statement, Sinatra earned almost $13.3 million from the company in 2017, including $1 million in salary, more than $10.8 million in stock awards, and more than $1.4 million in other compensation. She is also due another $26.1 million restricted stock options.
During a speech in March to the 2018 Women’s Leadership Forum in Boston, Sinatra said Wynn Resorts had gone through a “corporate meltdown” but she stayed clear of referencing any of the issues facing the casino giant.
In a note to investors Friday morning, Jefferies gaming analyst David Katz said Sinatra’s departure was “anticipated and reflective of the pressure the company’s management team is facing in the near term from regulators and shareholders.”
Katz said he was comfortable in the company’s long-term fundamentals of the business and the underlying asset value.
“We view the current share price as opportunistic, despite changes that have or could occur in the management team as a result of these pressures,” he said,
Sinatra’s departure comes as Massachusetts gaming regulators continue to look at the sexual misconduct allegations against Steve Wynn.
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.”
In March, Sinatra denied she was aware of a rape allegation leveled against Steve Wynn, a charge made by Elaine Wynn, the former CEO’s ex-wife, during a court hearing in Las Vegas. Elaine Wynn, a past member of the Wynn Resorts’ board of directors, testified that nine years ago she informed Sinatra of an allegation of a 2005 sexual assault against an employee by Steve Wynn.
“I disagree vehemently with Elaine Wynn’s testimony,” Sinatra said in a statement after the charge was leveled in open court. “My recollection, which is clear, is that at no time did Elaine Wynn ever tell me that there was an allegation of rape against Steve Wynn.”
Sinatra added that Elaine Wynn “promised to destroy Steve Wynn and said she didn’t care if that reduced the company’s stock price to zero in the process.” … Elaine Wynn has repeatedly used the broad protection of the litigation privilege to unjustly smear my reputation.”
Prior to joining Wynn Resorts, Sinatra was the chief legal officer for Caesars Entertainment.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming Reports. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
