Wynn Resorts says that Nevada gaming officials have dropped their investigation into allegations by director Kazuo Okada that the company made an improper donation to the University of Macau.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board determined the “allegations are unfounded,” Wynn reported. The investigation stemmed from a lawsuit the Japanese billionaire filed in state court in Nevada last January demanding access to corporate records and in particular details of the 10-year, US$135 million donation.
Wynn also said a federal court in Nevada granted its motion to dismiss a shareholder complaint against the company related to the donation for lack of evidence.
Mr Okada and Steve Wynn, chairman and CEO of Wynn Resorts, have traded accusations of unethical or illegal conduct in a bitter falling-out that has lasted more than a year. Mr Okada was Wynn’s largest individual shareholder before the company forcibly bought out his 20% stake last year following an in-house investigation that alleges improprieties in Mr Okada’s dealings in the Philippines related to a casino he plans to develop there.
Wynn is seeking to remove Mr Okada from its board as an “unsuitable person,” and the question is scheduled for a vote of the shareholders at a special meeting called for 22nd February. Mr Okada has filed a lawsuit in federal court in Las Vegas to stop the meeting, saying the proxy that calls for it makes false statements.
