A RESORT COMPANY WITHOUT ITS NAMESAKE
After Steve Wynn’s resignation,
what’s next for Wynn Resorts?

By Sarah Feldberg and Danny King

University of Nevada-Las Vegas assistant professor Todd Uglow was having dinner at Sinatra, a restaurant inside the Encore Las Vegas, just over a month ago when staff suddenly started scurrying around as if preparing for some unexpected guest.

Within minutes, Wynn Resorts chairman and CEO Steve Wynn strode into the restaurant alongside former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, who was ousted from the network last April amid news of various settlements for sexual harassment claims against him.

They couldn’t have known it then, but
Wynn would also soon be embroiled in sex-
ual misconduct claims that would result in
his departure from the company he founded
and controlled.

On Feb. 6, Wynn Resorts announced Steve Wynn’s resignation as chairman and CEO following a Wall Street Journal investigation that alleged a pattern of sexual harassment or assault by the casino magnate targeting female employees, including one case that ended in a $7.5 million settlement.

“In the last couple of weeks, I have found
myself the focus of an avalanche of negative
publicity,” Wynn wrote in a statement. “As
I have reflected upon the environment this
has created — one in which a rush to judg-
ment takes precedence over everything else,
including the facts — I have reached the con-
clusion I cannot continue to be effective in
my current roles.”
Wynn Resorts named president Matthew
Maddox as its CEO. A relative unknown
outside of Las Vegas, Maddox joined the

Delta’s international commission cut
could be the first of many, analysts say

By Jamie Biesiada

While Delta’s move to cut front-end commissions on international flights for U.S. agencies is not as extreme as the airline commission cuts of the 1990s, it could be the beginning of more incremental cuts from carriers going forward.

Delta declined to comment on the move, but a Valerie Wilson Travel executive said they believed the cut was enacted throughout North America, and some routes saw a commission cut as large as 50%. Travel Weekly sister publication the Beat, citing multiple agency sources, said it extends to large agencies like Travel Leaders, Frosch and Valerie Wilson.

Last week, industry analysts said the cut
could be the first of many if other airlines
follow suit and implement similar measures.

“Maybe I’m naive, [but] I do think a lot
of the big chunks have already been taken
out of the hides of the agency commu-
nity, both corporate and leisure,” said Jack
Mannix, founder of Jack E. Mannix & As-
sociates. “That could be famous last words,
but … I think we’ll continue to see a lot of
these kinds of things happen, even if they’re
relatively incremental in terms of impact.
They’re going to be beneficial for the sup-
plier.”
Whether or not other airlines follow de-
pends on Delta’s success, according to Henry
Harteveldt, founder of Atmosphere Research
Group.

“Commission cuts are something that, frankly, airlines love to do because it’s an easy

See COMMISSION on Page 28

See WYNN on Page 26

Arnie Weissmann
Steve Wynn’s departure: Sorting a man’s accom-
plishments from his alleged misdeeds 12

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