Casino mogul Wynn sued for acting as agent for China
Source: AFP
The US Justice Department sued Las Vegas and Macau casino mogul Steve Wynn Tuesday to force him to register officially as an agent for the Chinese government.
Wynn, the founder and former chief executive of Wynn Resorts, acted on behalf of Beijing in 2017 when he met with president Donald Trump and senior administration officials in a Chinese effort to gain custody over exiled tycoon Guo Wengui, the department said.
Guo was wanted in China for financial fraud and other allegations, but was close to Trump advisor Steve Bannon, supporting Bannon's media business and other activities, and had asked for political asylum in the United States.
The Justice Department said that in June and August 2017, Wynn contacted Trump and had dinner with the president to convey Beijing's request that the US cancel Guo's visa or have him otherwise removed from the country.
Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/casino-mogul-wynn-sued-for-acting-as-agent-for-china/ar-AAXoCnb
= new reply since forum marked as read
Will add the NYT breaking -
By Niraj Chokshi
May 17, 2022Updated 7:26 p.m. ET
The Justice Department sued Stephen Wynn, the former casino mogul, on Tuesday, seeking to force him to register as an agent of the Chinese government and saying he had made requests on the government’s behalf to Donald J. Trump when he was president.
According to the lawsuit, Mr. Wynn passed along a request to Mr. Trump in 2017 from the Chinese government to deport a Chinese national who had sought asylum in the United States. At the time, Mr. Wynn was the finance chairman of the Republican National Committee, a post he had been handpicked for by Mr. Trump.
The suit accuses Mr. Wynn of broaching the topic multiple times, including at a dinner with Mr. Trump and other administration officials on June 27, 2017, when he passed along passport photos of the individual to Mr. Trump’s secretary; during unscheduled meetings with Mr. Trump in August of that year; and by phone while aboard a yacht off the coast of Italy. Mr. Trump told Mr. Wynn he would look into the matter, according to the suit. The effort to remove the Chinese national, who was not named, was ultimately unsuccessful, according to the lawsuit.
The suit paints Mr. Wynn as furthering his own interests in Macau, a region of China known for its casinos that was critical for Mr. Wynn’s business. Mr. Wynn resigned as chairman and chief executive of his company, Wynn Resorts, in 2018 after being accused of sexual misconduct. He also stepped down as finance chairman of the R.N.C.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/17/business/doj-steve-wynn-trump-china.html
bidding on 2 of the casino licenses/projects slated for Philly over a decade ago, including -
The failed "Foxwoods Casino" along the waterfront in South Philly - https://whyy.org/articles/breaking-news-wynn-pulls-out-foxwoods-deal A "riverfront" casino just north of center city Philly - https://philly.curbed.com/2012/11/8/10308604/hes-baaack-steve-wynn-wants-to-build-a-casino-in-fishtown/
The license granted to the city for the first one was eventually moved down to the stadium area in South Philly. That one ended up going to "Live!" and just opened last year - https://www.phillyvoice.com/philly-live-casino-hotel-opening-date-february-11-2021/
And the second one slated for the Fishtown/Northern Liberties area (that actually opened first) went to a conglomeration who originally named it the "SugarHouse Casino" (because it was situated on the site of an old Jack Frost Sugar factory). That casino was recently renamed to the "Rivers Casino".
And I remember when this was posted about on DU about Wynn and his "recommended" candidates for his employees in NV to vote for - https://www.huffpost.com/entry/wynn-employee-voter-guide_n_2018595
but he won't. He'll probably get a fine that will be the equivalent of one of us paying a fine of five dollars. These fuckers really piss me off.
