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Japan court dismisses defamation suit against Wynn Resorts

October 22, 2013 at 03:54 am EDT

MarketScreener.com By The editorial team

TOKYO (Reuters) - A Tokyo court has dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed by Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada against U.S. casino operator Wynn Resorts (>> Wynn Resorts, Limited) and some of its top executives, saying the case should not be handled by a Japanese tribunal.

Wynn Resorts' legal representative in Japan confirmed on Tuesday the ruling in the case, which centers on Wynn Resorts' release in early 2012 of an English language report alleging business misconduct by Okada in South Korea and the Philippines.

The Tokyo District Court judge noted that the legal fight between Okada and Wynn Resorts was based in the United States, according to a copy of the ruling, which was made on Monday and seen by Reuters. The suit is one of several legal battles between Okada and his former business partner Wynn Resorts Chief Executive Steve Wynn.

The case was filed in August 2012 by the Japanese billionaire, one of his holding companies and Universal Entertainment (>> Universal Entertainment Corp), the $1.7 billion gaming machine maker he founded. Okada had sought 11.2 billion yen ($114 million) in damages from Wynn Resorts, Steve Wynn and other executives.

A spokesman for Universal, which is controlled by Okada through the holding company, declined to comment on the case. Okada's legal representative was not immediately available for comment.

Okada and his companies are under investigation in the United States for potential violations of anti-bribery laws in relation to a $2 billion casino project in the Philippines, according to a court filing made earlier this year by U.S. federal prosecutors.

The Department of Justice in the Philippines is also investigating Okada and his companies for possible bribery and violations of foreign ownership restrictions in setting up landholding companies for the casino project.

Okada has denied any wrongdoing in the Philippines.

Universal has filed a defamation suit against Reuters in Tokyo for its reporting on $40 million in payments made in relation to the casino project on Manila Bay. ($1 = 98.1450 Japanese yen)

(Reporting by Nathan Layne; Editing by Miral Fahmy)

Stocks treated in this article : Wynn Resorts, Limited, Universal Entertainment Corp

Stocks mentioned in the article

Add to a list Add to a list 0 selected To use this feature you must be a member Log in Sign up	Price	Change	5d. change	Capi.
US DOLLAR / JAPANESE YEN	154.9 JPY	+0.10%	+0.13%	-
WYNN RESORTS, LIMITED	98.82 USD	+1.37%	-0.53%	11.07B
UNIVERSAL ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION	1,690 JPY	+0.90%	-1.05%	839M

Steve Wynn

Stephen Alan "Steve" Wynn (born January 27, 1942) is an American business magnate. He played a pivotal role in the 1990s resurgence and expansion of the Las Vegas Strip. His companies refurbished or built what are now widely recognized resorts in Las Vegas, including the Golden Nugget, The Mirage, Treasure Island, Bellagio, Wynn, and Encore.

Now, as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Wynn Resorts, Limited, Wynn has developed Wynn Las Vegas, which opened on April 28, 2005; Wynn Macau, which opened in September 2006; Encore at Wynn Las Vegas, which opened December 22, 2008; and Encore at Wynn Macau, which opened on April 21, 2010.

As of June 2014, Wynn is the 428th richest man in the world with a net worth of $4 billion. Wynn was raised in Utica, New York, and graduated from The Manlius School, a private boys' school east of Syracuse, New York, in 1959. Steve Wynn studied cultural anthropology and English literature at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity.

In 1963, his father died of complications from open heart surgery in Minneapolis, leaving $350,000 of gaming debts, shortly before Wynn graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature.

Career

Frontier and the Golden Nugget
Wynn took over running the family's bingo operation in Maryland. His success allowed him to invest in a small stake for the Frontier Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, where he and his wife, Elaine, moved in 1967. Between 1968 and 1972 he also owned and operated a wine and liquor importing company. He managed to parlay his profits from a land deal in 1971 (the deal involved Howard Hughes and Caesars Palace) into a controlling interest in the landmark downtown casino, the Golden Nugget Las Vegas (he would later open the Golden Nugget Atlantic City in Atlantic City, New Jersey). Wynn renovated, revamped and expanded the Golden Nugget from a gambling hall to a resort hotel and casino with enormous success, in the process attracting a new upscale clientele to downtown Las Vegas. Frank Sinatra was a headliner at the Golden Nugget. Wynn maintains a relationship with Sinatra family, and named a restaurant at Encore “Sinatra”.

Source @ Wikipedia

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