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Hearings on Wynn Resorts license set

David L. Ryan/Globe Staff/Globe Staff

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has scheduled long-awaited hearings on the suitability of casino giant Wynn Resorts to hold a state casino license for April 1, commissioners said Wednesday.

The hearings will review sexual misconduct allegations against company founder and former chief executive Steve Wynn, as well as the firm’s response to those allegations.

Wynn Resorts will be required to demonstrate that it remains suitable to hold the Massachusetts casino license it won in 2014. The company is building a $2.6 billion hotel and gambling resort on the Mystic River in Everett. Named Encore Boston Harbor, it is scheduled to open in late June.

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The license review began more than a year ago after the Wall Street Journal published allegations of sexual misconduct against Steve Wynn involving former employees of Wynn Las Vegas. Gambling regulators in Nevada and Massachusetts swiftly launched investigations, and Wynn resigned and sold his Wynn Resorts stock.

Investigators have been scouring company documents and interviewing employees to learn who knew about the allegations, and what, if anything, they did about it. Wynn has denied assaulting any women.

The Nevada investigation concluded first, finding that some company executives failed to investigate allegations as they should have. Nevada regulators fined the company a record $20 million and allowed it to continue operating.

The Massachusetts hearings were delayed by a lawsuit filed by Wynn against the Massachusetts gaming commission over documents he believed were protected by attorney-client privilege. The lawsuit was settled last week.


Mark Arsenault can be reached at mark.arsenault@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @bostonglobemark.