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Wynn Las Vegas President Steve Weitman Leaving Company

Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN) noted today Steve Weitman, the president of the operator’s Las Vegas Strip properties, is leaving the company effective June 10.

Wynn Resorts
Wynn and Encore on the Las Vegas Strip. President Steve Weitman is leaving the venues in June after two decades with the company. (Image: Luxury Lifestyle Magazine)

The executive didn’t give a reason for his departure beyond noting he’s evaluating other opportunities and now is “the right time to pursue my next chapter.”

After 20 years with this great company and leading the property to the best financial results in its history, Wynn Las Vegas and Encore are in an excellent operating position,” Weitman said in a letter to colleagues and staff at the Strip venues. “This has been an amazing journey and I could not be prouder to have worked alongside the best in the business. The friendships and relationships I’ve built with many of you over the last two decades will last a lifetime, for which I am most grateful.”

Wynn and Encore Las Vegas are the operator’s Sin City properties and two of its three US venues with the other being Encore Boston Harbor.

Weitman Had Long History with Wynn

When he leaves the gaming company on June 10, Weitman will have spent just over two decades with the firm.

He joined as senior vice president of Wynn Las Vegas — a role he held for 12 years and five months — in May 2004. In September 2016, he was promoted to chief operating officer (COO) of the Sin City venues. He occupied that role until January 2023 when he was elevated to president.

“All of us will miss Steve, but after such a long and successful run, we can all understand why he now wants some time to consider other life options. … Steve has been an integral part of Wynn Las Vegas for 20 years. He has demonstrated a singular level of dedication to Wynn and has contributed so much to our success. His career within the company has been inspiring to so many,” said Wynn CEO Craig Billings in a note to staff.

Prior to joining Wynn, Weitman spent more than eight years as director of operations and licensing for Walt Disney at that company’s Burbank, Calif. headquarters.

Interesting Timing for Weitman Departure

While neither Weitman nor Wynn gave a specific reason for the executive’s decision to leave the helm of Wynn Las Vegas, his departure comes as the operator is embroiled in litigation against Fontainebleau Las Vegas for pilfering Wynn staffers.

Wynn formally sued Fontainebleau in late February with the newest venue on the Strip firing back with a legal complain of its own less than a month later. Wynn believes that several former culinary and nightlife employees that jumped ship to Fontainebleau actively attempted to recruit former colleagues still employed at Wynn and some may have violated non-compete agreements with Wynn.

To be clear, there is no news at this point about Weitman moving to another casino or staying in the gaming industry following his June departure from Wynn Las Vegas.

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MGM Resorts Online Room Reservations Return, Company Denies IT Job Posting

MGM Resorts International has resumed online hotel room reservations for its casino resorts in North America nearly two weeks after a cyber gang attacked its IT systems.

MGM Resorts online room reservations cyberattack
MGM Resorts is using a third-party site to temporarily provide online room reservations. MGM’s booking platform remains offline because of a cyberattack earlier this month. (Image: Casino.org)

MGM on Friday said new room reservations can again be made online. However, the online reservation system differs from the company’s previous booking platform.

MGM’s casino websites redirect to “vacationsbymgmresorts.poweredbygps.com” when a user attempts to book a hotel room. The room reservation platform isn’t property-specific but requires a customer to select a specific property from the MGM portfolio.

Casino.org did some digging and discovered that the “poweredbygps.com” domain is owned by Travelscape, LLC. Travelscape is owned by the parent company Expedia Group.

MGM is likely partnering with the third-party booking giant to free up its phone lines, which have been clogged up with guests seeking to book, amend, or cancel their reservations during the cyberattack that was initiated sometime on Sept. 10.

Temporary Solutions

MGM’s phone lines have been congested with frustrated customers waiting as long as an hour to reach a representative. Along with restoring online room reservations from its casinos’ homepages, MGM recently initiated an online “Guest Support” form where reservation holders can seek a refund for a canceled stay between Sept. 13-24.

We will process your request as soon as we are able,” the company tells patrons. MGM Rewards participants seeking to use their loyalty points and comps must continue to call the company at 877-535-1987.

Though phone wait times might be reduced, MGM overnight guests continue to face lengthy check-in times, as self-check-in via the MGM app and kiosks remain unavailable. Overnight visitors must obtain a physical room key since digital entries remain disabled.

MGM has expedited the checkout process. Guests are told to drop their room keys into an “Express Check-Out” box near the front desk. A digital copy of each guest’s folio will be sent to the person’s email on file once the MGM systems are back up and running.

Job Post a Spoof

An online job advertisement supposedly from MGM Resorts seeking a Red Hat Certified System Administrator caused quite a stir this week on the social media platform X. Such a job is for an IT professional who, according to Red Hat. This American software company specializes in enterprise operating systems “is able to perform the core system administration skills required in Red Hat Enterprise Linux environments.”

Among the skills possessed by such an IT professional is the ability to “create and configure file systems and file system attributes, such as permissions, encryption, access control lists, and network file systems.”

The alleged MGM job listing, which was found on ZipRecruiter, advertised that the person would “be helping the MGM Grand Casino build its net new IT environment after the recent ransomware attack.”

The position was advertised at an hourly rate of $100, with the contract gig running for about two weeks. The IT tech would be expected to work 10 hours a day, seven days a week, the posting listed.

An MGM spokesperson, however, denied the legitimacy of the job posting.

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Would-Be British Lawyer Jailed for Gambling Away Company Money

An aspiring lawyer in the UK will, in a few years, be an older, out-of-work former prison inmate unable to practice law. While finishing his education to become a licensed attorney, Tauseef Sadeeq decided to embezzle funds at the law firm where he was an apprentice, using the money to gamble.

Tauseef Sadeeq at a British courthouse
Tauseef Sadeeq at a British courthouse. Sadeeq is going to prison for three years after stealing money from the legal firm where he worked. (Image: Cavendish Press (Manchester) Ltd)

Last week, a court judge convicted the 31-year-old of stealing £100,000 (US$121,770) of client compensation. His dishonesty caused significant harm to the law firm, damaging its reputation in the legal community.

Sadeeq was previously employed at Jacob Miller Solicitors, a personal injury firm located in Bolton, a town in Greater Manchester. He began working there as a paralegal before being promoted to the position of trainee. Interestingly, Sadeeq was the first trainee ever appointed at the firm and could be the last.

Pattern of Deception

Last week, the would-be lawyer admitted to committing fraud 20 times by exploiting his position at the law firm. Over a year, he defrauded multiple insurance companies by presenting his personal NatWest bank account information instead of the company’s to receive payments. He successfully siphoned off up to £8,000 (US$9,741) at a time through the scam.

Sadeeq was able to get the bank to transfer to him £100,437 (US$122,302). He took another £2,000 (US$2,435) from the company. When the law firm found out in March 2021, it let him go and pressed charges.

His ruse came to an end during a regular audit of the company’s books. Two payments seemed out of place and he tried to sidestep questions from the firm’s accountants. When asked about the funds received earlier, his initial statement was that the money was meant to cover the previous payments. He later retracted his claim and said the transfers had been authorized erroneously.

Following this revelation, an office manager requested copies of payment request forms but received only fabricated documents. That led to a deeper investigation and Sadeeq’s dismissal and date with the penal system.

Instead of owning up to his inability to control himself, Sadeeq blamed it all on gambling. Daily, he had succumbed to the allure of the game, wracking up debts that he simply couldn’t afford to pay.

He told the court that out of desperation, he resorted to stealing from his own company to cover his mounting losses. As a result, he’ll now have two years behind bars to break the gambling habit.

Law Firm on the Brink

Following the unacceptable behavior demonstrated by Sadeeq, the company promptly implemented a comprehensive strategy aimed to restore trust with its clients and the general public. The strategy entailed the recruitment of two highly qualified lawyers who would specifically focus on resolving the damages arising from the incident.

Hasib Khan, the firm’s director, told the court that due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the company had already been experiencing substantial financial losses. Sadeeq’s actions exacerbated the situation and its partners had to pay £400,000 (US$487,080) out of pocket to cover the losses. This led to the firm laying off eight employees.

Things got worse from there. When the incident happened, it made its way through the news, causing damage to the reputation of the law firm. In light of this, many of the firm’s clients severed their business ties with the company.

The judge, Martin Walsh, said that Sadeeq was guilty of a “considerable and gross breach of trust.” He’s not alone; even the wayward would-be lawyer’s brother can no longer trust him. The sibling was on his way to becoming a police officer but had his application pulled due to the crimes.

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