By Joseph Menn
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Japanese gaming
billionaire Kazuo Okada has filed a lawsuit in a Nevada court in
an attempt to keep his seat on the board of Wynn Resorts
Ltd.
Okada, who until recently controlled a nearly 20 percent
stake in the casino company, filed suit on Thursday in U.S.
District Court in Las Vegas, asking for an injunction to stop a
special meeting of Wynn shareholders scheduled for Feb. 22.
Wynn called the meeting earlier this month, seeking a
two-thirds vote by holders to remove Okada, claiming that he is
"unsuitable" and that "it is essential from a gaming regulatory
standpoint" to remove him. Wynn cited its own previous
investigations of alleged impropriety as well as a more recent
inquiry by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
In the lawsuit, the latest in a series of legal battles
between former friends, Okada alleged that Wynn's statements to
shareholders and regulators were misleading. They omit Okada's
various denials and explanations and improperly aim to silence a
valuable internal critic, the lawsuit said.
"This is just the latest ploy in Mr. Okada's increasingly
desperate campaign to divert attention from the real issue-his
misconduct as a director of Wynn Resorts," Michael Weaver,
Wynn's senior vice president of marketing, said on Friday.
Okada also asked fellow directors to investigate the
company's own expansion into Macau's Cotai Strip, calling for a
board-appointed investigator to look into deals around Wynn's
acquisition of land for a casino, which Okada said were
questionable. Wynn declined to comment on that request.
Okada said that Wynn's deals with two small companies as it
attempted to acquire land and a government license for a new
casino in the special administrative region of China raised
questions about what it got in return.
The court filing includes documents that show Wynn promised
two companies tens of millions of dollars. Wynn did not respond
to that portion of the filing but has previously said the deals
were appropriate.
In previous litigation, Okada failed to stop Wynn from
forcibly buying back Okada's entire stockholdings at a 30
percent discount last year. Okada held the shares through his
Universal Entertainment Corp.
Follow us on Twitter @ReutersLegal | Like us on Facebook