Divorce papers filed for casino chief Wynn, wife

Billionaire Las Vegas casino magnate Steve Wynn and wife Elaine are again headed for divorce, a court official said Tuesday.

Clark County District Court spokesman Michael Sommermeyer told The Associated Press on Tuesday that divorce papers were filed March 5 and sealed by a judge the same day. The sealing means no other details of the case are public.

A spokeswoman for Wynn Resorts Ltd. told the AP that the company does not comment on the Wynns' personal matters.

Steve Wynn is chief executive of the Las Vegas-based casino company, which reported $210.2 million in net income for 2008. Elaine Wynn, 66, is a director on the company's board.

It was not clear how a split could potentially affect the company, which is focused on opening the $700 million Encore Macau casino in 2010, along with operating its existing resorts amid a difficult economic climate. When asked about the company's plans, Wynn Resorts spokeswoman Jennifer Dunne said only that Elaine Wynn is an "active board member" of the company.

Andrew Pascal, president and chief operating officer of Wynn Resorts subsidiary Wynn Las Vegas LLC, is a nephew of the Wynns from Elaine's branch of the family.

Steve Wynn, 67, received $11.2 million in compensation for the company's top job in 2007, a year its stock price rose as the company expanded in Las Vegas and Macau, the Chinese gambling enclave.

According to data compiled from Securities and Exchange Commission documents by 10K-Wizard, Steve and Elaine Wynn each own more than 24 million shares in Wynn Resorts. The stakes were each worth more than $468 million at Tuesday's market close, as Wynn Resorts' stock rose over 25 percent to close at $19.50. The shares are still nearly 84 percent off their 52-week high of $119.74 set in August before the market meltdown eroded much of their value.

The pair appeared together publicly in late December when the company opened the $2.3 billion Encore Las Vegas hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip. But the Wynns have been dogged since January by tabloid reports that Steve Wynn had fallen for another woman.

Steve and Elaine Wynn, college sweethearts, were married in 1963. They divorced in 1986, only to remarry five years later. As a longtime member of the company's board, Elaine Wynn, a former beauty queen, has been active in the family business and is a regular on the Las Vegas charity and social circuit.

Vogue magazine once dubbed her "the unofficial queen of Las Vegas."

In happier times, Steve Wynn once said he bought the Desert Inn casino, the site of his Wynn Las Vegas, as a birthday gift for his wife.

The couple has two adult daughters, Kevyn and Gillian.

In 1993, then-26-year-old Kevyn Wynn was kidnapped from her home before being freed several hours later for a $1.5 million ransom.

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Associated Press writer Kathleen Hennessey contributed to this report.