Macau casino regulators look into allegations against Wynn

The China arm of Steve Wynn's casino empire said Tuesday it will comply with Macau regulators as they seek more information about sexual misconduct allegations against the Las Vegas billionaire.

Wynn Macau Ltd. said it will "fully cooperate with any requests" from authorities in Macau, the company said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Macau, a former Portuguese colony near Hong Kong, is the world's most lucrative casino market and the main source of profits for Wynn and other foreign gambling companies.

The statement came after Macau's gambling regulator said it was concerned about reports Wynn, 76, might have been "involved in inappropriate behavior in the United States."

Officials from the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau met with Wynn Macau management on Monday to find out more about the situation, the bureau said.

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that a number of women said they were harassed or assaulted by Wynn, and that one case led to a $7.5 million settlement with a manicurist. The company has denied the allegations.

The scandal has forced the tycoon to resign as the Republican Party's finance chairman, sent shares of Wynn Macau and its U.S.-listed parent company tumbling and attracted closer scrutiny from regulators in Massachusetts, where Wynn is building a casino.

Macau's regulator said the government of the specially administered Chinese region was concerned the casino gaming concessionaires' major shareholders, directors and principal employees in casinos might not be qualified to operate there. "Relevant regulations will be strictly enforced," it said.

Wynn operates two casinos in Macau, including a lavish $4.2 billion resort that opened in 2016. The more than three dozen casinos in the city last year raked in $34 billion in revenues.