Wynn CEO Matt Maddox says he has no qualms about being monitored

EVERETT, Mass. — Matt Maddox finally got a chance to breathe — and smile.

Sipping on a bottle of cold water, the Wynn Resorts Ltd. CEO peered from a lounge area overlooking the front entrance of Encore Boston Harbor and watched as his team of newly hired New England employees greeted thousands of people wandering into the $2.6 billion resort for the first time. He said he slept just fine the night before the property opened last Sunday.

“Twenty-four hours before you open, you can’t be nervous anymore,” he said. “A week ago? No sleep. Two weeks ago? Very little sleep trying to figure out how we were going to get to today. I’ve been here for most of the spring working with the team here. But as of last night, we felt good.”

And why not?

Encore Boston Harbor opened to stellar reviews and without a hitch. Guests wandered in the public areas, admired the art sprinkled around the resort or parked themselves on the property’s south lawn for music on one of the nicest Boston days in weeks.

For the next three years, Maddox will have somebody looking over his shoulder on day-to-day operations of the new resort as part of a settlement reached by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission in April and agreed to by the company in May.

A representative of the commission said last week that the monitor, who will be selected by the commission and paid for by the company, would likely be chosen after a competitive bid process that will conclude in July.

The placement of the monitor was one of the conditions the commission approved as a condition of Wynn retaining its license in Massachusetts — that, and a record $35.5 million in fines. The company’s suitability was in question after an investigation determined that former Wynn Chairman and CEO Steve Wynn and other executives hadn’t disclosed a $7.5 million settlement payment in 2005 to a woman who said he forced her to have sex with him. Steve Wynn has denied harassing anyone.

Maddox insists that he’s not bothered by the presence of the monitor.

“Not at all,” he said. “If you look at the (request for proposals) that the Massachusetts Gaming Commission put out for the independent monitor and what they’re monitoring, we think (it) makes sense and we’re very comfortable.”

Maddox said people already look over his shoulder.

“You know who looks over your shoulder all the time?” he said. “Your customers, so you better be doing the right things. Your employees, so you better be treating them well. Your gaming regulators. So we are very used to having lots of third parties interacting with us, so I don’t see any issue with it.”

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.