Wynn Resorts executive leaving

By Liz Benston

Monday, March 17, 2008 | 6:15 p.m.

Effective April 1, Wynn Resorts is losing President Ron Kramer to Griffon Corp., a New York-based manufacturer of garage doors, plastics for hygiene products and aeronautics circuitry.

This might echo the acrimonious departure of executive Dan Lee during Steve Wynn's turbulent Mirage Resorts days. Actually, it's quite the opposite.

Wynn Resorts is a much different company than its comparatively spendthrift predecessor. The company's financial future appears solid after Kramer, before the lending market imploded, helped secure financing last year for future growth such as the Encore resort and the Diamond suites at Wynn Macau.

There's no denying that Kramer will be losing the perks associated with being a high-flying casino executive to helm the less-glamorous Griffon, based in Jericho, N.Y.

But Griffon's location is a bonus for Kramer, a former Wall Street analyst who managed Wynn's empire from an office in New York. For all of its whirlwind excitement, Las Vegas is a killer commute for a New Yorker.

Griffon's retiring chief executive also is Kramer's father-in-law.

Kramer's contract with Wynn Resorts expires March 31. Matt Maddox, who has been with Wynn as long as Kramer, will take over his duties and assume the title of chief financial officer.