Wynn book publisher appeal bond set at $1 million

Bill Gang

Tuesday, Aug. 26, 1997 | 10:14 a.m.

If the New York publisher of an unauthorized biography of Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn wants to appeal the $3.2 million defamation judgment against him, he will have to post a $1 million bond.

That was the amount set Monday by District Judge Sally Loehrer as a compromise to keep Wynn from seizing all of Lyle Stuart's assets while the case winds its way through the appeal process.

She said the bond might have been less, but noted that Stuart has apparently gambled away millions of dollars since 1988 and she wasn't going to let him post only a token bond and continue his gambling.

Dominic Gentile, attorney for Stuart and his Barricade Books, said there are "some really big First Amendment issues" to be decided by the Nevada Supreme Court and, perhaps, the U.S. Supreme Court.

But Wynn's attorney, James Pisanelli, questioned whether Stuart actually intends to appeal.

He said Stuart told a New York Post reporter that even if he is successful on appeal, it would merely mean a new trial in a city where Wynn has the governor and mayor "in his pocket."

The reference was to testimony from Gov. Bob Miller and Las Vegas Mayor Jan Laverty Jones praising Wynn and denouncing the offending catalog promo for the book -- although neither politician had read it until shortly before their court appearances.

Instead of appealing, according to Pisanelli, Stuart indicated he would return the rights to his company's books to the authors -- gutting Barricade Books of its value.

Gentile disputed the New York Post account and told Loehrer that Stuart had indicated he wants to appeal.

But the attorney said it would "completely wipe Stuart out" if Wynn were permitted to seize what a Nevada jury gave him earlier this month as compensation for what they said was a defamatory phrase in a catalog advertisement.

The ad for "Running Scared: The Dangerous Life and Treacherous Times of Las Vegas Casino King Steve Wynn" stated that the book would "detail why a confidential Scotland Yard report calls Wynn a front man for the Genovese crime family."

Gentile argued that Stuart has "little ability to post more than $100,000."

Stuart testified in the punitive damage phase of the trial that his net worth was about $600,000, although he sold his original book business in 1988 for $6 to $7 million.

But $1 million was as low as the judge would go, noting that the amount would only cover Wynn's legal expenses over the libel lawsuit.

Loehrer added that during the appeal process, Stuart is prohibited from giving away any of his money or property or making any expenditures beyond "normal business expenses."

The exception, the judge said, would be payments to Gentile for the estimated $350,000 in legal fees still owed him.

"His gambling should be limited to selling books about how to win (at gambling), rather than testing the theories," the judge said, referring to the books Stuart authored about his successful gambling exploits.

Wynn won $2.1 million in compensatory damages for the ad's wording and the same jury added nearly $1.1 million in punitive damages.

The case involved only Stuart and his company. The author of the book that sold fewer than 23,000 copies, Review-Journal columnist John Smith, was not a party in this case because he had not participated in writing the ad. Smith, however, faces a suit filed by Wynn in Kentucky over the book.

If he ever collects anything more than what he has to pay in legal expenses, Wynn said he would give it to "worthwhile charities in Southern Nevada."

Stuart

Wynn