Wynn drops second libel suit

Thursday, April 8, 1999 | 10:34 a.m.

Mirage Resorts Chairman Steve Wynn dropped a Kentucky libel lawsuit he filed three years ago against book publisher Lyle Stuart, his company, Barricade Books, and journalist John L. Smith.

The suit alleged the book "Running Scared: The Life and Treacherous Times of Las Vegas Casino King Steve Wynn" contained false and defamatory allegations that Wynn is connected to organized crime. "Running Scared" was published by Stuart's Barricade Books and written by Smith, a Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist.

The suit was filed in Kentucky to take advantage of that state's libel laws.

In 1997, Wynn won a libel suit against Stuart in District Court in Las Vegas over an advertisement for Running Scared that said Wynn was a "front man" for a prominent crime family. He was awarded $3.2 million, a judgement that has gone uncollected because Stuart and Barricade filed for bankruptcy soon after the verdict was announced.

"The issues concerning Steve Wynn and allegations of his connection with organized crime were fully examined in the previous trial and the jury completely vindicated him," said Wynn attorney Barry Langberg.

In a statement, Wynn said he would have won the Kentucky suit, but felt his reputation was vindicated by the Las Vegas verdict.

"I achieved what I set out to do in the first defamation action," said Wynn. "Litigation consumes an enormous amount of energy and resources. I would rather direct those resources toward other more joyful pursuits."

Langberg said Wynn will pursue the judgement against Stuart in bankruptcy court, and thinks there are enough assets to give him "some chance" of collecting. Stuart has appealed the verdict in Las Vegas. That appeal is pending, as is Wynn's appeal of a judge's order in the Las Vegas case that dropped Smith from the suit.

Those appeals will likely be consolidated, said Langberg.