Billionaire casino mogul and RNC finance chair Steve Wynn accused of sexual assault

Joe Cavaretta/AP

Steve Wynn (center) with Donald Trump in 2005.

• Dozens of people have accused Steve Wynn, a billionaire casino mogul and the Republican National Committee's finance director, of sexual misconduct, the Wall Street Journal reported.
• In one case, Wynn paid $7.5 million settlement to a manicurist who accused him of forcing her to have sex with him in 2005.
• Wynn donated $729,217 to President Donald Trump's inauguration, and Trump has called him a "great friend."

Dozens of people have accused Steve Wynn, a billionaire casino mogul and the Republican National Comitteee's finance chair, of sexual misconduct, including assault, according to a lengthy Wall Street Journal report published Friday.

In one case, Wynn paid $7.5 million settlement to a manicurist who accused him of forcing her to have sex with him in 2005. Dozens of Wynn's employees who spoke with The Journal described decades of sexual misconduct by the billionaire, accusing him of regularly intimidating employees into perform sex acts.

Wynn - who built the Mirage, Treasure Island, Bellagio, Wynn, and Encore casinos in Las Vegas - joined the RNC as its top fundraiser following President Donald Trump's election. He donated $729,217 to Trump's inauguration.

Former business rivals, Trump called Wynn a "great friend" in 2016.

Wynn, 75, has denied all of the sexual misconduct allegations made against him, and blamed his ex-wife for the "instigation of these accusations" as part of what he called a "terrible and nasty" lawsuit she filed against him in their divorce proceedings.

"The idea that I ever assaulted any woman is preposterous," Wynn told The Journal in response to the report.

He went on, "We find ourselves in a world where people can make allegations, regardless of the truth, and a person is left with the choice of weathering insulting publicity or engaging in multi-year lawsuits. It is deplorable for anyone to find themselves in this situation."

The RNC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.