Steve Could Finance Wynn-ing TikTok Bid — Report

Former casino mogul Steve Wynn has been approached to finance a mobile tech company’s bid to buy TikTok, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

Silicon Vallley-based AppLovin already made the bid and is hoping that the former chairman and CEO of Wynn Resorts decides to back it, reported the WSJ on Wednesday, quoting unnamed “people familiar with the matter.”

Amazon.com submitted an 11th-hour bid as well, according to the WSJ. However, it reported that the White House “doesn’t view Amazon’s bid as one that is likely to progress.”

The report noted that AppLovin pitched itself to the administration as a US jobs creator and the solution to national security fears about TikTok.

TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a private company based in China. Though it operates out of Beijing and is subject to Chinese laws and regulations, it’s not a state-owned enterprise. Nevertheless, many have raised concerns about the Chinese government’s influence over private companies like ByteDance

President Trump is expected to be briefed Wednesday on possible TikTok buyers who can keep the video-sharing app operational in the US. If a suitable purchaser is identified, Beijing’s approval is still required — a trickier proposition now that a tougher round of broad tariffs is rolling out against China on Wednesday.

At 83, he lives a private life in Florida away from the spotlight, though Wynn made headlines in January when he appealed a lower-court dismissal of his 2018 defamation lawsuit against the Associated Press in an attempt to overturn New York Times v. Sullivan, the unanimous 1964 decision that has protected journalists from libel lawsuits filed by public figures.

The US Supreme Court refused to hear Wynn’s appeal last week.