Wynn Coverup: Nightlife Exec Allegedly Took Liquor Company Kickbacks
Posted on: January 20, 2026, 09:00h.
Last updated on: January 20, 2026, 10:45h.
***Update: Wynn provided Casino.org with a statement. It is in bold in the article’s second subhead.***
- Whistleblower says a Wynn Resorts nightlife executive took millions of dollars in kickbacks from liquor companies and distributors
- The source says the executive’s behavior was known to some of the casino operator’s highest-ranking executives
- The nightlife boss remains employed by the gaming company
An assistant vice president overseeing Wynn Las Vegas nightlife operations allegedly engaged in graft with liquor companies and distributors amounting to millions of dollars over several years — allegations that, if proven accurate, could result in felony charges.
A whistleblower speaking on the condition of anonymity told Casino.org that Ryan Jones, the assistant vice president of daylife and nightlife at Wynn Las Vegas, had access to credit cards issued to liquor distributors and manufacturers and exploited that access for personal profit. The source adds that Jones has an aura of invincibility and believes he’s “untouchable.”
They also say that members of the Wynn C-suite, including CEO Craig Billings and COO Brian Gullbrants, may be aware of Jones’s purported misdeeds and have taken a lax attitude toward it. The whistleblower says Billings has a reputation for responding to lengthy emails delivering bad news with “TLTR” – too long to read – and that Gulbrants is more occupied with Wynn’s share price “ticking higher.”
These people are as dirty as the day is long,” said the whistleblower.
They also noted that Wynn has hired an outside law firm to investigate the alleged alcohol kickback scheme, and that the probe is ongoing. Jones remains employed at Wynn Las Vegas, but the whistleblower indicates it’s possible the findings of the internal legal investigation may be presented to Wynn’s board of directors as soon as next month, and that could compel high-ranking executives to terminate Jones. Casino.org reached out to Jones by both phone and text, though he declined to comment.
Also declining to comment on the matter is the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB). This reporter told a spokesperson from the NGCB that the whistleblower confirmed the Nevada regulator has been made aware of the alleged goings on at Wynn, and the representative maintained that they can neither confirm nor deny a pending investigation.
Wynn Exec Could Be in Hot Legal Water
To be clear, Jones isn’t currently facing legal charges. However, the whistleblower and a second source tell Casino.org that if the Wynn nightlife executive is formally charged, it would likely be with felonies, and some of the charges could be federal because the alcohol industry is regulated at the federal level.
One example of that is the Federal Alcohol Administration Act (FAA Act), which, according to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), regulates “the marketing promotional practices concerning the sale of alcohol beverages and practices such as exclusive outlets, tied house arrangements, commercial bribery, and consignment sales.”
The second source adds that if the whistleblower’s claims about Jones drawing on liquor companies’ and distributors’ credit cards for personal profit are accurate, it’s possible that tied house laws were also violated. Tied house laws are designed to prevent alcohol companies and salespeople from wielding undue influence over bars, clubs, restaurants, and retailers.
“We engage a third-party promotions vendor to manage our Title 27 promotional liquor funds,” according to a statement supplied to Casino.org by Wynn. “The promotions vendor, which is not a liquor distributor or liquor company, also manages other promotions, which are unrelated to Title 27. The vendor is supposed to bill the Company for all non-Title 27 transactions. The vendor supplied a credit card to be used for Title 27 transactions. The vendor also supplied a separate credit card for non-Title 27 transactions for reimbursement by the Company, which the Company has reimbursed.”
Wynn Las Vegas is a coveted client for any liquor distributor and manufacturer because it and Encore have extensive rosters of bars and restaurants. Those venues, which are in Jones’ domain, include Encore Beach Club (EBC) and XS Nightclub, which are two of the premier venues of their kind on the Strip.
Dirty DJs, Slush Funds
The whistleblower says the behavior in which Jones allegedly engaged — potentially taking bribes from liquor companies and distributors — is endemic around the Las Vegas Strip, clearly stating Wynn isn’t the only gaming operator with employees engaging in nefarious behavior with the alcohol industry.
The whistleblower notes that liquor companies “are essentially paying into slush funds where the clubs are doing whatever they want with the money, which is entirely illegal.” The purported loophole gaming nightlife staff and liquor companies are exploiting is that the capital deposited into the slush funds is placed there by alcohol distributors, which creates the appearance that specific brands or manufacturers aren’t “currying favor” among casino club employees.
The whistleblower adds that the slush fund, which he describes as centralized among multiple casinos with nightclub operations is, in fact, largely funded by liquor manufacturers. That source also speculated that the funds allegedly taken by Jones likely qualify as income that needs to be reported as such for tax purposes.
The informer adds that the aforementioned outside law firm could send letters to the legal departments of other Strip operators articulating knowledge of the alcohol/nightlife situation and, if the response from Wynn competitors isn’t sufficient, additional action could be taken.
The whistleblower also notes nightclubs located inside Strip casinos aren’t doing the same business they were a few years ago, but some well-known DJs are still earning as much as $400K per appearance. But that money isn’t coming out of gaming companies’ operating budgets. Rather, the source says it’s coming out of the slush funds into which liquor companies supposedly paid.
“This (alcohol companies and casino nightlife staff) is an entire class of people that don’t know how to operate within the law,” said the whistleblower.
Last Comments ( 17 )
Word around town is that the WHISTLE-BLOWER , the person that uncovered the Slush Fund at Wynn Nightlife is on the sidelines at Wynn, may be getting fired yet VP of Nightlife Ryan Jones, the bad guy who took millions a year from the set up SLUSH fund is still working at Wynn?! Wait ..... What ??? How is this possible CEO Craig Billings and COO Brian Gullbrants??? They both must be on the take too!!
Yo Todd Shriber finna go down a different rabbit hole and do some diggin on rockstar events and steven b goodman. dirt is deeeeep. thinks he some untouchable wannabe gangsta because he was muarice woodens bitch. wisonsin honey badger has deep claws and watched to many mob movies.
Maybe Ryan Jones hasn't been fired from Wynn yet because of his connection with High rollers like Billionaire John Sellers who spends a God awful fortune at the clubs & at the tables every time he comes in to Wynn and is connected to the Tequila brand FLECHA AZUL. And yes of course Ryan Jones makes sure Wynn carries FLECHA AZUL at their Nightlife venues & restaurants. Mark Whalberg is involved with FLECHA AZUL too.
I don’t see what the problem is. No one did anything wrong.
That's why the FEDS need to police the Vegas casinos. Clearly the NGCB has blown it so many times it's a joke. Chair of NGCB Mike Drietzer needs to appoint real investigators and enforcement agents that know what they're doing. Felonies are being committed for years and VP of Nightlife Ryan Jones still is employed at the Wynn. That is horrific and a major cover-up!!! Get rid of Craig Billings the CEO of Wynn.
Why isn't someone calling the SEC and reporting these criminal acts that are being covered up by Wynn so the stock price doesn't fall out of the sky and plummet to the ground. Isn't that what this is all about. Keep the stock price so all Wynn execs keep their stock options from crashing??? Wynn Shareholders should file a class action suit!!!!
Seems like an angry ex employee to me or someone from a rival club. Who is this hurting?
Here in Vegas for 56 years and don't think this is anything 'new'. It's just that some get caught eventually and reminds me of the purchasing managers back in the day who got kick backs etc. It was/is just the way business was done. Mean really the fed regulates "marketing promotional practices concerning the sale of alcohol beverages and practices such as exclusive outlets, tied house arrangements, commercial bribery, and consignment sales.” Isn't that some BS or over reach. If he gets arrested etc, probably get a pardon from you know who. lol
If they haven't already, the whistleblower should report it to Clark County Business License to have their liquor license suspended for a hearing (CCBLEnforcement@ClarkCountyNV.gov) and to Metro's Special Investigation Section (sis@lvmpd.com) to have this guy's work card revoked.
Does anyone have a phone number for Steven Goodman? Is it really true he's part of all these slush funds all over town with each casino nightlife? Dirty and corrupt Vegas
Now do Tao Group next
Steven Goodman is the person who takes the alcohol companies money and turns this into a sort of a “ slush-fund” This is his specific job. He works as a middleman and then turns this into DJ fees, production fees for the DJs, executive travel, etc. It’s what they think is a loop hole. There’s millions dollars put into this. Alcohol companies allocate nine dollars a year for This and Steve Goodman gets a very large cut.
Let's see if Ryan Jones is arrested and charged with state and Federal multiple crimes. The only way this stops in Vegas is if Ryan Jones and whoever else involved in this scam goes to jail for these crimes. If there's a cover-up those execs should go to jail too. Period the end.
Well, it really doesn't matter what the reason someone steps up to stop people from fraudulent and illegal behavior! People with an attitude like well why upset the apple cart are the reason that society is not advancing but is staying in and possibly reverting to lawless behavior. It takes balls to come forward and not hide in the shadows knowing what's going on like the rest of the sheep!
So? Maybe this person didn't get their cut, so they want to upset the entire apple art?