Elaine Wynn, Wife of Disgraced Vegas Mogul Steve Wynn, Dies Suddenly

By Scott Roeben, on April 15 2025
5 min read 10 comments
Las Vegas

Elaine Wynn has died at age 82 after a short illness.

Elaine Wynn was the wife of the founder of Wynn Resorts, Steve Wynn, who fell from grace after his sexual predation was highlighted in a Wall Street Journal story. Elaine Wynn brought about Steve Wynn’s downfall during her divorce from the casino tycoon after she revealed a secret hush money payoff to keep an alleged sexual assault and paternity claim quiet, a bombshell she dropped in court because Steve Wynn wouldn’t let her sell her shares in Wynn Resorts.

Elaine Wynn got an estimated $1 billion in the couple’s divorce (their second divorce, to be exact), affording her the opportunity to be a philanthropist involved with a number of charitable causes, including those promoting education and the arts.

If you’re a “too soon” person, you’ll probably want to just skip this story.

Those are the most interesting aspects of this sad news, but you should read the perfunctory stories in other publications for the typical glowing memories of Elaine Wynn and how she shaped Las Vegas or some other hyperbole people say after someone passes.

Elaine Wynn certainly had an impact on projects like Mirage, Treasure Island, Bellagio, Wynn and Encore.

She was Steve Wynn’s valued partner and confidante (who endured decades of infidelity) as he transformed Las Vegas from a gritty, mostly low-end gambling destination into a luxury resort and entertainment hub that attracts tourists and high-rollers from around the world. The pair made bold investments that have had a lasting impact on the city’s economy and identity.

Steve and Elaine Wynn (her maiden name was Pascal) met on a blind date in 1963, an awkward circumstance for a number of reasons in retrospect. (Steve Wynn has been legally blind since 2010.)

After Steve Wynn’s misdeeds caused him to step down as Chairman and CEO of his company, Wynn Resorts, he sold off his shares and rode off into the sunset.

Elaine Wynn kept her shares and was one of the company’s biggest shareholders. The largest individual shareholder of Wynn Resorts now is Tilman Fertitta, owner of Golden Nugget.

As of March 5, 2025, Elaine Wynn owned 9.5 million shares of Wynn Resorts stock, about 9% of the company’s shares. Her net worth is estimated at about $1.9 billion.

Presumably, Elaine Wynn’s estate will go to the Wynn’s children, Kevyn and Gillian Wynn.

Elaine Wynn also has seven grandchildren. They should not be given money as it will only lead to bad things. They will thank us later.

We trust Elaine Wynn had provisions in her will for a lot of money to go to charity, as does ours, but in our case, Charity is a dancer at Spearmint Rhino, which is a whole different thing, and we are fully aware this is not the kind of humor one should put in a perfunctory story about someone passing but we don’t really live by society’s rules.

We don’t have any authorized photos of Elaine Wynn, thanks The Googles.

The passing of Elaine Wynn raises a lot of questions.

We hear the art museum she supported, the Las Vegas Museum of Art, will proceed as planned.

As for Wynn Resorts, it’s unknown what happens next with all that Wynn stock.

Tilman Fertitta has been a passive investor to-date and has a lot on his plate as he is the new U.S. Ambassador to Italy based upon his extensive knowledge of international diplomacy and also the fact he approved the bib design at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.

The future of Wynn Resorts is likely to be complicated, as was Elaine Wynn and her relationship with Steve Wynn.

Elaine Wynn knew about and enabled her husband’s misdeeds for many years, as did so many executives and staffers at Wynn Las Vegas and all his resorts through the years. You won’t find that in any of the stories about Elaine Wynn’s death, and maybe you shouldn’t.

Elaine Wynn was undeniably one tough cookie, and behind every great man (however flawed) stands a great woman. Vice versa, too, of course, but in this case, that’s the correct billing.

Elaine Wynn made her mark as a strong woman in a distinctly patriarchal industry, spending the last years of her life trying to step out of the shadow of her former husband.

She was booted off the Board of Directors of Wynn Resorts because the company has a policy that limits board members to serving until the age of 72.

The biggest question: Why hasn’t there been a major motion picture about Steve and Elaine Wynn?

The answer: Steve Wynn is a litigious motherfucker. Sorry about the rough language, Mom.

Steve Wynn’s long history of legal bullying hopefully ended when the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Wynn’s effort to overturn a landmark case that established the actual malice rule in libel law. (Actual malice means the defendant either knew the statement was false when they published it, or they acted with reckless disregard for whether it was true or false, an impossibly high legal bar and rightfully so to avoid chilling free speech.) We love that law so very much and it helped us make the owner of Sahara eat crow and his butthole still burns to this day from the legal reaming he received.

Anyway, this is about saying RIP to Elaine Wynn, an undeniably large personality in Las Vegas and important to its evolution into the Las Vegas we know today.

Here’s what Wynn Resorts had to say about the passing of Elaine Wynn.

Steve Wynn was a screamer, Elaine wasn’t.

Elaine Wynn’s museum will be a visible testament to Elaine Wynn’s dedication to the Las Vegas community, in addition to her support of myriad nonprofits, including the Elaine P. Wynn & Family Foundation, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, Children’s Hospital Foundation, National Jewish Health, United Way of Southern Nevada, Nevada Public Radio, The Jewish Federation of Las Vegas, Las Vegas Valley Humane Society, American Heart Association, Cure for Cancer Foundation, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Nevada Ballet Theatre, Women’s Fund of Nevada, The Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity Las Vegas and the Nevada Museum of Art, among others.

To end this story on an uplifting note, here’s a statement from the Smith Center: “A visionary leader, philanthropist and cherished benefactor, Elaine Wynn was a champion for the arts and education who helped make The Smith Center a reality. Elaine was instrumental in establishing the Elaine Wynn Studio for Arts Education at The Smith Center. Through the years, its programs have provided cultural enrichment to hundreds of thousands of young people throughout Southern Nevada, a tribute to Elaine’s energy, generosity and tireless dedication to arts literacy.”

To honor Elaine Wynn, Town & Country republished a story about her from 2024.

All we can really hope to accomplish in life is to contribute to others and make the world a better place. Elaine Wynn did that.

We’re sorry you hitched your wagon to such a schmuck, Elaine, but you made the most of a humiliating situation and in the process gave back so much to Las Vegas.

Our condolences to Elaine Wynn’s family and all our friends at Wynn Resorts who loved her.