Wynn Resorts battle to oust Elaine Wynn intensifies

Wynn Resorts Ltd. urged shareholders to vote as soon as possible ahead of an April 24 meeting for its proposal that includes not re-nominating Elaine Wynn to the board.

Elaine Wynn issued a response urging shareholders to wait to vote until she can release her own materials. She has asked shareholders to vote to re-elect her to the board rather than re-elect investment firm leader John J. Hagenbuch who has served on the board since December 2012. Elaine Wynn has said he has little experience in the gambling industry.

The company has said Elaine Wynn doesn't have enough experience in business outside of the industry and is too much of an insider that financial rules don't allow her to serve on the company's committees where more of the decisions and corporate discussions are occurring.

The Wynns are the only two directors on the eight-member board that are not considered independent. A company spokesman has said previously that company CEO and chairman Steve Wynn supported his ex-wife's re-nomination but was out numbered. He's required to vote for Elaine Wynn according to a shareholder agreement the two signed.

Elaine Wynn has accused the board of being a boys club and called its choice to not re-nominate the only woman on the board "appalling." The company said the board will aim to seek an additional independent director to replace Elaine Wynn and keep diversity in mind when doing so.

The company's financial materials, released Monday, expand on the board's reasoning, pointing to Elaine Wynn's lawsuit against Steve Wynn to void the shareholder agreement between the two that would allow her to sell or gift any of her 9.4 percent stake.

Elaine Wynn is the company's third largest shareholder, just behind Steve Wynn, and the company's independent board members have said they have concerns that if the court decides in Elaine's favor, it could trigger a requirement that the company buy a significant amount of its outstanding debt.

While Elaine Wynn has described the lawsuit as a disagreement with Steve Wynn, separate and apart from her duties as a board member, the company has said it disagrees and on Monday told shareholders that her interests were not aligned with the rest of the company's stockholders.