Steve, Elaine Wynn finalize 2nd divorce in Vegas, ending 18-year marriage

Steve, Elaine Wynn finalize divorce in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS — Steve Wynn, the billionaire chief executive of casino operator Wynn Resorts Ltd., is officially divorced for the second time from his wife, Elaine.

The split was finalized by a family court judge in Las Vegas on Jan. 5, according to a divorce decree obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press.

Specific terms were not disclosed. A court spokesman said the case has been sealed since it was first filed last March.

The decree says Elaine Wynn will keep her surname, continuing to be known as Elaine Farrell Pascal Wynn.

The order, signed by the former couple’s lawyers, said Steve and Elaine Wynn “have personalities and dispositions so deep as to be irreconcilable, which render it impossible … to continue a normal marital relationship with each other.”

The decree says the Wynns will split their property under a Nov. 19 settlement, which Judge T. Arthur Ritchie Jr. ruled to be fair.

A spokeswoman for the Las Vegas-based casino operator, where Elaine Wynn is on the board of directors, declined comment.

The Wynns last week split their shares in the company with casino-resorts in Las Vegas and Macau, giving Elaine Wynn sole control of more than 11 million shares worth more than $741 million that day.

The company’s stock rose $1.42, 2.1 percent, before closing at $69.40 on Wednesday.

The day after their shares were split, Elaine Wynn told the AP in an interview that she was transitioning away from her active role in the gambling company, toward her charity work as an advocate on education issues. She said she would keep her Las Vegas office, remain available to employees and keep her ongoing role as a hostess.

She said her relationship with Steve is considerate, which won’t change.

“Steve and I have been partners for over 40 years,” she said. “I don’t think there will ever be a time when he’s not my partner in some fashion or other.”

The couple met in college and were married in 1963. They divorced in 1986 but remarried five years later.

Elaine Wynn, a former beauty queen, is a regular at Las Vegas charity and social events. Vogue magazine once called her “the unofficial queen of Las Vegas.”

The couple has two adult daughters, Kevyn and Gillian.